Olympic boom fuels sales lift at Sports Direct October 24, 2012 BRITAIN’S biggest sporting goods retailer Sports Direct yesterday reported an 18 per cent rise in recent sales as customers caught London Olympics fever and kitted out children for a return to school. The group, which owns Sports Direct.com and Lillywhites stores as well as brands such as Slazenger, Lonsdale and Dunlop, said yesterday group total [...]
Starbucks suffers more than Nike after reputational hits October 23, 2012 WE have recently seen two of the world’s biggest brands hit by potential PR crises. First up was Nike, which first continued to support and then ended their sponsorship of cyclist Lance Armstrong in the wake of doping revelations, followed shortly afterwards by ubiquitous coffee chain Starbucks, which was hit by allegations of (legally) avoiding [...]
The darling of the high street October 22, 2012 THE rocket that has gone off beneath Debenhams’s share price shows little sign of running out of fuel. Having breezed past a 2009 high around 100p per share, it now sits at levels not seen since late 2007. Overseas expansion and a store revamp have helped drive sales growth, providing a welcome change from the [...]
UK set to celebrate the official end of the recession after Games boost October 21, 2012 THE UK is this week expected to officially exit recession, with news from the Office of National Statistics set to confirm the double dip is over. The ONS will publish its first estimate of third quarter GDP, with analysts predicting impressive growth, due in part to the Olympics. Howard Archer, of IHS Global Insight, said: [...]
Best of the Brokers October 11, 2012 JD SPORTS Seymour Pierce upgraded its rating for the sports retailer from “hold” to “buy,” a and rose its target price from 800p to 1000p. The broker made the change in light of its acquisition of Blacks and JJB’s passing into administration, as well as Sports Direct’s plans to develop in e-commerce. The progress is [...]
League won’t ban Wonga deal October 9, 2012 PREMIER League chiefs have ruled out intervening in the row over Wonga.com’s sponsorship of Newcastle United, despite the storm that greeted yesterday’s £24m four-year deal between the club and the controversial payday lender. Industry experts accused the company of cynically targeting an area with the highest personal insolvency rates in the country, while the Football [...]
Obama’s isn’t the only job at risk October 8, 2012 BARACK Obama’s re-election hopes were given a boost on Friday with a strong non-farm payroll print, coupled with a significantly improved unemployment rate. With less than a month until the US presidential elections on 6 November, the crucial employment survey gave the Obama camp an unbelievable fall in unemployment – falling to 7.8 per cent [...]
Best of the Brokers October 4, 2012 TESCO UBS maintains its “neutral” rating for Tesco while raising the target price to 350p from 325p, despite first-half trading profits that slightly missed consensus estimates. SPORTS DIRECT Seymour Pierce has upgraded the athletics retailer from “hold” to “buy,” and raised its target price from 285p to 420p, saying the firm is well placed to [...]
Woodward set to leave BOA role October 4, 2012 SIR Clive Woodward is to resign as the British Olympic Association’s director of sport but will retain an ambassadorial role and his seat on the entourage commission of the International Olympic Committee. “Post London 2012 is the right time for me to leave the BOA, which is now taking a new direction following a home [...]
Axe falls on 133 shops as JJB gives up October 1, 2012 AROUND 2,200 staff at JJB Sports were made redundant yesterday after administrator KPMG finally closed down 133 of the stricken retailer’s stores and sold the remaining 20 shops to Sports Direct. The rival group, controlled by Newcastle United football club owner Mike Ashley, has bought the JJB brand, its stock, as well as the Slazenger [...]