FREE (DELIVERY) TO A GOOD HOME October 13, 2009 Amazon UK is offering free delivery on everything in the run up to Christmas, scrapping the previous £5 threshold to qualify for the service. Free delivery will apply for all items until January 1, but does not apply to goods from third party sellers trading on Amazon. Amazon UK, along with Argos and eBay, is [...]
RYANAIR’S CHIEF O’LEARY PROVES HIMSELF A SUCKER FOR PUBLICITY October 13, 2009 RYANAIR boss Michael O’Leary isn’t exactly renowned for taking criticism lying down, so the BBC’s Panorama programme will probably have seen yesterday’s tirade coming. After Monday evening’s programme on the airline, Ryanair unleashed a campaign to maximise publicity from the episode – offering 1.1m free flights, labelling the show a “hatchet job” and slamming 11 [...]
Intel results offer hope to tech sector October 13, 2009 INTEL, the chipmaker and tech sector bellwether, yesterday gave an upbeat outlook as it announced third quarter results that shattered expectations, boosting its shares six percent and fueling hopes of a tech sector recovery in the run up to Christmas Analysts said Intel’s rosy forecasts for revenue and margins, both of which exceeded expectations, and [...]
Returning consumer confidence gives UK retail sales a much-needed boost October 12, 2009 BRITISH retailers will breathe a sigh of relief today following the latest figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC), which showed a healthy improvement in like-for-like retail sales last month. The data showed that UK retail sales values rose 2.8 per cent on a like-for-like basis in September compared to the previous year when turmoil [...]
SIGNED, SEALED, UNDELIVERED October 12, 2009 IN A FURTHER blow to Royal Mail’s reputation, the department chain and supermarket-owner John Lewis yesterday said it would use other firms to deliver its wares. The firm said: “We have ensured that postal strikes don’t affect our customers by switching the business to other carriers.” Royal Mail is considering a series of rolling strikes [...]
Ted Baker smashes forecasts October 8, 2009 Designer brand Ted Baker said trading was exceeding its hopes and reaction to its autumn and winter ranges had been “encouraging”, as it posted a better than feared fall in first-half profit, sending its shares higher. Analysts upgraded pre-tax profit forecasts for the year to the end of January 2010 and finance director Lindsay Page [...]
Amazon’s Kindle could annoy the publishing trade October 8, 2009 AT last, Amazon’s much-hyped Kindle is upon us, with a Europe-wide release date scheduled for 19 October. For anyone who doubts just how big e-books are going to be, consider this: the Kindle version of Dan Brown’s latest book, The Lost Symbol, is outselling the hardcover edition on Amazon. Earlier this week, Forrester Research upped [...]
WINTER OF DISCONTENT October 8, 2009 BRITAIN is facing a “winter of discontent” with strikes looming at Royal Mail, British Airways, Irish carrier Aer Lingus, and electronics giant Fujitsu. Staff at Royal Mail yesterday voted three to one in favour of a national strike, which is set to bring misery to businesses over the Christmas period, while costing London hundreds of [...]
BAs’ unions threaten strike action if staff are forced to leave the airline October 7, 2009 BRITISH AIRWAYS’ (BA) staff unions were last night locked in emergency talks, following the carrier’s decision to cut 1,700 cabin crew staff. The ubiquitous Unite union claims BA made the move without reaching an agreement, and us now threatening strikes over the Christmas period. Earlier this week, BA said 1,000 of its cabin staff had [...]
Royal Mail faces massive strike October 7, 2009 BRITAIN’S postal network is about to grind to a halt, with Royal Mail workers today expected to have voted in favour of the first national strike in two years. With the strike destined to bring chaos to Christmas deliveries, online retail giant Amazon has cancelled a contract with the firm worth some £25m. Amazon, Royal [...]