Gap shares surge on plans to close 230 stores as it splits off Old Navy March 1, 2019 Gap is set to split off Old Navy into its own brand, it said today as it revealed 230 planned store closures. The news sent shares soaring in the late afternoon, with their value climbing 19 per cent to $30.21. As a part of the restructuring, Gap will split into Old Navy and an as yet unnamed [...]
Here kitty kitty: The entrepreneurs turning cat-loving into a business February 25, 2019 I have never done an interview with a cat on my lap before. Luckily, Julie Barnes and Kathrin Burckhardt, who are talking to me via Skype from London and Berlin, don’t seem to mind that she wants to get involved. In fact, their cats – or “fur-babies”, as Barnes calls them – are present too. [...]
Swiss Re boosts profit 27 per cent in 2018 despite tough year for natural disasters February 21, 2019 Swiss Re boosted net profit 27.2 per cent in 2018, despite sustaining hits from natural and man-made disasters. The reinsurer reported net profit of $421m (£366m) compared with $331m a year previously, despite 2018 being the fourth-costliest year on record for the insurance industry. However, its profit is 37 per cent behind consensus, according to figures [...]
Uber Eats cuts app fees to compete with food delivery rivals Just Eat and Deliveroo February 21, 2019 Uber is to cut the fees it charges to restaurants that use its food delivery app in a bid to out-compete rivals such as Just Eat and Deliveroo. Uber Eats will reduce the commission it charges to restaurants that use its app from 35 per cent to 30 per cent, which it says makes it the most competitive delivery [...]
Just Eat faces pressure as Cat Rock says investors back calls for merger February 20, 2019 Activist investor Cat Rock Capital said today that it has the backing of fellow shareholders after calling for Just Eat to merge, in a fresh headache for the takeaway ordering website. US-based Cat Rock, which owns a 1.7 per cent stake in Just Eat, said that it had the support of investors after hitting out [...]
Fashion icon Karl Lagerfeld’s cat Choupette may inherit his £150m fortune February 20, 2019 As the world mourns the death of Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld, some are wondering what will happen to his £150m fortune. The media are circling in on a number of possible inheritors, including his godson, Hudson Kroenig. But one next of kin in particular has caught everyone’s attention: his pet cat. Read more: Fashion industry [...]
Labour’s Magnificent Seven just made a no-deal Brexit more likely February 19, 2019 I am old enough to recall the “Gang of Four” in the eighties, when Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Shirley Williams and Bill Rogers left Labour to set up the Social Democratic Party. We know that all ended acrimoniously, with a reverse takeover by David Steel’s Liberal Party that created the Liberal Democrats. This week, we [...]
Twitter is great, just don’t make an Elon Musk-sized mistake February 18, 2019 Despite a staggering $20m personal fine from the US finance watchdog the SEC and the loss of his chairmanship at Tesla for an errant tweet, we learned last week that Elon Musk’s 280-character updates have won the approval of Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, aka @Jack. “He’s focused on solving existential problems and sharing his thinking [...]
Editor’s Notes: The EU simply chooses which rules to enforce and which to ignore February 14, 2019 Allow me a moment away from our own Brexit turmoil and to focus instead on a nasty spot of rot right at the heart of the European Commission. While the Brexit process has made some of the EU’s top brass more recognisable to a British audience, it’s unlikely that many could identify one of its [...]
Paintball, Power Point and trust exercises: How to survive your next team away day February 11, 2019 In 1305, having executed William Wallace in London, Edward Longshanks had to plan how he would run Scotland from afar. Rather than do this from the capital, he took his court to Sheen Palace in Surrey to receive the Scottish commissioners, thus in effect instituting the first strategy away day. And it’s that time of [...]