Morrisons’ woes wipe £2.6bn off supermarkets March 13, 2014 FEARS of a new supermarket price war wiped around £2.6bn off the combined value of Britain’s major grocers yesterday after Morrisons launched a major assault on its discount rivals. Shares in Morrisons plunged 12 per cent – to their lowest level since 2008 – after it revealed it would invest £1bn in slashing prices over [...]
Supermarkets are getting crushed March 13, 2014 Morrisons has plummeted into the red, announcing a £176m pre-tax profit loss, having made a £897m profit a year earlier. The supermarket’s planning a £1bn property selloff over the next three years, in a bid to ameliorate the situation. It’s issued a dire profit warning, too, which has been described this morning on the BBC [...]
Contactless payments rising as TfL and retailers drive adoption March 12, 2014 CONTACTLESS payments on the high street jumped nearly 300 per cent last year, according to figures from Visa yesterday. Visa Europe’s director of contactless Mark Austin said that the 94.3m payments had been spurred by Transport for London’s use of contactless on buses last year and the increasing numbers of retailers installing terminals. Adoption from [...]
John Lewis pays 15pc bonus as sales beat M&S March 6, 2014 JOHN Lewis’s partners will share a reduced bonus pot equal to 15 per cent of the average staff salary as the retailer put more money aside to shore up its huge pension fund. The £202.5m bonus, which was announced to 91,000 John Lewis and Waitrose staff yesterday at stores across the country, is equivalent to [...]
Tesco retreats as Clarke puts the brakes on February 25, 2014 Supermarket pulls out of the space race with plans to slash spending and cut prices TESCO’S chief executive pledged yesterday to put the brakes on its UK expansion and spend £200m slashing prices as Britain’s biggest grocer seeks to revive sales and win back falling market share. Speaking at an investor conference, Philip Clarke laid [...]
M&S launches in The Hague February 19, 2014 MARKS & Spencer will open a flagship store in The Hague today after returning to the Netherlands last year for the first time in more than a decade. The retailer’s Dutch chief executive Marc Bolland said the 4,800 square metre store in the city centre will be its biggest on the continent so far, selling [...]
Here’s why one analyst is getting excited about M&S February 19, 2014 Marks & Spencer shares have jumped this morning after investment bank Jefferies upgraded the stock to reflect the retailer’s new online street cred. M&S, which has been battling to turn around its clothing business in the face of massive competition on the high street and online, has seriously impressed Jefferies with its new “industry-leading” [...]
Bottom Line: Boohoo floats on rising tide as M&S sinks February 17, 2014 BOOHOO.COM’s founders look set to be crying tears of joy this March when the retailer, which specialises in catering to fashionistas, floats on the London stock exchange. For one of its most established competitors, however, it’s another reason to reach for the Kleenex and start sobbing. Marks & Spencer’s clothes division is a once-great national [...]
PwC wins £9m audit contract for Vodafone February 13, 2014 VODAFONE will replace auditor Deloitte after 26 years with rival PwC from April. The FTSE 100 telecoms giant made the announcement following a tender process first announced in November 2013. “We thank Deloitte for their significant contribution as Vodafone’s auditors and we look forward to working with PwC going forward,” said Vodafone audit and risk [...]
Sainsbury’s chief to step down after ten year rule January 29, 2014 SAINSBURY’S chief executive Justin King is to step down after ten years at the helm, having overseen nine years of consecutive growth and restored the company’s status as Britain’s second largest supermarket chain. King will step down at the company’s annual general meeting in July, when he will be replaced by Sainsbury’s commercial director Mike [...]