Mixed Christmas presents for Scottish January 5, 2012 TOMORROW we play our first home game of 2012 against Plymouth Albion at the Richmond Athletic Ground (3pm kick off), and it will be great to get back to the Athletic Ground following a mixed festive period for the squad. I was very pleased with our victory away at Moseley on Boxing Day. Parts of [...]
JJB enjoys an uplift in sales for Christmas January 5, 2012 SPORTS retailer JJB, which was on the verge of collapse last year, has battled its way through the crucial Christmas period, reporting a five per cent lift in like-for-like sales in December. JJB’s second-half like-for-like sales fell by 7.8 per cent while margins fell by 3.2 per cent, it said yesterday. But this was still [...]
US retailers slash prices to lure festive bargain-hunters January 5, 2012 MANY US store chains had to offer deep discounts to entice shoppers over the holiday selling season, cutting into profits even as overall December sales came in slightly above expectations. JC Penney yesterday cut its quarterly profit forecast, citing “higher markdown activity”, and its shares fell 2.7 per cent. Kohl’s also cut its holiday-quarter profit [...]
Heston helps to boost Waitrose January 5, 2012 SUPERMARKET Waitrose said yesterday it had seen Christmas sales jump this year. The shops, part of the John Lewis Partnership, saw a 3.5 per cent jump in like-for-like grocery sales in December. In the week leading up to New Year, total sales rose by 9.7 per cent on last year. Among the big sellers were [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: DO JJB’S RESULTS SHOW SIGNS OF IMPROVEMENT? January 5, 2012 FREDDIE GEORGE | SEYMOUR PIERCE Although trading improved over Christmas against very easy comparatives, management, in our view, is running out of time to turn this business around. It needs to find a clear niche and a format, differentiated from its competitors. PHILIP DORGAN | PANMURE GORDON This trading statement probably exceeds market expectations. That [...]
Clinton Cards’ new strategy raises takings January 5, 2012 CLINTON CARDS brought some cheer to the market yesterday, after revealing a rise in Christmas sales, thanks largely to the strategy of its new chief executive, the former coffee man Darcy Willson-Rymer (pictured). As managing director of Starbucks UK and Ireland, Willson-Rymer was credited for steering the coffee chain through the recession and reinvigorating its [...]
Fresh nerves over euro debt put dampers on FTSE index January 5, 2012 BRITAIN’S blue-chip share index closed lower yesterday on growing fears that Eurozone countries and banks could struggle to tap markets this year. The FTSE 100 dropped 44.19 points, or 0.8 per cent, to close at 5,624.26, in tandem with most European indexes and the euro currency, after a French debt auction, though oversubscribed, failed to [...]
A Victorian star which should shine Brighter January 5, 2012 IN MY brief visit to last October’s Conservative conference, while the Tory elite partied inside their secure zone, my wife and I found ourselves alone as we made the brief pilgrimage to a statue on Albert Square. The small huddle of protestors nearby weren’t paying the Victorian stone figure any attention either, nor were the [...]
Shaky United are going to struggle against City January 5, 2012 MANCHESTER CITY vs MANCHESTER UNITED SUNDAY – 1.00PM ITV1 THE city of Manchester dominated the early rounds in this year’s Premier League fight, but it’s been a difficult Christmas period for both clubs. Manchester City only picked up a point from their two away trips to West Brom and Sunderland, while Manchester United have lost [...]
Clinton Cards hit by “tough” Christmas trading January 5, 2012 Clinton Cards has said it found trading “tough over the Christmas period. Like-for-like sales rose 0.4 per cent in the five weeks to 1 January. In the 22 weeks to 1 January like-for-like sales fell 1.4%. chief executive Darcy Willson-Rymer, who took over in October, is in the middle of a review aimed at getting [...]