Have you got a Scrooge loose at work? December 18, 2018 Festive cheer may be in short supply in the UK’s workplaces this Christmas – and it’s got nothing to do with Brexit, rail fare rises, or miserly pay increases. Instead, it’s the fact that a growing number of employers have cancelled the annual staff party. At one firm, an employee reports receiving an email out [...]
Opinion: Why we should follow the French by considering guardianship as a way to fill empty homes with those in housing need December 17, 2018 Christmas is the time of year when the misery of homelessness becomes apparent to everyone. Many homeless people are in this position as rising property prices and rents across London, combined with the housing shortage, has made affordable accommodation in decent locations a mere pipe dream for many young and low-paid people working in the [...]
Focus On Bow: A population boom and the commercial success of nearby Stratford is boosting plans for new homes in E3 December 17, 2018 It may seem like a distant memory now, but the London 2012 Olympic Games promised a lot in the way of legacy. It anointed six east London areas – Newham, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, Greenwich, Barking & Dagenham and Hackney – ‘Growth Boroughs’ and predicted that the money pouring into Stratford would emanate out to [...]
Laura Ashley shares fall as it prepares to shutter 40 UK stores in fresh growth strategy December 17, 2018 British fashion retailer Laura Ashley is preparing to close 40 more stores in the UK, as it looks eastward for further business growth. The home furnishings chain, which is owned by Malaysian United Industries (MUI), has closed around 40 stores to date since 2015, and is set to double that. MUI's freshly appointed executive chairman [...]
What this year’s Christmas adverts can teach us about making a great ad campaign December 17, 2018 With just over a week to go until Christmas Day, the big question is: have you bought all your presents yet? (I haven’t.) If you have, did any of this year’s festive ads sway your opinion? Did Elton John tickling the ivories mean that retailer John Lewis tickled your fancy, or did you feel like doing [...]
A-SOS call: Four factors to blame for star online retailer’s shock profit warning December 17, 2018 Online fashion darling Asos' shares fell to their lowest since February 2016 this morning after a shock profit warning. Chief executive Nick Beighton said he's "astonished by an unprecedented level of discounting, something I've not seen before". At the time of writing, Asos was down more than 41 per cent to 2,439p. Here are four factors that led to Asos' [...]
Asos shares nosedive after it warns on bleak pre-Christmas trading December 17, 2018 Shares in Asos fell more than 35 per cent this morning after it warned of a “significant deterioration” in its pre-Christmas trading. The online retailer reported sales growth of 14 per cent in the three months to the end of November. But the company said it had seen the “weakest growth in online clothing sales [...]
The new Brexit Wars episode is out: May the force be with you December 17, 2018 Maybe it’s just me, but the Stormtroopers in the new Star Wars movies never seem to have the same menace as the old ones. Last week, Jacob Rees-Mogg and his colleagues in the eurosceptic European Research Group (ERG) of the Conservative party looked like they believed that they had gone old-school – Empire Strikes Back. [...]
London house sales drop over political uncertainty, according to Rightmove data December 17, 2018 Londoners are hesitant to sell their homes due to political uncertainty, according to new research. The number of properties that were brought to market this month was down 19 per cent on the same period last year, leading to a smaller than usual December price drop of 1.8 per cent. Inner London home owners were [...]
Christmas is giving us the gift of retail relationships December 16, 2018 This year’s flagship Christmas advert from John Lewis shows how the gift of a piano to Elton John as a child gave him a talent that he nurtured into an incredible career as a musician. The ad also raised an important question – what can marketers learn from the idea behind the slogan “a gift [...]