Online sales soar as Dixons Carphone covers wounds of festive store closures January 20, 2021 British retailer Dixons Carphone has seen sales rocket during Christmas as online growth of 121 per cent balanced out store closures. Like-for-like electrical sales increased 11 per cent over the festive period as shares rose by 2.8 per cent, the group announced on Wednesday. Dixons Carphone, who trade as Currys PC World and Carphone Warehouse [...]
WH Smith expects £20m monthly cash burn as restrictions continue January 20, 2021 WH Smith expects a monthly cash burn of £15m to £20m from January to March 2021, assuming Covid-19 restrictions stay as they are. Trading at the book and stationary chain was ahead of plan toward the end of 2020, so the business had some £340m of available cash and facilities at the end of December [...]
Paperchase secures more time in race to avoid collapse January 19, 2021 High street stationary chain Paperchase has secured more time in its race to avoid collapse, after the retailer was forced to line-up administrators due to the negative impact of coronavirus restrictions on sales. The company has filed a second notice of intention to appoint an administrator, giving the firm an additional ten days to negotiate [...]
More than 700 high street jobs axed as Arcadia closes 31 stores January 19, 2021 Administrators to Sir Philip Green’s collapsed retail empire Arcadia are planning to close a further 31 stores by the end of this month, resulting in more than 700 job losses. The majority of the branches set to close are Outfit stores, which sold a range of Arcadia brands including Dorothy Perkins and Miss Selfridge. City [...]
AO World revenue surges on demand for electrical goods over Christmas January 19, 2021 AO World reported significant revenue growth in the third quarter after strong demand for electrical goods in the run-up to Christmas. The online electrical retailer reported UK revenue growth of 67.2 per cent to £457.3m, while German sales jumped 77.4 per cent to €73.6m. The company, which sells washing machines, fridges, TVs and laptops, has [...]
Superdry woes continue as it flags going concern doubts January 19, 2021 Embattled retailer Superdry has flagged going concern doubts after lockdown took another hit to its revenue. Superdry’s underlying losses before tax widened to £10.6m from £2.3m in the same period the previous year. Superdry’s share price plunged more than 11 per cent to 213.40p this morning. It came as revenue plunged 23.4 per cent to [...]
Home cooking drives ‘exceptional’ year-end for Mr Kipling owner Premier Foods January 19, 2021 Sales at Premier Foods were up nine per cent in the final quarter of 2020, and 12.5 per cent year-on-year, shrugging off pandemic worries. The business, which owns brands Mr Kipling, Bisto and Oxo, saw branded sales up more than 12 per cent this quarter, and 16 per cent year-on-year, driven in part by lockdown [...]
British Land appoints new chief financial officer from Tesco January 19, 2021 London-based retail landlord British Land has made Bhavesh Mistry its new chief financial officer. Mistry is expected to join British Land no later than 1 August 2021. Until he joins David Walker will continue in his role as interim CFO. The incoming CFO is currently deputy chief financial officer at Tesco, a position has had [...]
Hotel Chocolat celebrates sweet six months despite Covid-19 January 19, 2021 Hotel Chocolat has defied pandemic challenges and boosted its revenue in the 26-week period ending 27 December. Total group revenue for the period increased 11 per cent year-on-year, as the group pivoted to online sales to offset the impact of pandemic restrictions. The end of the year was particularly tasty for the chocolate retailer, with [...]
Matalan ‘very cautious’ over impact of latest lockdown as Christmas sales drop January 18, 2021 Budget fashion retailer Matalan warned that it is “very cautious” about the coming months due to the ongoing impact of coronavirus, as it announced a drop in sales over the crucial Christmas trading period. In the five weeks to 2 January, total UK revenue was £119.2m, down from £134.3m in the previous year, as the [...]