Up in smoke: Imperial Brands to put breaks on dividend July 8, 2019 British tobacco giant Imperial Brands is set to abandon its ten per cent dividend growth target as it focuses on catching the vaping market. The news came alongside a £200m share buyback, sending the company soaring on the London exchange. Read more: Puffed – Imperial Brands shares drop on vaping slowdown Shares rose 2.74 per [...]
ii view: Sales retreat at Sainsbury’s July 8, 2019 By Keith Bowman from interactive investor. Tough comparatives have impacted results for this supermarket, but that is no surprise. First quarter trading for 16 weeks to 29 June 2019 Total sales down 1.2 per cent (excluding fuel) Like-for-like sales declined 1.6 per cent (excluding fuel) Grocery sales fell 0.5 per cent General merchandise sales down 3.1 per cent [...]
Superdry taps two top finance bosses after boardroom exodus July 4, 2019 Superdry has appointed two retail finance heavyweights to its board as it looks to restore order after an exodus of board members. The fashion chain has appointed Helen Weir and Alastair Miller as directors, with the appointments set to take effect from 11 July. Read more: Superdry delays results after issuing profit warning Weir was [...]
Hedge funds step up bets against retail landlord New River June 30, 2019 Hedge funds are betting against New River as concerns rise that it could be the latest retail landlord hurt by the industry’s struggles. The short position in the company has increased to 7.35 per cent compared to 5.41 per cent on 1 July last year, according to disclosed positions published by Shorttracker. Read more: New [...]
Sainsbury’s cuts market share decline as Aldi and Lidl soar June 25, 2019 Sainsbury’s has cut short the decline in its market share as discount rivals Aldi and Lidl continue to boost sales. Customer spend at Sainsbury’s dipped 0.6 per cent in the three months to 16 June, an improvement on the 1.2 per cent decline in the previous period following its failed merger with Asda. Read more: [...]
Is honesty the best policy? Why brands should be open about their weaknesses June 24, 2019 Marketing can be complex, with so many sophisticated models, fancy processes, long words, plus various funnels, pyramids, and flow diagrams to help make people look clever. And the growing importance of data has added complexity to the way in which we plan the strategies behind advertising campaigns. But as the legendary ad man Bill Bernbach [...]
Horse Racing Betting Tips: Return to his beloved Ascot can see Sands Of Mali strike June 20, 2019 CHOISIR made history in 2003 when becoming the first horse to win the King’s Stand-Diamond Jubilee double in the same year. It was a remarkable achievement, but 16 years on Blue Point will attempt to repeat the feat in tomorrow’s Diamond Jubilee Stakes (4.20pm). Charlie Appleby’s five-year-old outstayed Battaash to win the King’s Stand for [...]
The high five: your guide to the most valuable start-ups June 13, 2019 It was the year of America’s 200th birthday, of a scorching heat wave in the UK followed by a huge sterling crisis, and it was the year that the only unelected president in US history, Gerald Ford, went down at the polls to the former Governor of Georgia, Jimmy Carter. Less remarked at the time [...]
Watchdog finds no evidence of junk food ads targeted at children after ‘avatar’ sting June 6, 2019 The advertising watchdog has found no evidence of brands deliberately targeting junk food adverts at children online, but has still pledged to stop children from coming across ads for unhealthy food. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) today said it did not identify “any clear evidence” of brands trying to deliver ads for products high in [...]
Matalan boosts revenue despite ‘tough retail climate’ June 3, 2019 Budget fashion brand Matalan boosted profits and revenue last year despite a “tough” retail climate which has seen other retailers forced to launch store closure programmes. The figures Revenue was £1.1bn in the year to 23 February 2019, up from £1.06bn in the previous year driven by a 31 per cent rise in online sales. [...]