Baroness Helena Morrissey quits St James’s Place to become AJ Bell chair March 16, 2021 Baroness Helena Morrissey has stood down from her role on St James’s Place’s board to become chair of investment platform AJ Bell. Baroness Morrissey will succeed Les Platts as AJ Bell’s chair at the company’s next annual meeting in January 2022. In the meantime, she join the board as chair designate in July 2021. Baroness [...]
Oxford Street: This is what the UK’s shopping destination could look like after lockdown March 11, 2021 Oxford Street – the world famous shopping destination that attracts millions of Londoners and tourists every year – is set to look drastically different when the city emerges from the latest coronavirus lockdown. An arts centre, 25 metre artificial hill and play areas in bus lanes are among the ideas that have been floated to [...]
Marks & Spencer adds new brands to make clothing offer more relevant March 11, 2021 Marks & Spencer has launched a range of guest fashion brands as part of its attempt to make its clothing business more relevant and to “turbocharge” online growth. The retailer announced today that it has partnered with clothing brands including Hobbs, Joules and White Stuff, which will be marketed under its “Brands at M&S” banner. [...]
Next snaps up stake in womenswear brand Reiss for £33m March 10, 2021 High street giant Next has acquired a stake in womenswear retailer Reiss for £33m. The fashion firms this morning announced that Next will purchase a 25 per cent equity stake in Reiss. Warburg Pincus, Reiss’s private equity owner, said the deal values the company at around £200m. As part of the strategic partnership, Reiss will [...]
Marks & Spencer unveils plans to replace retail space with offices at Marble Arch store March 9, 2021 Marks & Spencer (M&S) has unveiled plans to redevelop its Marble Arch store, with some retail space set to be replaced by offices. Under proposals announced this afternoon, M&S said the lower levels of the West End store would remain as retail space offering its food and clothing and home ranges. However, the upper floors [...]
ITV warns on ‘challenging’ ad market as pandemic hits profit March 9, 2021 ITV today warned that the advertising market remained “challenging” as it reported sharp falls in revenue and profit due to the impact of the pandemic. The London-listed firm, which last night aired Oprah Winfrey’s eagerly-awaited interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, posted a 16 per cent drop in total revenue to £2.8bn in 2020. [...]
Marks & Spencer expands online presence to more than 100 markets with launch of 46 new websites March 8, 2021 Marks & Spencer (M&S) has launched 46 new flagship websites across the world, expanding its online reach to more than 100 countries. The launch, announced this morning, is part of M&S’s plan to “turbocharge” its online business, and almost doubles the number of international markets where it has a pureplay online presence. In it’s most [...]
Shakespeare: M&S’ Veganuary campaign pays dividends February 24, 2021 Supermarkets and food chains went all out for this year’s Veganuary challenge, which encourages participants to ditch meat and dairy for 31 days. Many launched new products, meal plans and websites with information on plant-based diets. More Britons are trying a vegan diet in January, with non-profit organisation Veganuary seeing a record 500,000 sign-ups to [...]
High street redundancies: Which retailers have cut jobs in the pandemic so far? February 13, 2021 Thousands of high street jobs have evaporated during the coronavirus pandemic, as retail chains have fallen under the pressure of lockdown restrictions on trading. The UK high street, which was already struggling before the pandemic, is set to look very different when shoppers return after lockdown following high profile collapses that have cost many retail [...]
Superdry poaches new finance chief from Marks & Spencer’s clothing division February 11, 2021 Fashion retailer Superdry has poached a senior Marks & Spencer director to be its new chief financial officer. Shaun Wills, who has served as the finance director of M&S’s beleaguered clothing and home division since 2018, will join Superdry at the end of April. Wills, who has worked in the retail sector for 30 years, [...]