Reiss to ramp up expansion overseas after doubling full-year profits October 19, 2015 Family-owned fashion retailer Reiss has said it plans to ramp up expansion overseas next year by adding 40 new stores, after it revealed record sales and profits. The upmarket high street brand, a favourite with royals and celebrities including the Duchess of Cambridge and Olivia Palermo, said strong growth through its website and existing stores help drive a [...]
UK grocery sector shows green shoots of recovery as distress levels fall October 19, 2015 Britain’s supermarket sector is showing signs of recovery, according to new research from Begbies Traynor that reveals the number of companies struggling to stay afloat declined for the first time in over two years. The business recovery specialist’s latest Red Flag Alert research, which monitors the health of UK companies, shows levels of “significant” financial [...]
UK footfall recovers in September but high streets lose out to retail parks October 19, 2015 Retailers enjoyed more visitors through their doors in September, boosted by the onset of the colder autumn weather and the August bank holiday falling into last month’s survey period. Footfall was almost flat on September last year, down by just 0.2 per cent, figures released today by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and retail analysts Springboard [...]
Retail website StreetHub reveals $2.6m funding round led by Octopus Ventures October 19, 2015 StreetHub, a network of independent retailers, has announced a $2.6m (£1.7m) funding round, led by Octopus Ventures. The group also received investments from Index Ventures, which has stakes in online retailers Asos, Farfetch and Net-a-Porter, among others, as well as a number of other angel investors. The new funding round coincides with the launch of [...]
Public finance numbers could be back on track – London Report October 18, 2015 THE LATEST public finance figures, due out on Wednesday, are expected to have seen renewed year-on-year improvement in September after a particularly disappointing August. An improved September performance would help get the public finances back on track to reach George Osborne’s targets after taking a hit the previous month. Economists expect public sector net borrowing [...]
Hamleys poised to be sold to a relative of House of Fraser’s Chinese billionaire owner October 18, 2015 A Chinese investor is said to be closing in on a deal to buy the UK’s most famous toy store Hamleys in the coming weeks. Ludendo, the French family-owned toy group, is in advanced talks to sell the chain to a Hong Kong company run by a relative of Yuan Yafei, the billionaire owner House [...]
FTSE led higher by Hargreaves and Arm results – London Report October 16, 2015 THE FTSE 100 closed higher yesterday after three consecutive sessions of closing down, as investors concentrated on company earnings. The FTSE closed 1.1 per cent up, at 6,338.67 points, led by gains in Arm and Hargreaves Lansdown. Arm, the semiconductor and software design company, ended 4.78 per cent up on the back of strong results [...]
H&M sales rise by 12 per cent in first three weeks of September after weather hit August numbers October 15, 2015 Swedish clothing retailer Hennes and Mauritz (H&M) yesterday reported an 11 per cent jump in sales in September compared with the same month last year. The world’s second-biggest fashion retailer said sales in the first 22 days of September rose 12 per cent, as the weather in many of its large European markets returned to [...]
At the close: FTSE 100 led higher by strong company earnings reports October 15, 2015 The FTSE 100 closed higher today after three consecutive sessions of closing down, as investors concentrated on company earnings. The FTSE closed 1.10 per cent up, at 6,338.67 points, led by gains in ARM and Harvgreaves Lansdown. ARM, the semiconductor and software design company, ended 4.78 per cent up on the back of strong results from Taiwanese [...]
Console owners help drive profit jump at Game Digital October 15, 2015 GAME Digital said a rapidly growing population of Xbox One and PlayStation 4 console owners helped the video games retailer post forecast beating full-year profits. Demand for the latest generation of consoles has cooled and their average selling price has dropped since their initial launch two years ago. But a strong performance in accessories, new [...]