Blood on the shop floor as warm weather means high street retailers suffer worst Christmas performance since 2008, BDO says January 8, 2016 Retailers hoping for a last minute Christmas sales rush were bitterly disappointed, as figures suggest it was the worst festive period since 2008. According to BDO’s monthly high street sales tracker, retailers suffered a 5.3 per cent drop in year-on-year sales for December – the worst monthly results in seven years. No retail sub-sector survived unscathed. Sales of [...]
Without proper e-commerce investment, Steve Rowe risks making Marks & Spencer fade into obscurity January 8, 2016 Ahead of Christmas, UBS analysts predicted that the retail winners would be those with the strongest online offering. As sales results from the holiday period get reported, the analysts are being proven right, with the most e-commerce and mobile-friendly retailers coming top of the pile in the festive fight. This trend claimed it’s first victim this week, with the [...]
There’s nowhere to hide for Marks & Spencer’s shop-floor boy turned chief executive Steve Rowe January 8, 2016 It was only a matter of time before Marc Bolland left Marks & Spencer, and with his tenure at the retailer nearing six years, many will be asking how he lasted as long as he did. Under Bolland, times have been tough: general merchandise has been in decline for 17 of the past 18 quarters, [...]
Eurozone economic confidence at its highest since 2011 as unemployment edges down January 7, 2016 Consumers and businesses in the Eurozone are feeling more confident on the economy, according to figures released this morning. The European Commission's economic sentiment indicator climbed 0.7 points to a score 0f 106.8 in December – the highest since 2011. Its average since 1990 is 100. Consumer confidence is being helped by a falling unemployment rate, which [...]
Marks & Spencer’s share price climbs as chief executive Marc Bolland leaves and Steve Rowe replaces him as trading slumps again January 7, 2016 Marks & Spencer's share price climbed this morning, after revealing chief executive Marc Bolland is leaving the company after yet another period of poor performance. Bolland will be succeeded by Steve Rowe, executive director of general merchandise. He will remain as chief executive and on the board until 2 April, and will remain "available" to Rowe during the handover [...]
Steve Rowe: Everything you need to know about the man replacing Marc Bolland at Marks & Spencer January 7, 2016 Marc Bolland is out. After months (if not years) of shareholders and analysts calling for him to leave Marks & Spencer, the former Morrisons man is hanging up his hat on 2 April. Bolland is handing over to Steve Rowe, an M&S lifer. But Rowe is relatively unknown to the wider world. Here's what you [...]
Topps Tiles nails start to the year as Britons spruce up their homes January 6, 2016 Topps Tiles enjoyed a jump in sales over the last three months, thanks to improving consumer confidence and a rise people doing up their homes. Like-for-like sales increased by 4.4 per cent in the first 13 weeks of its new financial year to 2 January. That compared with a 5.2 per cent rise in the same [...]
Oculus Rift: March shipping date and price for UK and 20 countries revealed by Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg January 6, 2016 Mark Zuckerberg has revealed Facebook's Oculus will ship its first virtual reality device on 28 March after becoming available for pre-order today. Tech fans will be able to get their hands on the headset in these 20 countries initially: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States. Shops will also stock Oculus from April and the company said it had [...]
ISM PMI: The US economy has lost some traction January 6, 2016 The US economy slowed in December, according to a survey of businesses published today. The Institute for Supply Management's purchasing managers' index dropped to a score of 55.3 for last month from 55.9 in November. Scores above 50 indicate growth, with last month's lower score indicator slower growth. The survey was for the non-manufacturing sectors, which [...]
Card Factory gets new chief executive Karen Hubbard from B&M to replace Richard Hayes January 6, 2016 Card Factory has appointed the current chief executive of bargain retail chain B&M, Karen Hubbard, to fill the shoes of its outgoing boss. Hubbard will take over from Card Factory's chief executive, Richard Hayes, in Mid-April. Hayes is due to leave at the end of June, after a four-month transition period. Hubbard held a number of senior [...]