The future of shopping malls and what it means for property investors August 30, 2017 The growth of e-commerce is reshaping the retail world. Online sales have been growing globally at an annual rate of close to 25% in recent years. This holds ramifications for the world’s shopping centres and malls as retailers re-evaluate their ‘bricks and mortar’ store strategies. Investors in commercial real estate funds, which often own retail [...]
London shopping: H&M Group unveils new vision for retail with opening of Arket brand on Regent Street August 24, 2017 H&M Group is set to unveil its new approach to retail tomorrow with the launch of its Arket brand in London. The store on Regent Street will sell clothes for men and women as well as homeware items in a format that is intended to appeal to shoppers looking for more than just products, but [...]
Is it still possible to find value in retail stocks? August 23, 2017 With the wider market so clearly out-of-love with the retail sector in general, it should come as no surprise that so many of its members are now flashing up as being of potential interest to value investors. On our Value Perspective blog, we certainly anticipate spending a lot of our time over the coming months [...]
Amazon: Is this the end for ‘old-school’ retailers? August 22, 2017 If you are a regular reader of the financial press, you could be forgiven for thinking some kind of corporate serial killer is currently on the loose. On an almost daily basis, fresh obituaries appear for retail businesses and there is a strong consensus on who is to blame – the global phenomenon that is [...]
British wine lovers look to Eastern Europe and Portugal as wine price rises August 21, 2017 Sales of wine from Eastern European countries have quadrupled at the UK’s largest wine retailer since the Brexit vote. Figures released yesterday by Majestic Wine show that British consumers are turning away from the traditional wine regions as the average price of a bottle reaches an all-time high of £5.55. Read more: It’s official: Wine [...]
Warehouse REIT heads for London Stock Exchange as it seeks to capitalise on the rise of e-commerce and consumer demand for fast deliveries August 21, 2017 A warehouse investment company that works with Amazon and Asda is planning to float on the London Stock Exchange. The real estate investment trust (REIT) is newly incorporated and will be seeking to raise £150m. After flotation, Warehouse REIT will seek to invest in UK assets in urban areas. It has already agreed to deal [...]
DAC Group has acquired Edinburgh-based digital marketing specialist Ambergreen August 15, 2017 Edinburgh based Ambergreen has joined forces with one of the largest independent digital marketing agencies in North America. When Canadian digital media agency DAC Group was exploring growth opportunities in Europe, Edinburgh-based digital marketing specialist Ambergreen was a natural fit. "DAC is headquartered in Toronto, Canada and has about 400 people across 16 offices,” explains [...]
Quarto Books (QRT) share price rises 27 per cent after mystery takeover approach August 8, 2017 Shares in book publisher Quarto leapt more than 27 per cent this morning after the company announced it was in talks about a potential takeover bid from a mystery buyer. The London-listed company said it had received an initial approach which “the board considers to be attractive and reflective of the inherent value of the [...]
Retailers back increase in contactless payment limit as transactions jump August 1, 2017 Retailers would back raising the contactless spending limit as the ultra-fast system for processing payments has pushed up transactions. Research released by Barclaycard today has found three-quarters of retailers who have introduced contactless payments into shops have experienced an uplift in transactions of 30 per cent on average. Read more: Is bPay a flop? Barclays' [...]
Amazon Development Centre Edinburgh devising and growing global innovations July 31, 2017 More than 4,000 miles from its global headquarters in Seattle, Washington, the world’s largest online retailer, Amazon, employs a crucial team of people at its Development Centre in Edinburgh. The hundreds of software engineers, machine learning scientists, designers and managers harness the latest technology and computer science to build features that help customers discover the [...]