Reflections on the Philip Green saga August 16, 2010 MY first contact with Sir Philip Green came around two decades ago when he was running a small public company called Amber Day. I had written a two paragraph story for the Independent newspaper which provoked the retailing tycoon to scream down the phone at me the following day. “I cut out your article out [...]
ALEXON SIGNS UP ANIMAL BOSS August 12, 2010 WOMENSWEAR group Alexon has appointed the former chief executive of lifestyle brand Animal, Kevin Keaney (above), to the newly created post of commercial director. Animal has appointed Doug Goodwin as chief executive to replace Keaney. Keaney spent three years at Animal before which he worked for a number of retailers including Marks & Spencer and [...]
M&S hires new finance boss to help Bolland’s revolution August 3, 2010 MARKS and Spencer has hired former WH Smith executive Alan Stewart to help new chief Marc Bolland ring the changes at the company. Stewart, 50, who has held a series of senior posts at public companies, will join the retailer in October. He will be the right hand man to Bolland, who joined in May [...]
Boots buys up Turkish drug wholesaler July 25, 2010 ALLIANCE Boots will prepare for a major push into Africa and the Middle East with the purchase of one of Turkey’s biggest drug wholesalers. Alliance Boots will take full control of Hedef Alliance in a deal thought to value the Turkish company at more than £600m. Boots already owns a 50 per cent stake in [...]
Heard it through the grapevine: Levis popular July 20, 2010 A new YouGov SixthSense report into high street fashion reveals that Levis is still in demand despite a high ownership rate amongst UK consumers. The report, which investigates public perceptions of 35 prominent high street brands, also brings into question the consumer-appeal of high-end brands such as Vivienne Westwood. Despite the fact that one in [...]
International Power in GDF merger talks July 19, 2010 BRITISH energy firm International Power (IP) confirmed it had revived merger talks with GDF Energy yesterday, sending its share price soaring. The companies have restarted long-running talks over France’s GDF buying up new shares in IP. Previous talks collapsed in January after the firms failed to agree terms. GDF, already one of the world’s largest [...]
M&S defends £15m pay deal for new boss July 14, 2010 SIR STUART ROSE, the outgoing executive chairman of Marks & Spencer (M&S), along with the British retailer’s board faced investor revolt yesterday over the pay package handed to incoming chief executive Marc Bolland. With some shareholders calling his £15m deal “obscene” at its annual meeting, senior executives were left defending Bolland’s pay. Rose, who faced [...]
Our nation of shoppers is not about to quit the habit yet July 14, 2010 SINCE the onset of the recession, the pressure has increased to turn the UK economy into a manufacturing centre of excellence and at the same time become a nation of savers. But has the nation really turned its back on its former favourite pastime, shopping? Well, the hard data would suggest no. According to the [...]
Northern Foods revenues slide July 13, 2010 Food manufacturer Northern Foods said sales fell in the first quarter of its fiscal year, reflecting its decision to pull out of low margin contracts. The company, which makes own-label products for retailers as diverse as premium food seller Marks & Spencer and discounter Aldi, said yesterday comparable sales were down 1.6 per cent in [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS July 8, 2010 PROVIDENT FINANCIAL Numis has issued a “buy” recommendation for Provident Financial and with the interim results coming up it details what it expects from the two core divisions: consumer credit and Vanquis. Overall, despite the current tough market conditions, Numis said it expects the group interim profits to be broadly flat. TOTAL UBS has raised [...]