Amazon Fresh has got plenty to chew over for its UK launch: It could be competing not only with other grocers, but takeaways too October 9, 2015 Surely nobody can be surprised that Amazon has arrived on the UK online grocery scene for a slice of the action: it’s a rapidly growing market. Online grocery sales are increasing at a healthy rate of 14 per cent each year – compared to a near zero per cent growth rate elsewhere in grocery – and [...]
Nightmare before Halloween? UK retailers are facing a pumpkin shortage October 9, 2015 Forget things that go bump in the night – this Halloween, retailers could face a real nightmare: a massive pumpkin shortage, with early signs suggesting wet weather could squash the hopes of thousands of British shoppers in the run-up to Halloween. An estimated 10m pumpkins are grown in the UK every year. And Sainsbury’s said it expects customers to buy almost 1.5 million pumpkins, with just [...]
Moody’s to Tesco: Sales and profit performance must improve if you want to retain your credit rating October 9, 2015 Moody's has said Tesco will need to "improve substantially" in the second half of this year if it is to meet its target operating profit of £940m. The embattled retailer this week released its first half results, recording a 55 per cent drop in group operating profit. Tesco also notched up a 1.1 per cent drop in UK [...]
Lloyds share sale: More than 120,000 investors clamour for £2bn retail shares through Hargreaves Lansdown alone as Treasury reduces stake October 9, 2015 Demand for Lloyds Banking Group shares among individual investors is expected to dwarf that of Royal Mail's sell-off. Earlier this week, the government revealed plans for a £2bn retail sell off of shares, offering investors a discount of five per cent of market price. Those who keep their holding for more than a year will receive [...]
Dunelm share price climbs as furniture chain announces acquisition of pillow firm Fogarty October 8, 2015 Shares at Dunelm climbed higher yesterday after the furniture chain announced a rise in first quarter sales and announced it has acquired 200-year-old pillow group Fogarty. The FTSE 250 homeware retailer, which sells everything from curtains to bed linen, said like-for-like sales rose by 4.4 per cent to £171.8m in the three months to 3 October. [...]
DFS share price grows as furniture chain reports rising sales and profits October 8, 2015 Furniture chain DFS posted a surge in sales and profits yesterday in its first set of full-year results since its £540m market debut in March. The sofa specialist said pre-tax profits trebled to £10.7m in the year to August from £3.6m last time. Five store openings and strong trading across its Dwell and Sofa Workshop [...]
UK retailers enjoy best September in three years with sales up 2.8 per cent – BDO October 8, 2015 Shoppers flocked back to the high street last month after a weak August as retailers enjoyed their best September performance in three years. UK retail sales rose by 2.8 per cent year-on-year – the best figures for the month of September since 2012 and the highest monthly rise since April last year, BDO’s monthly High [...]
Amazon Fresh launches in London: Some postcodes now get one-hour chilled and frozen food deliveries through Prime Now October 8, 2015 Amazon is delivering fresh chilled and frozen food in selected London postcodes for the first time, testing out the waters for Amazon Fresh. A fresh pint of milk, tub of Ben and Jerry's or a packet of fish fingers for tea can be on some Londoners' doorsteps in less than 60 minutes with the new delivery service [...]
Deutsche Bank’s share price rises despite warning of huge quarterly loss and reduced dividend payment October 8, 2015 Deutsche Bank's share price has gone up despite this morning's warning to investors that it expects to post a €6.2bn (£4.5bn) loss in its third quarter results. Germany's biggest bank said its dividend payment for the full year could be reduced or suspended, as write-downs at its corporate banking unit take their toll. Along with difficulties at [...]
Tesco’s share price falls: Troubled supermarket reveals profits down 55pc, scraps plans to sell Dunhumby October 7, 2015 Tesco's share price fell this morning as the UK's biggest retailer revealed it was struggling to show signs of an improvement a year after its profit black hole was discovered under new chief executive Dave Lewis. The figures The troubled supermarket's UK like-for-likes fell 1.1 per cent for the six months to August 31, while UK's [...]