Online retailer Hut Group set to announce Ideal acquisition September 18, 2016 Online retailer Hut Group is poised to announce the takeover of an American dieting and sports nutrition company. The digital retailer is expected to announce the deal for Ideal Shape in the coming days, Sky News reported. Read more: The Hut Group eyes acquisitions after securing £210m loan Hut Group reported group sales of £334m, [...]
Next and Morrisons: What a difference a year makes September 16, 2016 What a difference a year makes. This time in 2015, shares in clothing retailer Next were up after it reported a jump in sales in its first half. Meanwhile, Morrisons warned of a “long recovery” as it made plans to sell its underperforming M Local stores amid falling sales and profits. Yesterday those fortunes reversed: [...]
US interest rates: Weak data boosts case for another delay from the Fed September 15, 2016 The US has posted another uninspiring set of economic data, suggesting the slowdown in the world's most important economy is set to continue. Official figures on the manufacturing sector, retail sales and factory prices all came in below expectations this afternoon, just days before the US Federal Reserve is scheduled to vote on whether to [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open September 15, 2016 The Bank of England has conformed to market expectations and held its key rate of overnight interest at 0.25 per cent, while Apple can't cook up iPhones fast enough. Here's what you need to know before the US market open at 2:30pm London time. US futures are pointing to a very health rise ahead of [...]
Summer retail spend still strong following the Brexit vote September 15, 2016 Retail sales edged downwards in August following the nation's bumper spending spree in July – but sales were more than six per cent higher than last year, indicating consumers were still happy to spend after the Brexit vote. Excluding fuel, sales fell 0.3 per cent month-on-month in August, but sales were up 6.2 per cent on last year, [...]
John Lewis warns on job losses due to its commitment to staff pay September 15, 2016 The John Lewis Partnership warned this morning that it may be losing staff "over time" due to its paying its employees higher than the government-imposed national living wage. The company committed to paying workers "well above" the new national living wage, but said this had landed it with £33m in extra costs. If the department store had [...]
Next posts a fall in profits in “challenging and volatile” trading environment September 15, 2016 Announcing a fall in profits this morning, Next said that trading since its July sale had been "challenging and volatile". The figures Next's pre-tax profit fell 1.5 per cent to £342.1m, down from £347.1m a year earlier. It was weighed down by profit falls at Next Retail and Next Brand which dropped 16.8 per cent and [...]
Knowingly undersold? John Lewis profits fall 15 per cent – but not because of Brexit September 15, 2016 You know things are bad when the chattering classes stop spending: today John Lewis admitted things had gone downhill in the first half as market conditions worsened. The figures Profit before tax and exceptional items fell 14.7 per cent to £81.9m in the six months to the end of July, despite a 3.1 per cent rise in gross sales, to £5.27bn. Although [...]
Tick, tock: Cartier and Montblanc owner Richemont forecasts 45 per cent profit drop as luxury watch demand falls September 14, 2016 Shares in Richemont, the owner of luxury brands such as Cartier and Montblanc, fell this morning as the company forecast a 45 per cent drop in first-half operating profit on the back of a sales slump and lower demand for watches. The figures In a trading update this morning, the Swiss luxury goods retailer said total sales had fallen 14 [...]
Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct needs a solid gameplan to rise from the ashes September 14, 2016 Sports Direct is back in the news, this time for what should be more positive reasons than their other recent appearances. We have covered how consumer perception of the brand has fallen over the past year as investigations uncovered damaging practices within the organisation. This culminated in owner Mike Ashley’s appearance in front of a select [...]