Christmas countdown: The best shopping destinations in London, from Tiffany’s on Old Bond St to the Hyper Japan market at Olympia November 11, 2014 London is renowned as one of the great shopping centres of the world, a constantly evolving playground for anyone with money to spend and time to spend it. Whether you’re looking for hip new openings – like those from Bally, Richard James and Hackett – or stalwarts that are guaranteed to come up with [...]
New Look defies warm weather as profits soar November 11, 2014 New Look has defied the warm weather that has dampened other retailers' sales, with the fast fashion business reporting profits up a whopping 89.1 per cent for the first half of the year. Profits before tax stood at £26.1m for the six months to September 27 – up on £13.8m the same period last [...]
Halloween heatwave gives retailers a scary outlook November 10, 2014 Retailers suffered another month of lacklustre sales in October as the mild weather and supermarket price wars continued to weigh on the sector, despite a slight bounce back on the previous month. Like-for-like retail sales were flat in October, an improvement on the 2.1 per cent reported in September but a slowdown on the same [...]
Soaring Tesco helps FTSE but Serco plummets – London Report November 10, 2014 BRITAIN’S top share index yesterday advanced to a five-week high as investors bought into the consumer staples and retail sectors, with ailing supermarket group Tesco leading the gainers. The stand-out mover of the day, however, was mid-cap services outsourcer Serco, whose shares fell 32.2 per cent to 215p after saying it planned a rights issue [...]
Brits are on track to spend the most since 2010 November 10, 2014 UK consumer spending could be about to hit a four-year high as Brits splash cash in hotels, bars, restaurants over high street shops, according to a new study. Visa Europe's UK Expenditure Index, which crunches card spending, said household expenditure rose by 1.5 percent in October. This offset September's blip, which saw spending fall 0.5 [...]
Where to spend Christmas: From Sydney to Finland, jet off to your dream winter wonderland November 9, 2014 Can’t face another Christmas trying to please the in-laws? Then make good your escape and book a festive trip far from home. Whether you’re looking for an authentic Scandinavian experience or just some respite from the cold, the ideal winter holiday is waiting for you. Here are some of our favourites: MEET SANTA [...]
John Lewis advert 2014: This is why Monty is the perfect name for John Lewis’ cuddly penguin November 8, 2014 Monty is such a John Lewis name. It just has the right ring to it. A little bit posh, a little bit nostalgic, just like its ads and the John Lewis brand itself. It's the perfect name for the retailer's penguin character, who isn't just starring on TV screens in this year's Christmas advert, but [...]
From overtime holiday pay and immigration to the EU bill and John Lewis’ Christmas advert: 10 things we learned this week November 8, 2014 1. Businesses are going to have to start giving workers holiday pay for overtime. But it's quite complicated and likely to be subject to a few appeals so it's still a bit up in the air. 2. John Lewis is the king of Christmas adverts. That's not just our view, but the view of [...]
Quiz: How well do you know your Christmas adverts? November 7, 2014 It's that time of year again – when our TV screens become flooded with festive scenes of familial love, anthropomorphised animals and general Merry Christmas messages. We all know Coca-Cola pretty much invented Santa Claus, while Chanel No.5's Little Red Riding Hood was iconic for years. But how much attention have you been paying over [...]
John Lewis, M&S, Debenhams – the best Christmas TV adverts of 2014 November 7, 2014 Alright, so there's still a month and a half until the big day – but settle in, because Christmas ads have begun to grace our screens, and they're going to be around for the next 47 evenings in. You might as well become acquainted. First up, we had the big one: John Lewis' much-awaited Christmas [...]