Game blames stiff competition for drop in sales over Christmas January 13, 2015 BRITISH video games retailer Game Digital yesterday cited tough competition as the reason for its decline in sales over the Christmas period. The company said sales dropped 6.7 per cent in the 11 weeks ending 10 January. It announced the results after the market closed yesterday. It stated that “promotional activity” across the market had inflated [...]
Discounters Aldi and Lidl win Christmas as over half of UK visit their shops January 13, 2015 German discounters were the clear winners in the battle for Christmas sales, after more than half of all UK households shopped at their stores. While families typically treat themselves at Christmas and head to the big four, discounters have grabbed market share with clever ad campaigns and cheap offers on premium items such as champagne. [...]
Forget howls of deflation anguish: UK inflation at 0.5 per cent is very welcome January 13, 2015 UK inflation is now more than one percentage point below the official target for the first time since the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) was established in 1997. What does this tell us about the outlook for the British economy? If past precedent had been followed, we could have seen the views of the MPC on [...]
Asos share price rises following positive end to 2014 January 13, 2015 The figures British online fashion retailer Asos ended 2014 on a very positive note, with the Christmas period pushing sales up by 15 per cent in the six weeks to 9 January. The news caused shares to rise by 7.1 per cent to £26 when markets opened this morning, and they were still performing [...]
Debenhams share price plummets despite online sales uplift January 13, 2015 The figures Shares in troubled department store Debenhams fell nearly eight per cent in mid-morning trading, despite figures published this morning suggesting it had a record Christmas. The retailer said like-for-like sales in the four weeks to 10 January rose 4.9 per cent. Particularly successful were online sales, which went up by 29 per cent. Demand [...]
Morrisons: Share price jumps as chief executive Dalton Philips resigns, while Andrew Higginson steps up January 13, 2015 Shares in Morrisons bounced six per cent in early trading, after it announced chief executive Dalton Philips will step down after five years at the helm, while Andrew Higginson, an ex-Tesco executive, will take over from chairman Sir Ian Gibson later this month. Philips will stay on until the company's end of year results in [...]
Shares jump higher at AO World January 12, 2015 SHARES in AO World rallied yesterday after the online white goods company reported a surge in third quarter sales, thanks in part to the success of Black Friday weekend. The so-called e-tailer, which sells kitchen appliances and televisions online from its warehouse in Crewe, said revenue from its website jumped 38 per cent three months [...]
Fat Face shuns promotions for festive boost January 12, 2015 FAT FACE chief executive Anthony Thompson said the firm owes its success over Christmas to holding its ground on promotions until Boxing Day, as festive sales jumped. The casual clothing retailer, which pulled plans for a £300m float last year, reported a 13 per cent rise in sales in the five weeks to 3 January, [...]
High street suffers Black Friday hangover as retail sales drop January 12, 2015 RETAILERS were hit by a slowdown in sales over Christmas after the Black Friday shopping bonanza pulled forward holiday spending into November. Like-for-like sales dropped by 0.4 per cent compared to the same month a year ago, according to the latest data from KPMG and the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Total sales were up one [...]
Don’t believe Labour’s scare tactics: Free trade is good for British workers January 12, 2015 This week, our Prime Minister will meet with Barack Obama at the White House. Margaret Thatcher used to say fondly that she could “smell the freedom” in America. And doesn’t the country’s economy prove it? The US is still a jobs juggernaut: the largest standalone economy on Planet Earth. We owe it to our children [...]