After share price crash Asos warns on profits and investors slam Morrisons June 5, 2014 SOME of Britain’s biggest retailers were left reeling yesterday after a profits warning from Asos spooked investors and supermarket bosses came under a fierce verbal attack from angry shareholders. Asos shares crashed 31 per cent, wiping £1.2bn off its market value, after the online fashion retailer warned that a strong pound and a rise in [...]
London Report: FTSE in slight slip but Asos crashes on Aim June 5, 2014 THE FTSE 100 yesterday ended lower, as the country’s equities were hit by a stronger pound in the wake of a round of aggressive stimulus measures from the European Central Bank. As the ECB cut its main lending rate to 0.15 per cent from 0.25 per cent – and the interest rate on its deposit [...]
Retailer share prices are crashing. Here’s what you need to know about the sell-off June 5, 2014 An unexpected profit warning from online retailer Asos has investors very worried about the health of the sector generally. Asos shares opened more than 40 per cent lower after it announced that it had been forced to slash its full-year profit margin guidance. The key paragraph comes from CEO Nick Robertson: The resultant higher mix [...]
On the front line: Adopting unified communications June 4, 2014 Richard Smith, owner and managing director of Aspen Concepts, talks to Liam Ward-Proud about how unified communications have helped link the different parts of his business, and increased employee productivity Handling several lines of communication is a challenge for most SMEs. But it’s especially tricky for businesses operating across multiple sites. Aspen Concepts, a retail [...]
Bottom Line: It’s crunch time for Clarke and Philips June 3, 2014 THE NUMBERS are dire. Despite splashing out more than £3bn over the past year, the UK’s three biggest listed firms – Tesco, Sainsbury and Morrisons – are all shedding market share, with the former showing its weakest growth in 11 years. Analysts are slashing the sector left, right and centre, and with Tesco expected to reveal another [...]
Online discounter MandM Direct reveals plans for £170m float June 3, 2014 ONLINE discounter MandM Direct has become the latest retailer to announce plans for an initial public offering (IPO), expected to value the group between £140m to £170m. The company, owned by private equity firm TA Associates, sells excess stock for over 250 brands such as Adidas and Diesel at discounts of up to 75 per [...]
LondonMetric returns to profit June 3, 2014 LondonMetric reported a leap in full-year profits yesterday thanks to a surge in the value of its portfolio and a revival in the property market beyond south east England. The group, which buys and develops distribution warehouses for retailers such as Waitrose, said profits rose to £125.3m in the year to 31 March from a [...]
The GPS luggage tags that could change how you travel June 3, 2014 Flights are notorious when it comes to keeping luggage safe, particularly for those who travel by plane regularly. With passengers understandably going to great lengths to distinguish their belongings – from gaudy stickers, oversized labels and, in some cases, spray paint – a technological step forward seems sensible. That’s the thinking of several leading airlines, [...]
Card Factory secures £200m in refinancing June 2, 2014 CARD factory, the budget greetings cards chain which floated on the London Stock Exchange last month, said yesterday it has completed a £200m refinancing. The group said the refinancing deal, which it set out last month at the time of the float, includes a £180m term loan facility and a £20m revolving facility, both with [...]
Regent Street offers futuristic retail adverts June 2, 2014 SHOPPERS strolling down Regent Street will be targeted with adverts from shops pinged directly to their smartphones as part of futuristic new plans unveiled yesterday. The Crown Estate, which is regenerating the mile-long stretch of shops, said retailers will be able to install beacons that connect via bluetooth technology to customers strolling past – helping [...]