Sofa chain DFS hails bumper half-year profits March 23, 2016 Shoppers are in the market for a new sofa and they are coming to buy them at DFS, according the furniture chain which posted a jump in first half profits. The company, which trades under its eponymous brand as well as Sofa Workshop and Dwell, said it made a pre-tax profit of £16.2m in the six [...]
Kingfisher share price up after chief executive says company is “very confident” it can deliver five-year plan March 23, 2016 Kingfisher's share price rose by more than three per cent this morning after the DIY giant said its five-year plan was on track. The figures The company, which owns B&Q and Screwfix, reported adjusted sales of £10.3bn. This was down from £10.6bn in the year to 31 January 2015. But it reported small increases in [...]
Game Digital share price drops after 77.3 per cent dividend slash and pre-tax profit fall March 23, 2016 Video game retailer Game Digital's share price dropped almost nine per cent after it released its half-year results and announced a 77.3 per cent cut in its interim dividend. The figures Game Digital's pre-tax profit in the half year to January fell 32 per cent to £22.5m. Revenue was down six per cent to £549.2m and the company [...]
Sports Direct’s share price flops after founder Mike Ashley admits the company is “in trouble” and blames MPs for a storm of negative publicity March 22, 2016 The share price of controversial sportswear retailer Sports Direct has tumbled after billionaire boss Mike Ashley admitted in a rare interview the company is "in trouble", and "not trading very well". Speaking to The Times, Ashley blamed MPs for creating a storm of negativity around the retailer, and accused them of “abuse of parliamentary process” by requesting he attend [...]
Ding’s Mark Roden talks Dubai, Elon Musk and the importance of sticking to what you know with Harriet Green March 21, 2016 While on what was supposed to be a relaxing family holiday to Dubai in 2005, Mark Roden was cooking up a business. “I’d taken my wife Nicola and our then three under three away to celebrate the sale of my previous business to RBS.” Roden owned a successful network of in-store cash ATMs, which he had [...]
Halfords and N Brown share price drops after UBS downgrade, blaming Brexit, Amazon and currency woes March 21, 2016 Shares in Halfords and N Brown have dropped sharply today after analysts at UBS slashed their ratings for both retailers in a bearish note on the sector. The Swiss bank's research arm, UBS Evidence Lab, has warned of on a whole shopping basket of challenges facing retailers this year, including short-term uncertainty over Brexit, wage inflation, currency and the increasing dominance of Amazon. [...]
Tesco’s share price rises as supermarket takes fight to the discounters with launch of seven value own-label ranges March 21, 2016 Tesco has added fuel to the supermarket price war after launching a range of entry level own-label brands that will challenge the discounters on price. The retailer's share climbed by more than one per cent this morning after it said it will sell around 80 fresh, meat and poultry products under seven new "Farms" brands which, in many cases, will either match or [...]
Ian Kellett to take over from Nick Wood as chief executive of Pets at Home March 21, 2016 Ian Kellett will take over from current chief executive Nick Wood at Pets at Home on 4 April, the UK's largest pet foods and accessories retailer announced today. Wood will stay at the company in an advisory role until 1 July during the transition. Kellett has been a member of the Pets at Home board for [...]
Sainsbury’s confirms bid for Argos parent Home Retail Group as Steinhoff walks away to buy Darty March 18, 2016 Sainsbury’s has confirmed a final offer for Home Retail Group, which will value the parent of Argos at £1.4bn, after rival suitor Steinhoff backed away this afternoon. The supermarket’s bid is a combined shares and cash offer, of 0.321 new Sainsbury’s shares per HRG share and 55p a share in cash. In addition, shareholders will receive [...]
Back on the (turn)table – Sainsbury’s to start selling vinyl records from March 21 March 18, 2016 In a blast from the past Sainsbury's will soon start selling vinyl records again for the first time since the 1980s. Responding for booming demand for vinyl, which grew by over 60 per cent in 2015 and 70 per cent in the first quarter of 2016, from 21 March a mix of 18 contemporary and classic [...]