This Week: PMIs, Morrisons, Next, US unemployment, Fed, M&S January 4, 2021 City A.M. looks at the first business week of 2021 with Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK. Monday: UK PMIs for December Flash numbers in the middle of December were surprisingly encouraging, with manufacturing rising to 57.3. “No doubt due to some pre-Brexit stockpiling. services also managed to rebound a touch, coming [...]
Sunday Talk: Mark Ridley, CEO of real estate giant Savills January 2, 2021 In a wide-ranging interview, City A.M. discusses fundraising challenges, Brexit and the shift to home working with Mark Ridley, who has been the group CEO of Savills since 2019, the London-based, LSE-listed real estate services giant which had a revenue of £1.93bn in 2019 and currently employs around 40,000 people in the UK and across Europe. The [...]
Loungewear sales up 1,303 per cent as lockdown changes consumer habits December 30, 2020 Loungewear and leggings sales spiked by 1,303 per cent in 2020 according to new data from John Lewis. The department store’s annual look at consumer habits shows lockdown’s impact on customers’ baskets. As well as sitting room fashion, sales of chess sets (a 121 per cent increase on 2019), TVs (45 per cent) and paint [...]
Wonks expect retail to see a brighter 2021 December 30, 2020 Retailers can expect to see sales growth of as much as 3 per cent in 2021, according to a new expert report. Pent-up savings and demand, more confident consumers and a successful vaccine rollout will all bring a boost, says the KPMG/Ipsos Retail Think Tank. Read more: Where did it all go wrong for Topshop? [...]
The Hut Group ramps up growth plans with £300m takeover spree December 29, 2020 The Hut Group has forked out more than £300m to acquire three companies as the online fashion and beauty retailer pursues an aggressive growth plan after its stock market float. The Manchester-based ecommerce group today said it will snap up skincare brand Dermstore from US retail giant Target for $350m (£259m). It has also acquired [...]
Footfall collapses on Boxing Day as retailers count the cost of restrictions December 27, 2020 Retailers across the country saw one of their busiest days of the year end with a whimper rather than a bang as Covid-19 restrictions saw High Street footfall collapse. Across the country, retail footfall fell by 60 per cent, according to market watcher Springboard. Read more: Retailers hope for a digital boost but the end [...]
Brits to splash out £2.7bn across Britain as virtual sales kick off December 26, 2020 Retailers are expected to enjoy a bumper Boxing Day as Brits head to online and physical sales. New data from Barclaycard suggests Brits could spend as much as £2.7bn across the January sales. Read more: Free ports and smart investment are the Brexit prize, says Gove But data from the West End’s leading retailers paints [...]
Bosses beg for help as new Tier 4 restrictions shutter 50,000 businesses December 24, 2020 Some 50,000 more businesses have shut their doors as a result of the latest Tier 4 coronavirus restrictions, causing panic among affected industries. Yesterday afternoon health secretary Matt Hancock announced Tier 4 restrictions would be extended to cover almost all of the South of England from Boxing Day. Tier 4 restrictions are largely the same [...]
Advertising watchdog bans Klarna Instagram ads December 23, 2020 The advertising watchdog has banned several Klarna shopping adverts that appeared on Instagram and encouraged consumers to use Klarna to shop and ‘boost their mood’. The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has banned Klarna’s Instagram campaign from appearing again, and warned the influencers involved to not “irresponsibly” encourage the use of Klarna’s deferred payment service. The [...]
Property developer British Land agrees £401m sale of West End offices December 23, 2020 British Land has agreed the £401m sale of a 75 per cent stake in three buildings in the West End to Allianz Real Estate. The portfolio includes three buildings; 10 Portman Square, Marble Arch House and York House, all of which are in Marylebone. As a result of the sale British Land will form a [...]