Christmas adverts: John Lewis, Sainsburys, Burberry & Marks and Spencer beaten by Universal for most shared festive ad of all time November 2, 2015 It's that time of year already. John Lewis is poised to unveil its Christmas advert on Friday (8am if you're really keen) and once again will be launching in on social media first, followed by a grand pushing out to TV audiences at the weekend. It has become an iconic start to the festive period, [...]
Bank’s super Thursday could cause fireworks – London Report November 1, 2015 HSBC was this morning the latest UK bank to report results, with Standard Chartered rounding off third quarter earnings season tomorrow. There are concerns the emerging market focused Standard Chartered will have taken a hit over the past three months due to the slowing economy in China and fears surrounding emerging market growth. The bank’s [...]
British Gas customer login data leaked in third personal data incident in a week after TalkTalk cyber attack and Marks & Spencer technical glitch October 29, 2015 The account details of as many as 2,000 customers of British Gas have been leaked online, in the third high-profile personal data leak in less than a week. Email addresses and passwords to login to British Gas accounts were posted on the text upload website Pastebin, but the company believes the information leak was not as a result of [...]
John Lewis’ Monty the Penguin beats Sainsbury’s, Harvey Nichols, Lidl to be crowned most compelling Christmas 2014 advert October 29, 2015 By now you will have met John Lewis' Monty, unwrapped Lidl's little present and cried over Sainsbury's wartime sharing. But which of these adverts is most likely to make you spend money? Despite the debate around whether Sainsbury's might have stolen John Lewis' crown for creating festive ads guaranteed to get you blubbing, it [...]
Marks & Spencer website leaks customer details – but retailer insists it’s a “technical issue”, not a hacking October 28, 2015 Marks & Spencer was forced to suspend its website last night for two hours after it emerged that customers could see other people's details when they were logged in. Customers were able to see order histories, personal addresses and a number of other details belonging to other account holders when they logged in to register [...]
Next ups full year profit guidance after strong third quarter as it pays out 60 pence per share dividend October 28, 2015 High street retailer Next has raised its guidance for full year profit after another strong quarter. The figures Next's retail arm grew sales 5.9 per cent in the 13 weeks to 28 October, while its directory division grew by 6.2 per cent, giving the group as a whole a six per cent increase in sales. [...]
In the market for disruption: SapientNitro chief executive Nigel Vaz on consumer expectations October 25, 2015 Most disruptive companies have certain characteristics in common. They adapt constantly to stay ahead of the curve, they are dedicated to digital and deliver excellent customer service. Nigel Vaz, global chief strategy officer and European chief executive of SapientNitro, likens such businesses to gryphons – mythical hybrids with the wings of an eagle and the [...]
Sugar tax debate: Sainsbury’s ready meal contains more sugar than a can of Coca Cola, reveals Public Health England October 25, 2015 Who says you can't have too much of a good thing? Well, some supermarket ready meals contain almost twice as much sugar as those often-vilified cans of fizzy drinks. Sainsbury's crispy sweet and sour chicken, is the worst offender, with 61.2g of sugar in a 400g serving, which is the equivalent to almost 13 teaspoons. [...]
Black Friday 2015 UK date and deals: The best offers to expect on 27 November, plus who were the winners and losers from last year October 14, 2015 Black Friday is less than seven weeks away – it falls on 27 November this year – and already consumer sites are full of predictions for which deals we'll be falling over ourselves (and other people) to pick up in 2015. We spent £810m last year, with John Lewis celebrating its biggest sales week of [...]
EU referendum: Lord Stuart Rose launches Britain Stronger in Europe “In” campaign October 12, 2015 The campaign for the UK to remain in the EU, Britain Stronger in Europe, has launched this morning at an event in east London. Business figures took a leading role in this morning's event, which included a campaign video featuring Easyjet chief executive Carolyn McCall saying, "Everything is easier because of Europe." Led by former Marks & Spencer [...]