Retail crisis: Every single day, nearly 50 stores in Britain close down September 6, 2021 Almost 50 chain stores per day closed down on British high streets, retail parks and shopping centres in the first half of the year, according to research. But the rate of closures slowed compared with the first six months of 2020, a survey conducted for accountancy firm PwC found. Figures collected by the Local Data [...]
Sotheby’s Jamie Ritchie on the future of wine auctions September 3, 2021 If Jamie Ritchie were on Desert Island Discs, which is not beyond the realms of possibility, his luxury item would be his gavel. “In 1994, as part of Sotheby’s 250th anniversary celebrations, I was given a wooden gavel. It has been the only gavel I have ever used. It has required some occasional re-gluing as [...]
Amazon’s department store incursion onto the high street will force retail to transform September 3, 2021 Last month, it was reported Amazon was looking to open a chain of large department stores. The online shopping behemoth has always had a reputation for disrupting the high-street, keeping bricks-and-mortar stores and traditional retailers on their toes with a tireless ability to reinvent itself. These are not Amazon’s first in-real-life stores. It already operates [...]
Sadiq Khan vs Boris Johnson: it’s time to reset the relationship between the Mayor and No10 September 2, 2021 Being Mayor of London is a powerful political role. Elected to office with the second biggest direct mandate in Europe after the President of France, your name is on the ballot of every single voter in the city, and you are a one-person executive. As a voice for London, with huge convening power, mayors can [...]
City Moves: Who’s switching jobs in the Square Mile this week? September 1, 2021 City A.M.’s Millie Turner provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every Wednesday afternoon. Email citymoves@cityam.com to be featured. Pictet Wealth Management poaches Goldman Sachs veteran as new CEO Pictet Wealth Management has appointed a Goldman Sachs veteran as its new CEO, following the departure of its long-standing lead Heinrich Adami. Joining next week, Robert [...]
Shakespeare on advertising: Deliveroo users set to fill their Boots September 1, 2021 Boots recently announced a partnership with Deliveroo that would see the health & beauty retailer’s products made available for delivery in 14 cities – including London, Birmingham, and Edinburgh. Data from YouGov BrandIndex shows that it looks like a savvy move for both brands. YouGov data reveals that if you’re someone who shops with Boots, [...]
Sliding tech stocks weigh on Wall Street August 31, 2021 US stocks slipped today as poor performances among technology heavyweights weighed heavily on Wall Street’s main benchmarks. The tech-heavy Nasdaq slipped 0.10 per cent to 15,250.36 points, led down by losses among Apple, Microsoft and Amazon. The blue-chip S&P 500 and the Dow Jones both inched up, rising 0.02 per cent and 0.08 per cent [...]
Life-size Aston Martin ‘Goldfinger’ toy displayed at Battersea Power Station August 31, 2021 Ahead of the new 'No Time To Die' James Bond film, Aston Martin has created a life-size Corgi model box for its DB5 Continuation car.
London business confidence increased in August August 31, 2021 Business confidence in London increased four points during August to 41 per cent, as the city looks to recover from the pandemic. Companies in the city described higher confidence in their own business prospects month-on-month, up 14 points at 43 per cent, according to the latest business barometer from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking. Businesses’ optimism [...]
Wall Street scales to yet more record highs after Powell signals Fed will taper stimulus this year August 27, 2021 US markets were propelled to yet more record highs today after the chair of the US Federal Reserve indicated the central bank may start to wind down stimulus measures this year. The S&P 500 touched a record high today, before paring back slightly to rise 0.90 per cent to 4,510.49 points during early afternoon trading. [...]