Ocado to make $300m in acquisitions as digital grocer bumps forecasts November 2, 2020 Digital grocer Ocado has announced two acquisitions worth nearly $300m (£232m) and bumped up its full year earnings forecast, it announced this morning. The retail darling said that it had continued to see strong sales growth during the third quarter as people stuck to digital shopping amid to the coronavirus pandemic. Shares in Ocado rose [...]
Weekly outlook, 2-6 November: FTSE heavyweights in spotlight as election day arrives November 2, 2020 It’s election day at last, and while the outcome of Tuesday’s vote in the US will drive the headlines for much of this week and beyond, there’s still a full slate of results and economic updates in store for UK markets. With coronavirus cases now surging at an alarming rate, Boris Johnson has announced a [...]
Post Office to axe 600 cash machines October 26, 2020 The Post Office will cut 600 of its free to use cash machines after a decision to take the assets in-house. Over the next four years, the Post Office will invest £16m into 1,400 ATMs across its estate. At the moment, there are 2,000 cash machines at its branches, but these are owned and operated [...]
Marks & Spencer ramps up online capacity ahead of ‘most digital Christmas yet’ October 26, 2020 Marks & Spencer is ramping up its online delivery capacity in the run up to what it said will be “the most digital Christmas yet”. M&S, which said festive-related searches are up 80 per cent on last year, will add more than 500 Christmas temporary employees. The new seasonal workers will be employed in addition [...]
Asos sounds cautious note on future demand after profit quadruples October 14, 2020 Asos reported a quadrupling in full-year profit following a spike in online shopping during the coronavirus pandemic, but warned on the outlook for consumer spending among its young customer base. The fashion ecommerce giant reported profit before tax of £142.1m for the year to 31 August, up from £33.1m the year before. Read more: Asos [...]
Ocado sales surge on new M&S deal amid online shopping shift October 13, 2020 Ocado added thousands of new customers following the launch of its partnership with Marks & Spencer amid a sustained rise in the number of consumers choosing to shop online. In the 12 weeks to 4 October, Ocado increased sales by 41.9 per cent as the ecommerce retailer was buoyed by its new deal with M&S [...]
Retail body accuses government on inaction on garment worker abuse October 11, 2020 The trade body for the UK retail sector has said that the government has carried out no “significant action” to protect textile workers from exploitaiton. In a letter to home secretary Priti Patel, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said: “Despite numerous reports in the media, and a previous letter to the home secretary signed by [...]
Ocado sued by Norwegian tech firm over alleged patent infringement October 1, 2020 Shares in online supermarket Ocado dipped this afternoon after Norwegian tech firm Autostore announced it is suing the firm for alleged patent infringement. Ocado’s share price fell more than five per cent after Autostore said it had filed lawsuits in the UK and the US to prevent the FTSE 100 firm using retail storage and [...]
Eat Out to Help Out wipes £155m off supermarket sales September 15, 2020 The government’s Eat Out to Help Out discount scheme saw £155m knocked off supermarket sales last month as consumers ate fewer meals at home. Brits spent less at supermarkets in the four weeks to 6 September compared to July as the discount scheme encouraged people to venture out to restaurants and cafes. Alcohol supermarket sales [...]
Share and share alike: electronically? August 28, 2020 Where – if you’re lucky enough to own shares – do you store the paperwork? A drawer? The attic? Share certificates – possessed by millions of Britons – and dividend cheques seem on a path becoming obsolete. A trend towards digital delivery of shareholder-related communications means that the era of private investors filing away their [...]