Abercrombie & Fitch misses expectations as sales sag, sparking share sell off – though the Hollister brand remains flat May 26, 2016 News of its 13th quarter-on-quarter sales decline has sparked a sell off of Abercrombie & Fitch stock. The fashion retailer's shares are down by 13 per cent in the pre-market, after the chain missed expectations and warned the current quarter isn't looking any better. Shares that were up by over 20 per cent over the past 12 months on hopes declining [...]
Debenhams raids Amazon for new chief executive May 26, 2016 Debenhams' share price rose this morning on the news it has appointed Amazon Fashion Europe's vice president Sergio Bucher as its new chief executive- giving a taste of the struggling department store's future. Bucher will join the retailer in October, having been in his current role since 2013. Previous positions include general manager of retail and e-commerce worldwide at Puma, [...]
Investec prepares for a summer of high society sports, being named sponsor of Chatsworth House one week before the Epsom Derby May 25, 2016 Staff at Investec are set to look well-groomed all summer long. With the Investec-sponsored Epsom Derby just one week away, the financial firm's wealth management arm has just become the newest sponsor of Chatsworth House. The deal, which will run to 2019, will see Investec Wealth & Investment help arrange a number of events at Chatsworth, not least its annual charity clay [...]
Retail Acquisitions may not have been fully aware of the BHS pension position when it first explored buying the retailer May 25, 2016 BHS' pensions fund trustees today told MPs that Retail Acquisitions may not have been fully aware of the pension scheme position when it began the process of buying the business. Speaking in front of the Work and Pensions committee and the Business, Innovation and Skills committee, Chris Martin, chair of the BHS Pension Fund Trustees, pointed [...]
UK floods insurance bill will be £1.3bn, estimates Association of British Insurers May 25, 2016 The final bill for all repairs arising out of the floods caused by storms in December 2015 is expected to hit £1.3bn, according to new research from the Association of British Insurers (ABI). A series of storms – named Desmond, Eva and Frank – hit the UK over the Christmas period, causing a series of [...]
Will M&S sharpen up its fashion arm? Analysts forecast profit rise as chief Steve Rowe expected announce a bumpy road to recovery May 23, 2016 Marks and Spencer may want to give its clothing lines a makeover as analysts predict a rocky road to recovery. The 132-year old retailer, which has seen its fashion division fall out of favour with the public in recent years, is expected to report a two per cent rise in pre-tax profits, but analysts suggest that [...]
Barack Obama must nail down his free trade deals before the protectionist takeover May 23, 2016 Washington – A few years ago, in a predictably thorough fashion, the Chinese government commissioned a study of the documented historical cases where rising powers had challenged dominant powers for leadership of the international system. The currently-rising Chinese (who went all the way back in time to mine valuable lessons from Thucydides about Athens and [...]
RAC: Petrol prices to be “kept in check” if oil prices overshoot $50 per barrels May 21, 2016 The RAC assured motorists it expects fuel prices to remain in check, despite a recent uptick in the oil price due to production outages across the world. Supermarkets slashed petrol prices to below £1 per litre in the run-up to Christmas, citing savings from oil prices which had fallen from over $110 per barrel in the middle of [...]
Pardew aiming to land a blow for English managers by guiding Palace to first major trophy May 19, 2016 Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew is desperate to make it third time lucky in the FA Cup final and land a blow for English managers in the increasingly cosmopolitan upper reaches of the domestic game. Pardew has tasted defeat in the Wembley showpiece twice before: as a player against Manchester United in a 1990 prequel to [...]
We’ve hit peak stuff: Why we now spend on “doing” rather than “things” May 17, 2016 Earlier this year Ikea’s head of sustainability suggested the West was approaching “peak stuff” – the idea that consumer appetite to own ever more goods was probably waning. Indeed it seems that we’re seeing a fundamental shift in consumer behaviour from buying products to spending money on experiences. We’ve been keeping an eye on this trend at Visa [...]