Justin King to leave Sainsbury’s in July January 29, 2014 Justin King is stepping down as chief executive (CEO) of Sainsbury’s in July, it's been announced. King’s been in charge for ten years; he’ll be replaced by Mike Coupe, current group commercial director. He only formally told chairman David Tyler that he was stepping down this morning. The decision, he said, was entirely his own [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 29 January 2014 January 28, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES AO.com aims for £1bn valuation AO.com, the online electricals retailer, is aiming for a £1bn valuation when it floats on the London Stock Exchange later this year – more than treble the market capitalisation it was hoping to achieve just four months ago. Several investors have told the Financial Times that the retailer, [...]
Carpetright blames Netherlands after warning on earnings again January 28, 2014 CARPETRIGHT issued its second profit warning in almost four months yesterday, blaming worsening conditions in the Netherlands for lower earnings. The flooring specialist, whose boss Darren Shapland quit after October’s profit warning, said it now expected underlying pre-tax profits to be between £7m to £8m – around 15 per cent lower than the previous year. [...]
Greencore sales lifted by boom in convenience January 28, 2014 BRITAIN’S fast-growing convenience market helped boost sales at sandwiches to Yorkshire puddings-maker Greencore. The group’s convenience arm, which makes products such as salads for retailers including Marks & Spencer, posted a 9.1 per cent jump in like-for-like sales for the 13 weeks to 27 December. This helped boost overall sales by 7.2 per cent on [...]
We’re seeing respectable growth for a New Normal but real risks still remain January 28, 2014 UK ECONOMIC growth is looking up. The 0.7 per cent GDP increase in the fourth quarter of 2013 might not have been as strong as some commentators were expecting, but it means economic activity is up a full 2.8 per cent on a year ago. It’s not as strong as the 3.3 per cent growth [...]
Buoyant property market brings good news for British Land January 28, 2014 Property giant British Land has reported like-for-like occupancy up 0.3 percentage points to 97.1 per cent and overall occupancy including recently completed developments at 96.5 per cent, according to its interim management statement for the quarter to 31 December 2013. British Land saw £405m of sales since the end of the half year (£122m since [...]
Game’s market share boosted by Playstation 4 and Xbox One January 26, 2014 THE LAUNCH of Sony’s latest console, the PlayStation 4 (PS4) and Microsoft’s Xbox One at the end of last year has helped boost retailer Game’s share of the entertainment market, new research shows. Figures from Kantar Worldpanel released today show that Game claimed eight per cent of the market in the 12 weeks to 22 [...]
Partnerships may be the big trend in 2014 January 26, 2014 Annabel Palmer talks to MediaCom’s Karen Blackett WHEN Karen Blackett, UK chief executive of MediaCom, got her first big break in 1993, it was over a year before Wired magazine launched the first ever ad on the World Wide Web. She talks to City A.M. about her career, adapting to a rapidly-changing industry, and the [...]
What you need to know before the open – 24/01 January 24, 2014 Yesterday, with disappointing economic data from China and a raft of lacklustre earnings reports over the week, markets finally made a marked move downwards. earnings concerns & Chinese data takes Street of Dreams lower – DOW -1%, S&p 500 -0.86%, NASDAQ -0.57% – DOW has lost 2% this month & S&P 1% — David [...]
Slower growth for Starbucks January 23, 2014 Starbucks reported yesterday that sales at stores in its US-dominated Americas region cooled more than analysts expected in its latest quarter. The world’s biggest coffee chain boosted its 2014 earnings per share forecast to a range of $2.59 (£1.56) to $2.67, from $2.55 to $2.65 before, sending shares up 0.9 per cent to after hours. [...]