How Co-op may be downgraded if reforms falter March 12, 2014 THE TROUBLED Co-operative Group could lose its credit rating if it does not turn itself around, ratings agency analysts warned yesterday. Its reformist chief executive Euan Sutherland quit this week after failing to win over opponents on the group’s board. Sutherland will not be replaced until Lord Myners has completed his review of the mutual’s [...]
Contactless payments rising as TfL and retailers drive adoption March 12, 2014 CONTACTLESS payments on the high street jumped nearly 300 per cent last year, according to figures from Visa yesterday. Visa Europe’s director of contactless Mark Austin said that the 94.3m payments had been spurred by Transport for London’s use of contactless on buses last year and the increasing numbers of retailers installing terminals. Adoption from [...]
Ocado’s growth slows but first profit is in sight March 12, 2014 ONLINE grocer Ocado yesterday said it was on course to report its first ever annual profit this year after strong first quarter sales. Retail sales rose 18 per cent to £218m in the 12 weeks to 23 February. However, this was below what analysts were expecting and a slowdown on the 20.1 per cent growth [...]
Analyst Views: Has Ocado’s performance in the first quarter changed your outlook? March 12, 2014 CLIVE BLACK | SHORE CAPITAL Fundamentally we remain of the view that it is a distinctive business model in that it doesn’t work when it comes to earnings. The share price remains anomalous to our minds and the read across to other highly rated online retailers is spurious in our view. JAMES GRZINIC | JEFFERIES [...]
French Connection boss upbeat on future as retailer cuts losses March 12, 2014 FRENCH Connection boss Stephen Marks said yesterday that the retailer has reached “the tipping point” at which it could become a successful business again, as turnaround efforts helped it to cut full-year losses. The fashion brand reported an underlying pre-tax loss of £4.4m in the year to the end of January but this was an [...]
Poundland shares pop on first day of trading March 12, 2014 On its first of trading, Poundland has seen its shares jumped by 17 per cent. The company's initial public offering was priced significantly above its retail items of one pound, at 300p per share, toward the higher end of the range. The price gave Europe's biggest single-price retailer a market capitalisation of £750m. There has [...]
Ocado sales soar as Morrisons site gathers pace March 12, 2014 Online grocer Ocado has reported a jump in retail sales of 18 per cent to £218m, for the 12 weeks to 23 February. Average orders per week rocketed 18 per cent to over 155,000. Tim Steiner, chief executive officer of Ocado, commented: We are pleased with the continued growth in our business. We remain committed [...]
Discount stores feast on Tesco’s market share March 12, 2014 TESCO’S market share has fallen to its lowest level in almost 10 years as the supermarket and its mid-market peers lose ground to hard discounters Aldi and Lidl. Britain’s biggest supermarket, which announced plans earlier this month to win back shoppers by cutting prices, saw its market share decline to 28.7 per cent in the [...]
Discount stores feast on Tesco’s market share March 11, 2014 TESCO’S market share has fallen to its lowest level in almost 10 years as the supermarket and its mid-market peers lose ground to hard discounters Aldi and Lidl. Britain’s biggest supermarket, which announced plans earlier this month to win back shoppers by cutting prices, saw its market share decline to 28.7 per cent in the [...]
Evans Cycles in the fast lane as profits jump March 11, 2014 EVANS Cycles enjoyed an almost near nine-fold rise in profits last year as store openings and a surge in Brits cycling helped the retailer speed ahead. Pre-tax profits reached £2.3m in the year to November, compared with £269,000 a year earlier. Sales were up 8.7 per cent to £114m.