In the doghouse? Pets at Home shares fall on softer merchandise sales January 19, 2017 Pets at Home's latest update announced "softer than anticipated" merchandise sales – knocking its share price down more than nine per cent, at the time of writing, to 216.40p. The figures Group revenue rose 4.4 per cent to £203.7m, though merchandise revenues were flat at £177.4m. The growth was propelled by its services business (including veterinary practices [...]
After strong Christmas trading, Revolution Bars expects to hit its financial targets January 19, 2017 Revolution Bars said cheers to Christmas sales as it anticipates half-year results to 31 December will fall in line with the board's expectations. The figures In a trading update today ahead of its half-year results, the operator of 66 premium bars across the UK said like-for-like sales were up two per cent, while overall sales – [...]
Royal Mail shares tumble as post-Brexit business uncertainty takes a toll on UK letter volumes January 19, 2017 Royal Mail's share price fell nearly five per cent as letter volumes floundered, but it managed to maintain its forecasts for the year ahead due to a strong Christmas period and solid parcel revenue growth. The figures In a trading statement today, Royal Mail said group revenue was flat for the first nine months of the year, but it [...]
This is the most popular brand in the UK (and it’s not even from here) January 19, 2017 Aldi and Lidl have topped YouGov's ranking for the most popular British brands, beating well-heeled rivals John Lewis and Marks & Spencer. Every week last year YouGov asked a group of consumers whether they had heard good or bad news about the biggest brands in Britain – and the German immigrants came out on top. Read more: Aldi bags [...]
City Pub Company guzzles Christmas sales as it prepares to float this year January 18, 2017 City Pub Company has raised a toast to this Christmas after it nearly doubled like-for-like sales over the five-week festive period. The figures The pub owner and operator said sales for the period to 1 January were up 47 per cent compared with the previous year, while sales for the whole of 2016 were up 37 per cent. It also bagged [...]
Game Digital shares drop after sales fall and cash burn January 18, 2017 Shares in Game Digital flopped over three per cent this morning after the firm revealed "tough" trading in the UK had hit sales. The figures Like many other retailers, Game focuses on its gross transactional value (GTV): effectively the value of sales before any discounts are applied. Reporting its half-year numbers to the end of December, Game [...]
Southern rail pledges to run full service next week as strike talks get underway January 18, 2017 Southern rail has pledged to run its full service from next Tuesday, as talks aimed at finally resolving the dispute between train drivers' union Aslef and Southern rail kick off today. But the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union won't be involved. The talks, to be chaired by Trades Union Congress (TUC) general secretary Frances [...]
Volkswagen shares crash in line with brand woe January 18, 2017 With consumer-facing companies that rely heavily on a single brand there is often a strong relationship between public perception of that brand as measured daily by BrandIndex, and the company’s share price. An example of this is Volkswagen and its emissions scandal where the fundamental driver of the decline in its share price was a [...]
Thursday will be the poorest day of the year for Britons after Christmas spending sprees January 18, 2017 After the party, the hangover. Christmas cheer is set to run out for good tomorrow, as a new survey shows Thursday will be the poorest day of the year for Britons. A perfect winter storm of high spending during December and payrolls being brought forward before the holidays begin will leave Brits with a New [...]
Shoppers spent £133bn online last year, but the internet is hitting margins January 17, 2017 UK retailers raked in £133bn online last year as the internet's importance for the retail industry continued to grow. Research from IMRG and Capgemini shows that shoppers spent £18bn more online in 2016 than they did the year before, a growth of 16 per cent. Read more: John Lewis will cut staff bonus as profit comes [...]