Rolex wins title of consumer superbrand for a second year February 24, 2013 LUXURY watch-maker Rolex has come top of an annual chart of consumer “superbrands” for the second year running, leaving Apple and Microsoft trailing in second and third place, a poll published today shows. The iPad and iPhone-maker jumped 16 places to clinch second place, missing out on the top spot to Rolex. Over 2,900 British [...]
That’s a wrap: Citi’s tardy trader gets extra paperwork December 11, 2012 A TRADER over at Citi clearly hasn’t heeded The Capitalist’s recent warning about office Christmas party hijinks, which result in one in ten festive revellers being disciplined at work the next day. At a desk at Citi, one team decided to take the matter of punishment into their own hands when a colleague was AWOL [...]
Lego builds higher profit thanks to cinema tie-ups March 1, 2012 TOY firm Lego posted a sharp rise in profits yesterday, boosted by bumper sales of its popular Star Wars and Harry Potter tie-ins. Net income at the company increase by 12 per cent to a record 4.16bn Danish krone (£470m) in 2011, while revenues rose 17 per cent to reach 18.7bn krone. The group said [...]
Child’s play: the UK toy market in 2011 January 24, 2012 THE UK was the top European market for toy sales in 2011, despite modest growth of just three per cent over the year. Sales in the Christmas week boosted figures, climbing 15 per cent thanks to the extra shopping day as Christmas Eve fell on a Saturday. In that one week alone sales totalled £131m, [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 23, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES HAYWARD ACCUSED OF LYING TO US CONGRESS Lawyers for plaintiffs suing for damages over the Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010 have alleged that Tony Hayward, BP’s former chief executive, lied in a court statement and gave untruthful testimony to the US Congress when he testified about the spill. In a filing at the [...]
Lego builds on UK success March 3, 2011 Toy brick maker Lego yesterday announced booming sales figures as its new Harry Potter figures gave the comp-any a boost. The Danish group says 2010 profit before tax rose by 63 per cent to £563m, while sales were up 32 per cent to £1.8bn. It says it is now the fourth?largest toy manufacturer with a [...]
Character looks to rival Lego January 19, 2011 CHARACTER Group is to launch its own version of building bricks to exploit some of its best-selling models based on licences including Dr Who and HM Armed Forces. The new building blocks, which are set to rival Lego, will be launched at next week’s London Toy Fair. The company will also launch Bob the Builder [...]
Home Retail not as bad as forecast January 13, 2011 SHARES in Home Retail Group jumped more than six per cent yesterday to hit their highest level since September, after the household goods retailer said sales had fallen less than analyst forecast. Analysts issued a slightly higher profit forecast for the full-year between £250m and £275m, following the more upbeat statement. Like-for-like sales at its [...]
CVC looks to invest in London Eye group June 20, 2010 PRIVATE equity group CVC Capital is close to purchasing a stake in theme park operator Merlin Entertainments, which owns Legoland, Madame Tussauds and the London Eye. Reports suggests that CVC would buy a minority stake from Merlin’s existing shareholders, which include rival private equity firm Blackstone, sovereign wealth fund Dubai International Capital and the Lego [...]
Lego grows UK market share March 4, 2010 Toy brand Lego said yesterday that UK sales rose 28 per cent last year after its debut as a board games maker proved successful. The Danish group said it grew its share of the UK market to 4.6 per cent last year, which it said cemented its place as the country’s third largest toy manufacturer. [...]