RBS sells chunk of Charter One ahead of exit from US banking January 7, 2014 RBS QUIT retail banking in and around Chicago yesterday, selling 94 Charter One branches to US Bancorp. The British lender is planning a wider exit from the US, aiming to float its American bank Citizens, which includes Charter One, later this year. It bought into Charter One a decade ago, and is now partly reversing that [...]
Topps Tiles’ fortunes follow housing market January 7, 2014 Topps Tiles, the UK's largest tile and wood floorings specialist, saw a 9.3 per cent jump in like-for-like revenues over the run up to Christmas – in the 13 weeks ending 28 December. For a company that helps people refurbish their homes, how well Topps does is closely linked to the housing market (people do [...]
Marks & Spencer hit by analyst downgrades to profit forecasts January 6, 2014 MARKS & Spencer was dealt a further blow after two city brokers slashed their full-year profit forecasts for the embattled retailer, sending shares lower yesterday. Analysts at house broker Citigroup cut their full-year profit forecast by £10m to £630m after a gloomy trading statement from rival Debenhams last week, and amid fears of heavy discounting [...]
Bottom Line: Bicester faces stiff competition as London bares its retail teeth January 6, 2014 UNTIL recently, “designer outlet” was usually preceded by three very specific words – out of town. The UK’s biggest designer outlet, Bicester Village, is officially billed by owner Value Retail as being its London village. In fact, it’s a 63 mile drive – or hour-long train journey – from central London, nestled in a market town [...]
Net-a-Porter losses narrow as plans pay off January 6, 2014 NET-A-Porter, the luxury online retailer, said it narrowed its losses by around £4m last year as its investment in growing its presence overseas began to pay off. The group, which is owned by Swiss luxury conglomerate Richemont, made a loss before tax of £23.2m in the year to 31 March 2013. That compares with a [...]
Lush Cosmetics bucks high street Christmas gloom with sales rise January 6, 2014 LUSH Cosmetics, the retailer famed for its bath bombs and other strong smelling soaps, bucked the gloom on the high street this Christmas to post a 13.4 per cent rise in sales. The Dorset-based firm said its 106 UK stores raked in £20m of sales during the five weeks up to 29 December, with sales [...]
Best of the Brokers for 7 January 2014 January 6, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com JD SPORTS FASHION N+1 Singer has chosen the sports retailer as one of its 2014 top picks, giving the company a buy rating and a target of 1,700p. The broker thinks the firm could expand in Europe, and has faith the new management [...]
Lonely Christmas for traditional retail as web dominates January 6, 2014 BRITAIN’S bricks-and-mortar retailers have had another disappointing Christmas, with in-store sales failing to match inflation and online spending making up more than half of seasonal boost in spending. Compared to 2012’s Christmas period, consumption only rose by 1.2 per cent in physical retail stores, Barclaycard revealed this weekend. Despite a slight improvement, the increase was [...]
M&S sales lose their shine after poor Christmas January 6, 2014 MARKS & Spencer is set to report poor festive trading this week as heavy discounting activity in the run-up to Christmas failed to spark a late surge in spending. Analysts predict the retailer will report a drop in third quarter general merchandise sales of as much as 1.5 per cent, despite a highly publicised revamp [...]
Bottom Line: From wardrobe staple to the bargain bin January 6, 2014 AS WE wait for the Marks and Spencer Christmas trading figures later this week, expectations are that its fashion sales won’t show much sign of festive cheer. If so, it needs to start the new year with a long, hard look in the mirror. It is true that general conditions won’t have helped: figures from [...]