Weird Christmas? Retail sales fell in December – as clothing sales were hit by warm weather January 22, 2016 Either people finished their Christmas shopping early this year, or they had a decidedly miserly Christmas. Official figures have shown retail sales actually fell by one per cent between November and December. But the figures, by the Office for National Statistics, showed sales rose 2.6 per cent compared with the year before, while online sales rose 8.2 per cent. [...]
Land Securities bucks the trend as customers flock to its shopping centres January 21, 2016 Land Securities said visitors to its shopping centres hit record levels in the third quarter, after a change in its strategy to focus on better quality properties paid off. The listed property giant, which owns Bluewater shopping centre in Kent as well as Trinity in Leeds, said footfall rose by 1.7 per cent in the [...]
Shoe giant Brantano enters administration, putting 2,000 jobs at risk January 21, 2016 Shoe giant Brantano has entered administration, with around 2,000 British jobs at risk – the first retailer casualty of the year. Tony Barrell, Mike Jervis and Rob Hunt of PwC were appointed joint administrators of the 140-store company. Staff at the business, which is headquartered in Leicester, will be paid any wages in arrears, and will continue [...]
Halfords’ share price jumps as company cuts costs to keep profit on track January 21, 2016 Halfords's share price jumped this morning after the group cut back expected costs in its retail arm, enabling it to keep its profit guidance unchanged following muted third quarter sales. The figures Total revenues for the 15 weeks to 15 January were up 0.4 per cent across the group, but for its retail division sales actually fell 0.3 per [...]
Pets at Home share price jumps as it shakes off flea problem January 20, 2016 Pets at Home shares have risen by five per cent in early morning trading as the retailer put a bad flea season behind it and expanded with seven new superstores across the UK. The FTSE 250 pet products and services retailer said like-for-like sales rose by 2.2 per cent in the third quarter to 31 [...]
The tradition of Christmas shopping on the high street could be about to come to an end January 20, 2016 We’ve come to that time in the New Year when retailers and investors alike look back on the data accumulated by shops throughout the Christmas season. Next was the first retailer to release the data and it wasn’t great news – either for them or for other high street retailers, as we had disappointing updates from everyone from [...]
WH Smith’s share price climbs after stationer ups profit guidance after strong Christmas sales – and yes, we’re still buying colouring-in books January 20, 2016 WH Smith's share price rose this morning, after the stationer said it expects full-year profits to be ahead of expectations, after the group recorded solid growth – with adult colouring-in books once again receiving credit for driving sales. The figures Total sales for the 20 weeks to 16 January across the group rose four per cent, [...]
Paws for thought as Pets at Home customers go crazy for posh dogfood January 20, 2016 Pets at Home has posted strong sales growth in its third quarter – thanks, in part, to a craze for "advanced nutrition" for their pets. Only the best for little Fido… The numbers The retailer posted like-for-like sales growth of 2.2 per cent in the 12 weeks to 1 January, with 1.7 per cent growth in merchandise, which was [...]
Every little helps Tesco take on German disruptors January 20, 2016 It seems the Big Four supermarkets are fighting back against German disruptors Aldi and Lidl, with big beast Tesco reporting better-than-expected figures for the Christmas period. Despite gloomy City forecasts, the news saw Tesco shares spike as optimism returned for the future of the embattled retailer with the turnaround being spurred by lower prices on some [...]
Britons’ thirst for prosecco gets sales fizzing at Virgin Wines January 19, 2016 Virgin Wines has posted its strongest Christmas on record after sales of prosecco bubbled over to replace champagne as the fizz of choice over Christmas and New Year. The online wine retailer said it sold 51,000 bottles of prosecco in December alone compared with 38,000 in 2014, which was five times the number of champagne [...]