Will M&S sharpen up its fashion arm? Analysts forecast profit rise as chief Steve Rowe expected announce a bumpy road to recovery May 23, 2016 Marks and Spencer may want to give its clothing lines a makeover as analysts predict a rocky road to recovery. The 132-year old retailer, which has seen its fashion division fall out of favour with the public in recent years, is expected to report a two per cent rise in pre-tax profits, but analysts suggest that [...]
These are the UK’s most attractive employers May 13, 2016 Rolls Royce has topped a list of big companies that Britons want to work for. The automotive aerospace giant fared well on criteria such as salary and employee benefits, long-term job security and a pleasant working atmosphere. British Airways and Marks & Spencer took second and third place respectively, followed by car companies BMW and Jaguar Land [...]
Marks & Spencer unveils shake up of management team May 12, 2016 Marks & Spencer has revealed a shake up of its senior management team "to drive speedier decision making and move the business closer to its customers". Patrick Bousquet-Chavanne is becoming executive director of customer, marketing & M&S.com, taking on new responsibilities for M&S.com and the retailer's CSR initiative Plan A. It is not clear what will happen [...]
Visa Europe records three billion contactless payments over the last 12 months May 10, 2016 Card company Visa has recorded three billion contactless transactions in Europe over the past year. In April alone, European consumers used their cards 360m times, clocking in at almost 140 transactions per second. Contactless now accounts for one in every five Visa card payments in Europe, up from one in 60 in 2013. In the [...]
Retailers rocked by sales shocker May 6, 2016 The high street has suffered its sharpest drop in sales since the credit crunch as retailers battle erratic weather, increasing competition from online rivals and jittery consumer confidence. Like-for-like sales fell by 6.1 per cent in April compared with the same month last year, according to BDO’s latest monthly tracker, published this morning. The accountancy [...]
Rivals set to win customers on back of BHS’ demise April 27, 2016 BHS has entered administration, confirming what I have previously written about in this column; its loyal customers have deserted it in recent years. Although BHS will continue to trade while a buyer is sought, the retailer has been in trouble for some time as it failed to modernise its offering. It has been losing market [...]
Former Marks & Spencer boss Marc Bolland tipped to take up director role at British Airways owner IAG April 25, 2016 Marks & Spencer's former chief executive Marc Bolland is tipped to be named as a non-executive director of International Airlines Group (IAG), the owner of British Airways. An announcement about his appointment could be made as soon as this Friday, Sky News has reported, when IAG unveils its first-quarter results, according to headhunting industry sources. It [...]
BHS is in administration: Here’s what analysts say was to blame (and what the future holds) April 25, 2016 BHS is in administration having notched up £1.3bn in debt, it has been confirmed this afternoon. Duff & Phelps has been appointed to handle the iconic retailer's administration, with managing directors Phil Duffy and Benjamin Wiles sounding confident about finding a new buyer. City A.M. understands more than 30 enquiries have already been made, and now [...]
New M&S boss Steve Rowe reshuffles womenswear team “to reflect way customers shop” April 20, 2016 Marks & Spencer's new chief executive Steve Rowe has reshuffled the retailer's womenswear teams after pledging to revive the fortunes of the troubled clothing division. The company confirmed it has made some alterations to the way the teams are set up across design, buying and merchandising, resulting in changes to around 200 people's roles. The change means that whereas before a [...]
Alexa Chung for Marks & Spencer has dropped – but what’s the verdict? April 14, 2016 Marks & Spencer's latest attempt to win over the fashionistas (and presumably also the people that actually shop in M&S) landed in shops yesterday. The retailer needs all the help it can get to boost its bottom line – but will this be the collection to swing it? Here's our verdict… What is it? Archive by Alexa [...]