Marks & Spencer’s clothing sales through Alibaba soar in China September 21, 2014 Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce giant which could hold the title of having the world’s biggest ever initial public offering after raising $21.8bn on Friday, has helped to boost Marks & Spencer’s (M&S) online clothing sales in China. The head of M&S’s overseas internet business, Ricky Wilson, said on Saturday that M&S is now the fastest [...]
Marks & Spencer opens across Finland and Norway as part of European expansion September 17, 2014 Marks and Spencer is set to open its first shop in Scandanavia next month as it marches ahead with its European expansion. The high street retailer said yesterday it will open 15 franchise stores across Finland and Norway, with the first shop set to open in Helsinki next month. The 32,000 square feet store will [...]
Britain’s biggest companies call on Westminster for fundamental business rates reform September 16, 2014 Some of Britain's biggest businesses including Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury's, Tesco, General Motors and Tata Steel have called on the government to rip up the current business rate regime claiming the current system is “a critical problem for all of British business”. The controversial tax delivers around £25bn to the Treasury every year, but [...]
The financial A to Z of Scottish independence – CNBC Comment September 15, 2014 A new, independent Scotland might flummox a foreign visitor. So it’s lucky this financial A to Z has turned up – even if some say it’s a parody of the Better Together campaign. A: Alex – Scotland’s official unit of currency, though largely superseded by an informal bartering system, where one barrel of oil [...]
And the nominees are… September 7, 2014 TOMORROW: ACCOUNTANCY FIRM OF THE YEAR ALDI The German discounter has taken the British high street by storm. Aldi now has a 4.6 per cent share of the UK market, up more than one third in a year due to consumers choosing its quality and low prices over the more established retailers. It has even [...]
Queens Park Rangers’ £6bn west London revamp to create homes, jobs and a new stadium September 3, 2014 A vast area of west London looks set to undergo a massive regeneration programme that could see 24,000 homes being built and 55,000 new jobs created. Hundreds of acres of brownfield around Old Oak Common, near the site of Wormwood Scrubs prison, could be transformed as a result. The £6.2bn plan is being spearheaded by [...]
How to make the most of weekends August 18, 2014 Highly successful people seek inspiration, think long term and don’t waste the last 15 hours. It's tempting to imagine that successful businesspeople see the weekend as an extension of the working week – a time for catching up on emails, reading market reports and troubleshooting process documents. Not so, according to time management expert [...]
SSP share price rises as travel giant delivers jump in sales following IPO August 8, 2014 Food concessions giant SSP posted a 3.5 per cent rise in quarterly sales yesterday in its first set of results since floating last month. The group, which owns Upper Crust and also runs travel outlets for retailers such as Marks & Spencer and Starbucks, said like-for-like sales rose by 3.3 per cent in the three [...]
Rio Tinto chair Du Plessis to join SABMiller August 6, 2014 RIO TINTO’S chairman Jan du Plessis is set to take up the same role at brewing giant SABMiller next year, sparking criticism that he will not have time to fulfil his duties at the helm of both FTSE 100 firms. The mining giant said yesterday that Du Plessis would join the board of SABMiller from [...]
Next profits to speed ahead of M&S yet again July 29, 2014 CLOTHING chain Next yesterday hiked its full-year profit forecasts for the second time in three months after another strong quarter, placing it further in the lead against rival Marks & Spencer. The retailer, which has 700 stores in the UK and overseas, raised its pre-tax profit guidance for this year by £25m to between £775m [...]