BEST OF THE BROKERS April 7, 2011 BRITVIC Goldman Sachs has downgraded the soft drinks firm to “sell” and cut its target price by 77p to 384p. The broker thinks the firm’s sales mix will continue to suffer as UK and Irish customers look for better value. It also expects Britvic’s management to admit rising input costs during interim results next month [...]
Carpetright issues another profit alert April 7, 2011 Carpetright, Britain’s biggest floor covering retailer, warned on profits for the second time in as many months, as shoppers hold back on expensive purchases amid rising bills and government cuts. The group, which trades from around 700 stores in Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands and Belgium, said profit before tax and one-off items for the year [...]
M&S sales in surprise lift April 6, 2011 MARKS and Spencer yesterday lifted some of the gloom surrounding the retail sector with a slim sales rise – but the company warned that times will get tougher. The chain – which had been expected to report a sales slump – was given a boost from its food section. Overall its UK like-for-like sales rose [...]
FTSE nears seven-year high as M&S boosts retail sector April 6, 2011 BANKS helped drive Britain’s top shares to a near seven-week high yesterday following a Portuguese debt auction, while Marks & Spencer rose on better-than-expected sales, lifting sentiment in retailers. The FTSE 100 ended up 34.07 points, or 0.6 per cent, at 6,041.13, its highest closing level since 18 February. Lex van Dam, hedge fund manager [...]
M&S sales in slim rise thanks to food April 6, 2011 Marks and Spencer sales were up slightly as rising food sales offset falls in other categories, it said in a trading statement. Its like-for-like sales rose 0.1 per cent in the 13 weeks to 2 April. General merchandise fell 3.9 per cent, but that was cancelled out by a 3.4 per cent rise in food [...]
…but retailers are still feeling the heat April 5, 2011 MUSIC and DVD retailer HMV plunged further into trouble yesterday as it issued a third profit warning. The embattled company saw its shares tumble by up to nine per cent, despite assurances that its credit facilities were solid. HMV warned that profit before tax and exceptional items for the full-year would be around £30m. That [...]
M&S to add to retail gloom April 3, 2011 MARKS and Spencer, the retail bellwether, is likely to add to the sense of impending doom on the High Street when it reports a sharp drop in sales later this week. Analysts expect like-for-like sales of general merchandise – which exclude food – to have fallen by a “grisly” six per cent in the fourth [...]
Forget the Champs-Élysées: British consumers have lost their joie de vivre April 3, 2011 THERE was much fanfare last week when Marks and Spencer returned to the Champs-Élysées in Paris. But even if the French flock to the British retailer in droves, which seems somewhat improbable to us, their joie de vivre isn’t being shared by domestic customers. Like-for-like sales in the fourth quarter are expected to be off by [...]
THE TIPSTER April 3, 2011 THIS week sees a fourth quarter trading update from Marks & Spencer. The impact of the VAT hike, rising commodity prices and careful consumers will make for interesting reading. With so many others on the high street struggling, there is no real hope of a good performance from M&S. Overseas ambitions may well help in [...]
M&S returns to France April 1, 2011 Marks and Spencer will return to France this year with stores in Paris and its first international website, it announced today. The new website will be in French and is set to trade in Euros. A new store will be opened in Champs-Elysees, central Paris, in the next few months and will sell both womenswear [...]