WH Smith takes a hit on High St November 12, 2014 STATIONERY group WH Smith said sales in the first 10 weeks of its fiscal year were flat after a strong performance across its travel business was offset by sluggish high street sales. The retailer’s travel arm saw a seven per cent jump in sales in the period to 8 November as it launched new stores [...]
Sales jump at Card Factory November 12, 2014 CARD Factory was the bearer of good news yesterday as the greetings card specialist posted an 8.7 per cent jump in sales over the past nine months. The retailer, which floated in April, said a combination of new store openings, its online expansion and good growth at existing stores had helped boost its performance in [...]
City Moves for 13 November 2014 | Who’s switching jobs November 12, 2014 Pinsent Masons The law firm has announced the appointment of Meriam Alrashid as an international arbitration partner in its global construction practice in London. A fluent Arabic speaker, she joins from Crowell & Moring and has particular experience in the Middle East and North Africa. Hermes Investment Management Vincent Nobel has been appointed head of [...]
WH Smith share price remains flat despite fall in underlying sales – and its carpets are still a mess November 12, 2014 WH Smith's underlying sales were down one per cent over the ten week period to 8 November, but investors were unaffected by the news. Shares in the retailer hardly changed during morning trading, going up by just by 0.5 per cent to £12.12. Of the two parts of the business – WHSmith Travel [...]
March of the discounters: Sainsbury’s share price rises as it promises £150m price cuts November 12, 2014 Newly-installed Sainsbury's chief executive Mike Coupe has taken the bull by the horns, promising a £150m "investment" in price cuts in order to compete with increasingly powerful discounters such as Aldi and Lidl. Investors were clearly impressed: shares rose four per cent as the market opened. The supermarket posted results showing its worst first-half performance [...]
No broken heart for Alibaba on Singles Day November 11, 2014 CHINESE online retail giant Alibaba eclipsed sales records yesterday and recorded 57.1bn renminbi (£5.9bn) worth of transactions, amounting to a whopping 278m orders – many of which came from mobile phones. The retailer took advantage of shopping phenomena Singles Day, similar to Cyber Monday in the US, during which customers snap up big discounts.
New Look exits Russia blaming political unrest November 11, 2014 New Look has pulled out of its franchise agreements in Russia and Ukraine, blaming financial and political instability in the two countries. The value fashion retailer, which had previously targeted Russia as a key area of growth, said yesterday it was closing all 20 shops in Russia and six shops in Ukraine. Chief executive Anders [...]
Land Securities buoyed by rush for office space November 11, 2014 LAND Securities posted a better-than-expected leap in the value of its portfolio in the first half of the year, thanks to strong demand from companies keen to take up space in its buildings. The FTSE 100 landlord behind the Walkie Talkie skyscraper in the City said like-for-like rents jumped 2.2 per cent in the six [...]
Vodafone and Sainsbury push FTSE 100 slightly up – London Report November 11, 2014 The FTSE 100 yesterday advanced to its highest level in more than a month, as a rise in mobile operator Vodafone and supermarket retailer Sainsbury offset a slump in energy stocks. The blue chip index closed up by 0.2 per cent, or 16.15 points, at 6,627.40 points – its best closing level since late September. [...]
What is China’s Singles Day? Alibaba nears record-breaking billion-dollar sales target in one day November 11, 2014 The 11th day of the 11th month has a very different meaning in China – in case you haven't heard, today is Singles Day, because of the combination of two 'ones'. But having initially been a day for young singles to meet future partners, and also eat lots of deep fried dough sticks and dumplings, [...]