Free cash and entrepreneurial spirit defy Blue Monday gloom January 20, 2013 THE third Monday in January (yes, that’s today) is often touted as the most depressing day of the year, based on a highly unscientific formulae involving weather, debt, time since Christmas, and guilt at failing set of New Year’s resolutions. But this year The Capitalist has noticed a slew of press releases from firms – [...]
Letters to the editor January 20, 2013 Outside Europe [Re: Would leaving the EU be a positive move for business in Britain?, Friday] Roland Rudd’s suggestion that we would not have access to European markets if we left the EU, if true, belies the true nature of the entity. There is no suggestion from Eurosceptics that Britain would not be willing to [...]
Retail sales slip in December January 18, 2013 British retail sales posted a surprise fall in December, crushing hopes that buoyant Christmas trading would provide a boost to the economy. The Office for National Statistics said this morning that sales including fuel fell 0.1 per cent month on month in December. On an annual basis, retail sales posted a jump of 0.3 per [...]
Analyst Views | What do you think of home retail’s results? January 17, 2013 KEITH BOWMAN HARGREAVES LANSDOWNE For now, management appears to have moved some way in convincing investors that the company can prosper in the internet age…In all, analyst opinion has thawed from a ‘sell’ to a weak ‘hold’, with the group becoming a surprise Christmas winner. PHILIP DORGAN PANMURE GORDON This is a much better than [...]
Mothercare knocked by poor performance in home market January 17, 2013 MOTHERCARE, the baby and maternity products retailer, suffered a decline in sales in its third quarter, as recent improvements to its UK arm failed to pull in the Christmas sales. The group, which has over 1,300 stores worldwide including 269 in the UK, said UK like-for-like sales fell 5.9 per cent in 13 weeks to [...]
Dixons boss says high street is in midst of seismic change January 17, 2013 DIXONS Retail’s chief executive yesterday warned that Britain’s high streets were undergoing “a seismic change” as the electricals group saw sales benefit from its rival Comet’s demise. Sebastian James said it was “heartbreaking” to see great brands disappear from the high street. He added that “the winners are those that can offer a great multi-channel [...]
Bumper Christmas boosts ASOS January 17, 2013 ONLINE fashion retailer ASOS yesterday said its retail sales rose 41 per cent to £78.1m in December, helped by a strong showing in its home market over Christmas. UK retail sales were up by a better-than-expected 34 per cent to £35.7m, driven by its decision to the trim prices of its own-branded products. International sales [...]
No home comfort for Chelsea January 17, 2013 CHELSEA ARSENAL Sunday 1.30pm THE boos inside Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night would have been music to Arsene Wenger’s ears ahead of Arsenal’s crunch game in West London this weekend. Chelsea suffered more home misery, despite early strikes from Demba Ba and Eden Hazard setting the Blues coasting towards a first home victory since before [...]
Dixons posts strong Christmas trading January 17, 2013 Electronics retailer Dixons this morning reported robust trading over the Christmas period, boosted by tablet sales. Like for like sales in its key businesses were up by seven per cent over the 12 weeks to 5 January. Trading was lifted by “phenomenal” sales of tablets across its markets, while white goods were also strong, particularly [...]
High street in crisis January 16, 2013 BLOCKBUSTER, the DVD, video and games rental chain, yesterday collapsed into administration sending Britain’s high street into further turmoil. Deloitte, which has been hired as administrators, said Blockbuster would continue to trade as it seeks a buyer for all or parts of the business. However, it is inevitable that some of Blockbuster’s vast 528-store estate [...]