Topps Tiles blames political uncertainty for sales slump January 8, 2020 Topps Tiles’ sales sank in the final quarter of last year, which the firm blamed on political and economic uncertainty in the run up to the General Election. Like-for-like retail revenue dropped 5.4 per cent in the 13 weeks to 28 December. Read more: Topps Tiles chief executive quits after 12 years In the first [...]
Millennials drive record Rolls-Royce sales as luxury car firm targets youth January 7, 2020 Rolls-Royce’s high-end, luxury cars may not immediately come to mind as the playthings of the younger generation. But thanks to a concerted push to appeal to younger buyers, the 111-year-old company has managed to bring the average age of its clientele down by 13 years over the last decade to just 43. Read more: Aston [...]
Poundland owner lines up advisors for stock market listing January 7, 2020 The owner of Poundland is reportedly mulling a stock market listing that could value the discount retailer at about £3.4bn. Steinhoff International Holdings, the owner of Poundland’s parent company Pepco Group, is expected to appoint advisors in the next few days to support plans for an initial public offering (IPO), Sky News reported. Read more: [...]
CES 2020: Amazon, Sony and Toyota put mobility centre stage at tech conference January 7, 2020 Amazon signalled a concerted push into the car industry at CES 2020, as it announced a partnership with Lamborghini and other firms working on driverless car tech. It signals the latest move into the mobility sector for one of Silicon Valley’s tech giants, as the internet retailer said it would add its voice assistant Alexa [...]
Hobbs returns to profit as retailer opens new concession stores January 7, 2020 Fashion retailer Hobbs returned to profit last year despite a “challenging retail environment” as the firm ramped up its concession store expansion plan. The womenswear brand reported a profit after tax of £4.9m compared to a loss of £4.8m the previous year when it was hit with costs related to its 2017 sale to TFG [...]
Christmas supermarket sales growth slows to four-year low January 7, 2020 Supermarket sales growth over the Christmas period slowed to the lowest rate in four years as shoppers watched their budgets over the festive period. Retailers reported sales of £29.3bn, up £50m on last year, however growth slumped to the lowest rate since 2015. Read more: Morrisons sales fall in ‘unusually challenging Christmas period’ Year-on-year supermarket [...]
Aston Martin shares fall as it warns annual profit will halve January 7, 2020 Aston Martin today warned annual core profit could halve as European sales weakened over its peak Christmas period. The struggling luxury car manufacturer told investors that annual earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) will sink to between £130m and £140m. Read more: Aston Martin swings to £13.5m loss as it blames ‘soft’ UK [...]
Morrisons sales fall in ‘unusually challenging’ Christmas period January 7, 2020 Supermarket giant Morrisons has announced a drop in sales for the Christmas period amid “unusually challenging” trading conditions and “sustained” customer uncertainty. Group like-for-like sales excluding fuel fell 1.7 per cent for the 22 weeks to 5 January. Including fuel, the drop was 2.8 per cent. Total sales excluding fuel were down 1.3 per cent, [...]
L’Oreal set to be White City highlight after London move January 6, 2020 Hair and beauty behemoth L’Oreal will move its 1,000 London staff into a mammoth new base in White City, near the former BBC headquarters. The French firm, whose UK employees work out of Hammersmith, will move into a new building at the White City Place development in autumn 2023, when its current lease runs out. [...]
Aldi Christmas revenue tops £1bn but growth slows January 6, 2020 German discount retailer Aldi said today that its Christmas sales increased 7.9 per cent year-on-year to break £1bn for the first time. The supermarket chain said its sales in the four weeks ended Christmas eve were driven by strong growth in beers, wines and spirits, its premium Specially Selected range and fresh meat. Total beers, [...]