N Brown share price drops further in spite of revenue improvement June 18, 2014 Home shopping retailer N Brown announced yesterday that group revenues had risen 2.6 per cent as like-for-like sales increased 2.5 per cent. The figures, in an interim report which cover the 15 weeks to 14 June, are in line with management expectations for the period, with chief executive Angela Spindler stating the company was in [...]
H&M on growth path with new stores and sites June 18, 2014 Giant Swedish fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) yesterday reported a 26 per cent surge in operating profits in its second quarter to over 7.6bn Swedish krona (£673m). The company said sales rose 20 per cent to more than 37bn krona, excluding VAT, during the second quarter compared to a year earlier. The positive sales [...]
SMEs lose £7.5bn a year by not accepting credit or debit cards June 18, 2014 The majority of the UK's small and medium enterprises do not allow customers to pay with credit or debit card, which is resulting in significant revenue losses, according to a report by Barclaycard. While just 42% of SMEs accept card, almost three quarters of all retail transactions in the UK are now carried out using [...]
Lidl owner Schwarz Group to be biggest grocery retailer in western Europe by 2018 | City A.M. June 18, 2014 Schwarz Group, the owner of cut-price supermarket Lidl, is set to become the top grocery retailer in western Europe, with the German company likely to overtake current market leader French rival Carrefour by 2018 and perhaps as soon as the end of next year,a report released by Planet Retail yesterday claimed. With Schwarz Group only [...]
Lidl owner to be biggest grocery retailer in western Europe by 2018 June 17, 2014 Schwarz Group, the owner of cut-price supermarket Lidl, is set to become the top grocery retailer in western Europe, with the German company likely to overtake current market leader French rival Carrefour by 2018 and perhaps as soon as the end of next year,a report released by Planet Retail yesterday claimed. With Schwarz Group only [...]
Supermarket Morrisons to cut 2,600 top jobs June 17, 2014 MORRISONS confirmed yesterday that it would be cutting 2,600 jobs in its stores in the UK, as it sought to simplify its management structure. The supermarket chain, which is currently ranked fourth by market share in the UK, said it has trialled the new management structure in some of its stores and it now aims [...]
JD Sports half-time report good as World Cup gives sales a boost June 17, 2014 JD Sports has enjoyed a boost in sales in the build-up to the World Cup, the retailer said yesterday. However, the company remained tight-lipped on like-for-like sales figures, warning they would be “misleading” because of the different trading conditions in the lead up to the tournament. In an interim management statement covering the 18 weeks [...]
Analyst Views: Does JD Sports’ half-time statement bode well for the future? June 17, 2014 NICK BUBB | INDEPENDENT ANALYST It’s not often that retailers don’t provide like-for-like sales figures because they would look too good, yet that is what JD Sports stated in its trading update. Apart from the World Cup boost, it was moderately encouraging to hear that the struggling outdoor and fashion divisions are doing better. FREDDIE [...]
Iceland opens more stores but earnings fall June 17, 2014 ICELAND announced yesterday it planned to crack on with its expansion, opening more than 40 new stores this year to create up to 1,250 jobs. Last year, Iceland opened 46 new stores, creating 1,500 new jobs. Spending on new shops drove underlying earnings for the year to the end of March down 11 per cent [...]
Bottom Line: Every Lidl helps: Discounters’ big future June 17, 2014 IF THE UK’s biggest supermarkets have any scraps of hope left that the discounters will soon stop nipping at their market share, they should abandon them now. Discount is set to be one of the fastest growing channels for years to come, adding €40bn (£32bn) in sales across Western Europe by 2018, according to a [...]