John Lewis issues profit warning as MD steps down January 9, 2020 John Lewis & Partners issued a profit warning today and said its managing director will leave the struggling business next month after underwhelming Christmas sales. The retail partnership warned full-year profits will be “substantially down” on last year as it revealed significant drops in both John Lewis and Waitrose revenue. Read more: Four problems new [...]
Sainsbury’s Christmas sales slip despite online boost January 8, 2020 Sainsbury’s suffered the biggest drop in Christmas sales of general merchandise since it bought Argos in 2016, as consumer demand for toys and games weakened. General merchandise sales, which includes Argos, dropped 3.9 per cent in the 15 weeks to 4 January, driving a 0.7 per cent decline in total retail sales excluding fuel. However, [...]
Aldi Christmas revenue tops £1bn but growth slows January 6, 2020 German discount retailer Aldi said today that its Christmas sales increased 7.9 per cent year-on-year to break £1bn for the first time. The supermarket chain said its sales in the four weeks ended Christmas eve were driven by strong growth in beers, wines and spirits, its premium Specially Selected range and fresh meat. Total beers, [...]
Ocado joint venture with Marks & Spencer ‘working well’ December 12, 2019 Ocado has said its joint venture with Marks & Spencer is “working well,” as the retail delivery giant said revenue growth slowed slightly in its latest quarter. The firm saw growth in weekly orders, but stable average order size for the 13 weeks to 1 December. Read more: Ocado sales growth accelerates after Andover fire [...]
M&S shares jump after Goldman Sachs hikes rating December 9, 2019 Shares in Marks & Spencer jumped this morning after investment bank Goldman Sachs hiked its stock rating following improvement in the retailer’s troubled clothing and home division. The company’s share price was up more than four per cent after Goldman Sachs issued a “buy” rating, from its previous “sell” recommendation, in a boost for the [...]
Marks & Spencer hires ex-Tesco exec to fix struggling clothing division November 22, 2019 Marks & Spencer has named a new clothing boss to replace its ousted former head of the struggling division. Tesco’s former F&F clothing chief Richard Price will join as M&S’s new managing director of clothing home after Jill McDonald left the role in July. Read more: Poor clothing sales knock M&S’s half-year profit lower Marks [...]
Shazam’s ex-CEO Andrew Fisher joins Rightmove as chairman November 22, 2019 The old boss of music recognition app Shazam has been appointed Rightmove’s new chairman. Andrew Fisher will replace Scott Forbes when he retires from the board at the end of December after 14 years at the helm. Read more: UK house prices won’t catch sluggish inflation rate until 2021 Fisher, who was behind Shazam’s international [...]
Ex-M&S clothing boss Jill McDonald appointed as Costa CEO November 20, 2019 Costa Coffee has appointed former Halfords and Marks & Spencer executive Jill McDonald as its new chief executive, to replace outgoing boss Dominic Paul next month. The coffee chain, which was sold by Premier Inn owner Whitbread to Coca Cola at the beginning of the year, said Paul will set down on 30 November, with [...]
Christmas adverts 2019: Watch retailers from Argos to M&S and Amazon launch their festive ad campaigns November 8, 2019 We might only be a week into November but some of UK’s biggest retailers have already launched their 2019 Christmas advert campaigns, as firms race to make the most of the crucial festive trading period after a challenging year for the high street. In what has become a festive tradition, retailers have pulled out all [...]
DEBATE: Will the M&S venture with Ocado turn around its fortunes? November 7, 2019 Will Marks & Spencer’s joint venture with Ocado turn around the struggling retailer’s fortunes? YES, says Adam Vettese, investment analyst at multi-asset investment platform eToro When you think of Marks & Spencer, you think of food. And not just any food, but top-quality food. In fact, food is so important to M&S that it now [...]