Microsoft and Meta defend AI spend post DeepSeek shock January 30, 2025 Tech giants Microsoft and Meta both addressed and defended their substantial investments in artificial intelligence (AI), despite recent headwinds. Both firms kicked off the earnings season on Wednesday, just days after Chinese startup DeepSeek broke the internet, as well as the market, on Monday. Its recent global traction followed the release of its new AI [...]
Mulberry: Luxury brand looks to turnaround ‘sub-optimal’ performance January 30, 2025 British luxury plan Mulberry has unveiled a turnaround plan aimed at rescuing the retailer from a period of decline. This comes after its share price has fallen 17 per cent in the last month and more than 30 per cent in the last year. Revenue for the last quarter of the year fell 18.3 per [...]
Grab the popcorn: Retail’s five most dramatic stories this year December 27, 2024 From Boohoo’s boardroom dramas to The Body Shop’s salvation in the nick of time, 2024 has been a big year in retail. City AM counts down its top five retail dramas this year (spoiler alert: Mike Ashley is at the centre of two of them). Asda tumbles down the supermarket charts Asda has faced a [...]
How St James’s Place is changing its opulent image December 9, 2024 St James’s Place is working to overhaul the ‘cruise and cufflink’ image that it has long been saddled with, including dropping its annual conference for advisers at the 20,000-capacity O2 Arena. The wealth manager giant, which will be re-promoted to the FTSE 100 later this month, has dropped the opulent gathering with its 4,852 advisers [...]
How I crafted the perfect recipe for my multimillion-pound biscuit brand December 3, 2024 Building a successful business takes a focussed mind and a steady hand - but can you have both?
Week ahead: Frasers Group and Berkeley results in focus December 2, 2024 Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group and housebuilder Berkeley are among the FTSE 100 firms due to report earnings this week, while investors will also be paying close attention to US jobs data.
Mark Kleinman: Handbags (and more) at dawn for activist Ashley November 21, 2024 Mark Kleinman is Sky News’ City Editor and is the man who gets the Square Mile talking in his weekly City AM column. This week he tackles Mike Ashley’s newfound penchant for activist investing, Homebase’s turnaround and and Burberry’s flip-flopping Handbags (and more) at dawn for activist Ashley Paul Singer, Bill Ackman…and Mike Ashley? On the list [...]
Analysts say Frasers ‘was right’ about Mulberry as it faces long road to recovery November 19, 2024 Analysts have painted a grim picture for the future of British luxury fashion brand Mulberry, which announced its half-year results this morning. It implied job cuts with talk of “streamlining” the business, and told markets that retail sales and revenue dropped 17 per cent and 19 per cent, respectively. Its share price fell 10 per [...]
Are job cuts on the horizon at struggling luxury giant Mulberry? November 19, 2024 Struggling luxury brand Mulberry has announced it will streamline and rebuild the business as its profit continues to fall, signalling possible job cuts. Mulberry told markets this morning that UK retail sales fell by 14 per cent in the six months to September 28. Sales in Asia fell 31 per cent, while group sales overall [...]
Mike Ashley’s Frasers abandons Mulberry bid amid governance concerns October 23, 2024 Frasers Group, led by Mike Ashley, has confirmed it will not pursue a bid for Mulberry, after the iconic British luxury brand rejected its two previous cash offers earlier this month. The first bid, launched on 1 October at £83m, was dismissed by Mulberry as undervaluing the brand. A subsequent offer on 10 October at [...]