Why 2019 will not mark the death of the high street January 2, 2019 When HMV went into administration in 2013, disgruntled employees used the retailer’s Twitter account to give live updates of the “mass execution” at the beleaguered music firm. However, ahead of last week’s announcement that the the 97-year-old business was collapsing for a second time, passwords for all its social media accounts were changed to avoid [...]
Debenhams share price plunges as investors fear disappointing Christmas trading January 2, 2019 Shares in Debenhams plunged almost nine per cent this morning amid fears of poor trading over the festive period. The department store chain saw its share price tumble to 4.68p on the first day of trading in 2019, ahead of an update due on 10 January. The sliding shares suggest investors have low expectations for [...]
Men’s fashion retailer Blue Inc victim of high street carnage as it enters administration December 16, 2018 Men's fashion retailer Blue Inc has become the latest victim of the carnage on the high street as it crashed into administration last week. The chain appointed turnaround specialist Begbies Traynor to find a buyer last month after a string of cost-cutting and restructuring measures had failed to take it into the black. However, no [...]
In comes the king: M&S hires Sainsbury’s veteran Justin King as non-exec director December 11, 2018 Retail chief Justin King has re-joined the Marks and Spencer board as a non-executive director. The former Sainsbury's boss, who is the fourth new hire for the M&S boardroom in the last year, will continue to serve as vice chairman of Terra Firma as he takes on the new role in January. King has built [...]
John Lewis, Sainsbury’s, or M&S? Whose Christmas ad was best this year November 20, 2018 So this is Christmas. And what have you done? Another year over, and the festive ads just begun. Yes, ’tis the season for brands to splash the cash on fancy holiday-themed adverts in hope of attracting that sweet Christmas shopping revenue. Retailer John Lewis has been the reigning champion of the season for the past [...]
City Moves for 9 November – who’s switching jobs at Baker Botts, Duff & Phelps and Just Eat? November 8, 2018 Who’s making a move on up today? Baker Botts Baker Botts, the international law firm, today announced that Matthew Levitt has joined the firm’s antitrust practice as a partner. Matthew, recognised as one of the leading competition lawyers in Europe, will be based in the Brussels office. Matthew’s practice has focused on EU and international [...]
Food can’t save M&S as it posts weak results again November 8, 2018 High street bellwether Marks and Spencer issued another disappointing set of figures yesterday and warned that sales are unlikely to pick up any time soon. Shares closed down 0.5 per cent, having been over three per cent down earlier in the day. M&S warned of tough trading conditions due to fierce competition from online competitors [...]
‘Grim reading’: Marks & Spencer sales keep falling as it rethinks food and clothing brands November 7, 2018 Same-store sales at Marks & Spencer’s food and clothing divisions both fell as it told investors it expects “little improvement” in the months ahead. The figures M&S revenue declined 3.1 per cent year on year to £4.96bn in the six months to the end of September. Clothing and home division revenue dropped 2.7 per cent due [...]
Marks and Spencer results will reflect the high street’s health November 4, 2018 Results from Marks and Spencer’s clothing range – long the weaker twin to its strong food offering – will be closely watched when the retailer reports on Wednesday, after difficult results for several of its rivals. Consensus estimates from 11 analysts suggest the FTSE 100 firm will post half-year profits before tax of £203m, a [...]
Intu’s property empire loses £300m of value as retailers shut up shop October 23, 2018 Intu took a £300m hit to its property valuation in its latest quarter, also cutting its rental growth forecast amid the UK’s high street decline, it revealed today. The shopping centre chain is currently mulling a £2.9bn takeover offer from a consortium including British billionaire John Whittaker, Saudi investment group Olayan, and Brookfield Property Group. [...]