What the other papers say this morning – 02 May 2014 May 1, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Ebay settles DoJ ‘no poach’ probe Ebay is the latest Silicon Valley company to settle with US authorities over allegations it struck illegal agreements with rivals to not hire their employees. The ecommerce company will pay California $3.75m, some of which will go to compensating employees affected by a so-called “no poach” agreement [...]
Fat Face unveils London listing to pay off debt May 1, 2014 FAMILY friendly retailer Fat Face yesterday became the latest private equity-backed retailer to tee up a listing on the London stock market, after announcing plans to raise £110m to cut debt. The business, which has about 200 stores across the UK, will offer shares to City fund managers after private equity backer Bridgepoint moved to [...]
Marks & Spencer recruits Silicon Roundabout entrepreneurs for new website May 1, 2014 MARKS & Spencer has been recruiting Silicon roundabout’s finest to help develop its new website and to help lure the 19m customers a year who shop in its stores but do not use its website. The 130 year-old high street retailer broke away from its technology supplier Amazon and launched its own custom-built £150m [...]
Property firms circle Lend Lease’s £550m Bluewater stake April 28, 2014 Some of the UK property industry’s biggest players are circling Lendlease’s £550m cent stake in Bluewater shopping centre in what could become a heated battle for the prized site. British Land, Land Securities, Hammerson, Westfield, Intu and M&G Real Estate are reported to have all lodged initial expression of interest in the Kent shopping centre, [...]
Primark set to launch its first stores in the US April 23, 2014 ASSOCIATED British Foods (ABF) is taking Primark to the US, the FTSE 100 conglomerate announced yesterday, as it reported a 26 per cent leap in the budget clothing chain’s profits. Primark is set to open a 70,000 square foot store in Boston in 2015 and it is also in talks to open a further eight [...]
SSP wins £35m Athens airport contract April 23, 2014 SSP, the food services group run by former WH Smith chief executive Kate Swann, has won a seven-year contract worth €42m (£34.6m) to run nine outlets at Athens’ international airport Eleftherios Venizelos. The restaurants inside a 500 square metre food court opened last month and include Le Grand Comptoir and bakery brand Panopolis. The group, [...]
Retail successes and failures in the US April 23, 2014 Primark is making its first foray into the US, which has in the past proved to be a tough market to crack and one often described as the graveyard of UK retailers. However alongside a number of failures there have been several success stories. BurberryBurberry has proved to be one of the biggest British retail [...]
Signs of life at Marks and Spencer April 10, 2014 M&S showed new signs of life yesterday after reporting sales of its womenswear clothing collection have risen over the past three months, helped by Annie Lennox as part of its star-studded Leading Ladies marketing campaign. It was the company’s best performance in three years. Homeware still remained a thorn in the group’s side, dragging overall [...]
Discounts weigh on M&S despite rise in clothing April 10, 2014 MARKS & Spencer’s revamped womenswear collection, which has been fronted by stars including Dame Helen Mirren, showed signs of recovery in the fourth quarter despite overall general merchandise sales falling for an 11th consecutive quarter. The high street giant yesterday split clothing sales from other non-food sales for the first time, revealing a 0.6 per [...]
Bottom Line: Bolland must use his breathing space wisely April 10, 2014 MARKS & Spencer’s boss Marc Bolland usually looks pretty pleased with himself, but yesterday his proud smile was somewhat justified. By posting the retailer’s best clothing performance in three years – based on an improvement in its crucial womenswear lines – Bolland has proved the critics wrong, pulling something that looks like the start of [...]