M&S joins the battle against rising high street rents May 24, 2018 Marks & Spencer’s top team yesterday joined calls for landlords to give retailers fairer rents, as it revealed a massive drop in profits. The company reported that pre-tax profits were down 62 per cent in 2017, mostly as a result of its store closure programme. Chief executive Steve Rowe said in a presentation he had [...]
Marks & Spencer (MKS) share price rises as retailer promises to ramp up store closures as profits slump May 23, 2018 The City was braced for a slump in profits at Marks & Spencer, and a slump was duly delivered this morning as the retailer said it was “facing facts” amid “the continued migration of clothing and home online”. The company said it had to modernise the business to make sure it stays competitive, with “accelerated [...]
M&S Marks and Spencer (MKS) likely to accelerate store closure plans this week May 20, 2018 Marks & Spencer is expected to accelerate its transformation plans this week, as it reports another decline in profits. The pace of change at the retailer could be “dialled-up”, according to analysts, who are forecasting a 6.6 per cent decline in profit before tax and adjusted items to £573m. The company said in November that [...]
Marks & Spencer in talks with top Dixons Carphone exec to bolster retail expertise May 19, 2018 Marks & Spencer is reportedly in talks with a top Dixons Carphone exec as the troubled retailer seeks to shake-up its board. Katie Bickerstaffe, who recently stepped down as chief executive of Dixons Carphone UK and Ireland, has held discussions about joining M&S as a non-exec director. M&S is facing the risk of a landmark [...]
Last Week in the City: England has an 8.5% chance of winning the World Cup May 18, 2018 Garry White, chief investment commentator, looks at the market-moving events that have shaped the UK equity markets this week (14 to 18 May 2018). UBS has used its City analysts’ predictive firepower to try and work out the winner of the upcoming World Cup in Russia – and England came surprisingly high in its league [...]
M&S passes on £1.4bn of its pension liabilities to Aviva and Phoenix May 17, 2018 Nearly £1.4bn of Marks & Spencer’s pension liabilities were today passed to insurers Aviva and Phoenix. It follows a trend of organisations including National Grid, Pearson and Smith Group transferring pensions calculated on worker’s final salaries over to insurers. Read more: Zurich completes deal to cover £2bn of National Grid pension liabilities Around £925m will [...]
We meet Annabel Karmel, the celebrity cook who leaves children hungry for more May 14, 2018 Annabel Karmel comes bounding into the room like a bundle of sunshine. With her yellow dress and immaculate makeup, she seems a world apart from the drab Bloomsbury bar where we meet. For millions of parents, Karmel is a household name, with major supermarkets stocking her baby and toddler food. It was her first book, [...]
TSB crisis may have sting in the tail, Andy Hornby’s near-miss with the Sainsbury’s-Asda merger and the FA’s trophy buyer May 4, 2018 The System’s Broken. Try Surrendering Bonuses. TSB customers who found themselves locked out of their accounts for parts of the last fortnight might have devised less polite acronyms for the custodian of their savings. Conspiracy theorists about recent banking history might also trace the origins of the current meltdown to an ill-fated decision in 2010 [...]
Instagram is launching a shopping service in the UK today March 20, 2018 Instagram today launches a shopping service on its platform, giving retailers the opportunity to turn their posts on the social media site into solid sales. Mobile sales have become a significant source of growth for retailers, and now businesses will be able to direct customers to their own websites through tagged posts on Instagram. Instagram [...]
No end in sight for high street’s woes as stalwarts like John Lewis struggle March 9, 2018 The UK high street was dealt another blow yesterday as one of the country’s biggest household names posted a sharp drop in profits. Profits at the John Lewis Partnership – which comprises John Lewis and Waitrose – fell 77 per cent to £103.9m in 2017, forcing the retailer to cut its staff bonus to its [...]