Footfall slides in December as discounting does little to boost retail woes January 14, 2019 The number of shoppers visiting retail parks, shopping centre and high streets continued to slide during December, as attempts to claw back revenue lost earlier in the year through festive discounting failed to lift the fortunes for many of Britain’s bricks-and-mortar brands. New figures released by Springboard this morning have found that footfall in December tumbled [...]
Fund manager Neil Woodford leads push to oust top Kier Group executives January 13, 2019 Leading fund manager Neil Woodford is leading a push to unseat construction group Kier’s top executive team after its botched rights issue, according to reports. Woodford Investment Management, which owns a 16 per cent stake in Kier, is leading a push to replace chief executive Haydn Mursell and finance director Bev Dew, Sky News reported [...]
Fears over business rates mount as Britain’s major retailers prepare to form action group January 13, 2019 Some of Britain’s biggest retailers are coming together in an urgent bid to seek business rates relief from the government, City A.M. has learned. Around 50 major high street names are joining a mass lobbying effort to curb forthcoming rises in their property tax, as profits plunge in the face of falling sales and online [...]
City focuses on Boohoo as online giant hopes to defy retail gloom January 13, 2019 Online fashion giant Boohoo looks set to defy the gloom hanging over Britain’s retail industry later this week when it is expected to post another quarter of sharp sales growth. The City will be turning its attention towards the e-commer giant to see whether its festive fortunes were enough to buck a current trend of dismal [...]
Interiors: Wellness is set to continue being a big theme in 2019, but here are some simple ways to make your home healthier January 11, 2019 One of the emerging trends of last year, the “reading nook”, was all about creating a cosy space to retreat to (one that also works for creative writing, listening to music – anything that’s the yin to your daily yang). It was really an extension of the wellness craze, something that’s set to continue into [...]
Heathrow breaks through 80m passenger mark as it plans for expansion January 11, 2019 A record-breaking 80m passengers travelled through Heathrow last year as the airport reaped the rewards of larger planes and an increase in bookings. Heathrow saw its passenger numbers rise 2.7 per cent in 2018 on the year before, becoming one of only seven airports in the world to surpass the 80m mark. December was a [...]
Debenhams’ share price plunges 18 per cent following shock boardroom coup January 11, 2019 Shares in struggling department store chain Debenhams crashed 18 per cent to 3.9p today following yesterday’s shock Mike Ashley-inspired annual general meeting coup. Sports Direct boss and major Debenhams shareholder Ashley blocked the re-appointment of the company’s chairman and chief executive to the board at yesterday’s AGM. Sir Ian Cheshire, chair of the retailer’s board since [...]
Retail round up: What’s happening on the high street? January 11, 2019 Not as bad as it could have been. That’s the general feeling about high street performance over Christmas after major retailers and the supermarkets published their festive figures this week. The British Retail Consortium says that 2018 was the worst Christmas for retails for 10 years but, as ever, the figures show there are winners [...]
Apple set to stick with LCD display for its new iPhone in the autumn January 11, 2019 Apple is reportedly planning to release three new iPhones in the autumn as it faces weakened demand in key markets for its top-selling handset. The new line-up will include a successor to the iPhone XR that will be a cut-price version of the device featuring an LCD screen, the Wall Street Journal reported. The XR has [...]
Suits you: Moss Bros shares rise after better-than-expected Christmas trading update January 11, 2019 Shares in Moss Bros rose this morning after the suit retailer announced a better-than-expected set of results for the Christmas period. Shares were up 2.6 per cent at 26.9p after the retailer said sales for the 23 week period from 29 July to 5 January were 0.6 per cent ahead of last year and one [...]