Marks & Spencer’s chairman Robert Swannell joins remuneration committee as SABMiller chairman Jan du Plessis steps down March 4, 2015 Marks & Spencer chairman Robert Swannell is joining the high street giant's remuneration committee after a shake up of the non-executive board. The move has been prompted by the departure of SABMiller chairman Jan du Plessis, who is stepping down from the Marks & Spencer board today (March 4). Du Plessis, who has [...]
Marks and Spencer Asia head quits ahead of store shake-up March 2, 2015 MARKS & Spencer said yesterday that its regional director for Asia was quitting after less than two years in the role as it announced a review of plans for China including the closure of five Shanghai stores. Bruce Findlay, a former retail director for Calvin Klein who is leaving to join Diesel, took on the [...]
Marks & Spencer to enter Beijing as it shuts five Shanghai stores March 2, 2015 Marks & Spencer is poised to open stores in Beijing and Guangzhou – but will reduce its presence in greater Shanghai. Currently M&S has around 15 stores in China, but this will be the first time it has entered the country’s capital city. The high street giant said it had “firm intent” to enter those [...]
Tesco is winning at Valentine’s Day. Here’s why February 11, 2015 Valentine's Day is just around the corner and what says love more than multinational retailers pushing their pink heart-shaped products you neither want nor need? Absolutely nothing. That's why between now and Saturday we will all be bombarded with adverts for all the chocolates you can eat (before the cocoa runs out) recipes for two, [...]
Next shareholders to be treated to a £90m special dividend February 5, 2015 Britain’s second biggest retailer Next yesterday announced another special dividend of £90m in order to return surplus cash to shareholders it had originally planned to pay out via a share buyback. The clothing and homewares retailer, which has enjoyed years of stellar growth under chief executive Lord Wolfson’s watch – even overtaking Marks & Spencer [...]
Davos 2015 World Economic Forum: Top execs gather for grand old Duke of York January 22, 2015 It takes a lot to overshadow a quantitative easing programme on the scale of the one announced by the European Central Bank yesterday, but the Duke of York’s private life somehow managed it. Squeezed eight-deep into the Salon Rotary at the Belvedere Hotel, bosses from BP, Citi, Marks & Spencer and Diageo turned up to [...]
Marks & Spencer seeks customer loyalty with digital coffee app trial January 21, 2015 Marks & Spencer's chief executive Marc Bolland knows something about the power of loyalty. In his case it's shareholder (and staff) sticking with him despite three and a half years-worth of consecutive declines in clothing sales. But the business is also awakening to the fact it's quite helpful if your customers are loyal, [...]
Ex-M&S exec Simon Webster to lead Silvertown Quays regeneration in London’s Royal Docks January 18, 2015 Former Sainsbury’s and Marks and Spencer director Simon Webster has been appointed to lead the £3.5bn regeneration of Silvertown Quays in London’s Royal Docks. The Silvertown Partnership, a consortium of developers Chelsfield Properties, First Base and Macquarie Capital, said Webster has joined the team as managing director. He was previously managing director of The Goodman [...]
H&M dresses up warm as strong winter collection boosts its sales January 15, 2015 Hennes & Mauritz, the world’s second-biggest fashion retailer, yesterday reported higher-than-expected sales growth in December, helped by strong collections and colder weather after an unusually mild autumn in Europe. For Sweden-based H&M, it was the ninth consecutive month that the company, which is also benefiting from a recovering North American economy, achieved sales clearly or [...]
Why Marks & Spencer’s investors haven’t all revolted on Marc Bolland (yet) in two charts January 15, 2015 Marks & Spencer's chief executive Marc Bolland has come in for a pounding yet again, after the retailer revealed another set of dismal results last week. Like-for-likes in general merchandise, which includes clothing, fell 5.8 per cent for the 13 weeks to December 27, the 14th consecutive quarter M&S has recorded declines in this division. [...]