Findel dashes Mike Ashley’s hopes after selling Kitbag to American buyer February 2, 2016 Findel has offloaded its replica football shirt business Kitbag to an American firm for £11.6m, putting an end to Mike Ashley’s hopes of buying the subsidiary. The home shopping retailer said it has completed the sale to Fanatics, a US sportswear firm, more than a year after putting the sports strip retailer on the market. [...]
Bayern Munich beat Manchester United and Barcelona in social media race to win over Chinese football fans January 28, 2016 German giants Bayern Munich are engaging China's football fans through digital media more successfully than any other football club, according to a new report. With millions of potential fans to be found in the increasingly football-focused country, leading football clubs have all built a presence in the country its digital sphere. An annual index from [...]
FTSE 100 ends the week in a party mood as oil stocks jump January 22, 2016 After a week of turmoil, the FTSE 100 finished Friday on an upbeat note, closing 2.2 per cent higher, at 5,900 points. Other European stocks followed suit, with the French Cac finishing more than three per cent higher, and the German Dax ending almost two per cent higher. The news followed a bounce in oil prices, with [...]
Rangers: Blow for Mike Ashley and Sports Direct as club chairman Dave King is cleared of contempt of court January 22, 2016 Rangers chairman Dave King has been cleared of contempt of court at the High Court over his legal dealings with Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley. Mr Justice Peter Smith threw out the charge and said the fact it had been made was an abuse of the process. King had been accused of committing contempt for [...]
The tradition of Christmas shopping on the high street could be about to come to an end January 20, 2016 We’ve come to that time in the New Year when retailers and investors alike look back on the data accumulated by shops throughout the Christmas season. Next was the first retailer to release the data and it wasn’t great news – either for them or for other high street retailers, as we had disappointing updates from everyone from [...]
MySale shares jump as flash sales website backed by Sir Philip Green swings back into profit January 19, 2016 MySale, the Australian flash sales website 25 per cent owned by Sir Philip Green's wife Tina, has swung back into profit in the first half after blaming marketing and expansion costs for posting heavy losses last year. The UK-listed online fashion retailer, which operates in the UK, New Zealand, and Asia, as well as Australia, [...]
Football supporters’ groups given government backing and extra £1m funding from Premier League in new report January 19, 2016 Premier League and Football League clubs have been instructed by the government to consult more regularly with supporters' groups in a new report. Clubs should meet with fans' groups at least twice a year and consult them on any major changes to the club's identity such as a colour change, new club crest or relocating [...]
UK footfall slumps in December as Britons spend Christmas online January 18, 2016 Britain's high streets suffered their biggest drop in footfall in over a year in December, as Britons shunned stores in favour of buying Christmas presents online. Traffic fell by four per cent year-on-year, which is far greater than the drop of 1.8 per cent in December 2014 and marked the biggest drop since November that same [...]
The count is in: These are the retail winners and losers for Christmas 2015 (according to Hargreaves Lansdown) January 15, 2016 After a busy few days chock-full of Christmas retail results, we're finally beginning to get a sense of who the winners and losers of 2015's festive period might be. Yesterday, Tesco surprised investors with better-than-expected results, rounding off a solid performance among the UK's traditional supermarket sector – although Asda is still yet to report. Marks & [...]
Football betting: Arsenal face testing trip to bogey team Stoke January 14, 2016 Arsene Wenger’s least favourite trip of the season is on Sunday, as his Arsenal side travel to Stoke. The Gunners haven’t won in their last five attempts at the Britannia and, given Stoke’s recent good form, Wenger could be in for another tough afternoon. Mark Hughes’s men will be fired up to add another scalp [...]