Red is the new black at retailer Net-A-Porter September 7, 2014 Online luxury group Net-A-Porter enjoyed a 23 per cent rise in sales last year thanks to growth across its three websites, despite the business remaining in the red. The group, which is owned by Swiss luxury conglomerate Richemont, said revenues jumped to £533m in the year to 29 March 2014 as the launch of new [...]
London Report: Retailer data to reveal strength of UK recovery September 7, 2014 THE NEWLY-MERGED Dixons Carphone will report its maiden quarterly results tomorrow in a week containing a flurry of updates for retailers. Figures for the company, whose merger only completed a month ago, will be keenly watched by investors, who will be hoping the firm’s planned synergies are starting to take effect. Other retailers due to [...]
New York Report: Strong US auto sales set to lift retail figures September 7, 2014 RETAIL sales figures are the most keenly-awaited data this week. The Commerce Department is expected to report on Friday that they increased 0.6 per cent in August, driven by robust automobile sales, after being flat in July. Core retail sales, a gauge of consumer spending, are expected to have risen 0.3 per cent after July’s [...]
New Look sells French arm Mim to newly-created business Main Asia September 5, 2014 New Look has sold its French business Mim for an undisclosed sum, to a Hong Kong-based company about which relatively little information has been made available. Main Asia (HK) was established earlier this year to acquire Mim, and the main shareholders and management are “active in apparel and textile manufacturing and trading, along with [...]
Barts Square: A new quarter in the heart of the City September 5, 2014 Behind the shimmering tower of 200 Aldersgate – a modern office block at London Wall – is a myriad of streets that once served as the City of London’s trading lifeline. They wind in between Smithfield meat market, the Barbican, St Bart’s Hospital and up to the Old Bailey and the cells of Newgate Street. [...]
SuperGroup gets ready for a hot autumn with “broadest and best range of jackets” September 4, 2014 SuperGroup boss Julian Dunkerton declared yesterday that sales were back in shape after the colder weather and the approach of autumn drove customers back into its stores. The owner of the Superdry fashion brand posted a 3.7 per cent decline in like-for-like sales in the first quarter of the year to 27 July after facing [...]
Co-operative Group promises return to form after torrid time September 4, 2014 The Co-operative Group yesterday said it was poised to get the battered mutual back on track after returning to profit this year. The retail-to-funeral care provider said income for the six months ending 5 July was £116m, compared to a £1bn loss during the same period last year. The 150-year-old business also announced [...]
London Report: Draghi decision helps FTSE rise but BP tanks September 4, 2014 BRITAIN’S top shares rose yesterday after the European Central Bank cut interest rates and announced plans to buy assets in a bid to shore up Eurozone inflation. However, steep falls in BP capped gains. BP shares fell 5.9 per cent to 455p, suffering their biggest one-day percentage drop since June 2010, after a judge in [...]
SuperGroup share price rises 4.2 pc as revenues jump September 4, 2014 SuperGroup shares opened 4.2 per cent higher this morning, after it reported a strong start to the year, with total revenues up 15.9 per cent, and both wholesale and retail divisions up by double-digits. The business, which owns the SuperDry brand, recorded group revenues of £87m for the three months to July 26, up [...]
Full-year profit growth forecast shortfall weighs on Hargreaves September 3, 2014 UK FINANCIAL adviser Hargreaves Lansdown yesterday saw its share price fall by almost six per cent after it reported that full-year profit growth was lightly short of expectations. While revenues rose eight per cent to £291.9m, they were short of the £342m expected by the market. Pre-tax profit, up seven per cent at £195.2m, lagged [...]