Tesco suffers worst decline in grocery sector October 21, 2014 TESCO emerged as the biggest loser in the grocery sector over the past three months, despite sales showing signs of recovery, as the supermarket price war and fierce competition continued to take its toll on the troubled retailer. The company, which stunned the City last month with revelations of a £250m black hole in its [...]
Supermarket woes deepen over price wars October 21, 2014 THE UK food industry’s troubles were laid bare today after a report revealed the sector had suffered the sharpest rise in financial distress compared with other UK industries. According to Begbies Traynor’s latest Red Flag update, which monitors the health of UK companies, levels of “significant” financial distress among UK food retailers rose by 11 [...]
Asos CEO Nick Robertson: Bruised and burnt but fighting back October 21, 2014 What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, Nick Robertson declared yesterday. The Asos chief executive has had a tough year, riddled with profit warnings, a fire at its main warehouse, and slowing international sales that have left the firm’s shares badly bruised. Until this year, Asos’ shares have enjoyed a meteoric rise, thanks to [...]
Tesco share price rises as declines in its market share slows, while Waitrose reaches record high October 21, 2014 Tesco shares rose 2.2 percent in mid-morning trading after new figures showed while it has lost yet more market share, its rate of decline is slowing. while Waitrose has climbed to a record high, doing just enough to keep it ahead of German challengers Aldi and Lidl. The figures, by Kantar Worldpanel, also showed [...]
Asos share price leaps as sales climb 27 per cent following tough year for online retailer October 21, 2014 Shares in online retailer Asos have leaped almost 20 per cent this morning, after the beleaguered online retailer reported a 27 per cent rise in sales. Although results posted today showed pre-tax profits fell 14 per cent to £46.9m in the year to the end of August, from £54.7m during the same period last year, [...]
Apple Pay launches: Why mobile payment is about take off October 21, 2014 Apple Pay, the tech giant's mobile payment service, has launched in the US offering users the ability to pay for items using just their mobile phone. It kicks of the most high-profile launch in the nascent mobile payment space, which could finally push it into the mainstream. A mobile wallet is perhaps the best way [...]
Apple share price rises by 2pc as third-quarter earnings beat expectations October 20, 2014 Shares in Apple rose by two per cent in after-hours trading on Monday, as investors were encouraged by the consumer electronics giant's higher-than-expected earnings for the third quarter. For the three months to 30 September, earnings were $8.47bn (£5.24bn). This beat analysts' expectations and represented a 13 per cent increase compared to the same [...]
Fenwick boosts board with Alastair Kerr and Christine Cross October 19, 2014 Fenwick, the family-owned department store chain, has bolstered its board by hiring two retail heavyweights, Alastair Kerr and Christine Cross, as non-executive directors. Cross spent the biggest part of her career at Tesco, where she held a string of senior non-food retailing roles between 1989 and 2003 under Lord MacLaurin and Sir Terry Leahy. She [...]
Fashion rocked as warm weather cools footfall on the high street October 19, 2014 Footfall across UK high streets and shopping centres fell in September as the balmy weather put shoppers off stocking up on autumn/winter clothing, despite a pick-up in activity on the previous month. Visitor numbers dropped by 0.9 per cent in the year to September but improved slightly on the 1.1 per cent decline reported in [...]
Tesco probe finds evidence of inappropriate behaviour by staff October 19, 2014 THE INVESTIGATION into Tesco’s £250m black hole is understood to have found evidence that a small group of staff deliberately misled its auditors as they struggle to meet sales targets. The UK’s largest supermarket chain is due to report its delayed half year results on Thursday, with chief executive Dave Lewis set to update the [...]