Next expected to reveal first profits slip since financial crisis March 19, 2017 High Street retailer Next is expected to post the first fall in its annual profits since the financial crisis this week. The company is likely to announce that pre-tax profits fell to about £792m when Next releases its results for the year to January 2017 on Thursday. This number could range between £785m and £799m [...]
House of Fraser is opening champagne bars in stores and getting rid of clothing brands Episode, Therapy, Grey & Willow and Dickens & Jones March 17, 2017 House of Fraser is attempting to reinvigorate its in-store experience by installing champagne bars and trimming the number of clothing brands it offers. The department store, which has spent £90m on store refurbishments in the past two years, is ridding itself of 30 clothing brands. Read more: House of Fraser CEO Nigel Oddy resigns as Christmas trading [...]
City Moves – who’s switching jobs at Legal & General, Northern Trust and Jackpotjoy March 17, 2017 Today's City Moves cover insurance, wealth management and online bingo. Take a look at these movers and shakers: Legal & General Legal & General has appointed Dharshini David as corporate affairs director. Dharshini will take up the appointment at the end of March and will report to group CEO, Nigel Wilson. She will be responsible [...]
Sterling jumps as Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) votes to leave monetary policy unchanged, but one votes to hike March 16, 2017 A senior policymaker at the Bank of England defied her colleagues to vote to raise interest rates for the first time in over a year, as the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) left monetary policy untouched. Kristin Forbes voted to raise bank rate by 0.25 per cent. Forbes is an external member of the nine-member MPC [...]
Sainsbury’s share price dips after it warns of “uncertain” inflation impact and “competitive” conditions as retail sales decline March 16, 2017 Sainsbury’s reported retail sales excluding fuel fell in the last quarter and said it faced an “uncertain” impact from rising costs and warned the market environment remains competitive. Shares in Sainsbury's dipped as markets opened to lows of 263p, but recovered some of their gains to a loss of around one per cent at the [...]
MPs are demanding an investigation of trading patterns around ONS data March 16, 2017 MPs are demanding the City watchdog probes suspicious market movements around the release of official government statistics. Reports this week have highlighted unusual fluctuations in both foreign exchange and bond markets around the release of economic data, such as that relating to retail sales. One analysis found eight occasions over the last year in which the [...]
Jones Bootmaker administration: Kurt Geiger and Endless eye up struggling shoe brand March 15, 2017 As Jones Bootmaker sits on the brink of administration, upmarket shoe retailer Kurt Geiger and Endless, the turnaround firm that owns Bathstore, are reportedly among suitors poised to swoop in to the 150-year-old firm’s rescue. The two are in discussions with advisers to Jones’ owners about deals that would potentially save hundreds of jobs, Sky News reported. [...]
Retail giant H&M lagging behind competitors as shares drop March 15, 2017 H&M’s shares dropped by nearly 5 per cent, the first downturn of its kind in four years. The figures H&M’s sales decreased 1 per cent year-on-year last month, bringing its shares down 4.5 per cent. This drop is the first of its kind in four years. Fiscal first-quarter sales were up 5.5 per cent from [...]
Bumper payday for Amancio Ortega as profits at Zara parent Inditex jump 10 per cent March 15, 2017 The owner of Zara, Pull & Bear and Massimo Dutti has reported a 10 per cent increase in full year net profit – leaving founder Amancio Ortega, one of the world's richest men, with a bumper €1.3bn (£1.1bn) payout. Profits at Inditex, the world's largest fashion retailer by sales, rose from €2.88bn to €3.16bn in the year [...]
Private equity firm Privet Capital cuddles up with Care Bears maker Vivid Toy Group March 14, 2017 Private equity firm Privet Capital has snapped up a toymaker behind Care Bears, Thunderbirds and Moshi Monsters. Vivid Toy Group sells its products to major retailers across the UK, France, Benelux, Germany and the US, including in Tesco, Argos, Wal-Mart, Toys ‘R’ Us and Amazon. Headquartered in Guildford, the firm also has operations in Paris, Frankfurt and [...]