WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 16, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES MOBILE MAKERS ACT TO CURB FAKE PHONESThe global mobile phone industry is trying to rein in the rapid worldwide spread of illegitimate handsets by introducing a stricter regime for the allocation of handset identification numbers. The move comes as unlicensed Chinese handset manufacturers have started flooding the world market with exports in a [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPER SAY THIS MORNING November 15, 2009 THE SUNDAYSThe Sunday TelegraphUK FACES MAJOR OBSTACLES IN BID TO BE A LOW-CARBON LEADERThe UK risks missing out on its slice of the £4.5 trillion low-carbon industry, the manufacturers’ trade body has warned. The EEF said the country faces major obstacles to becoming a leading centre for so-called “cleantech” products and services, “most notably question [...]
St James’ gets Sports Direct branding November 4, 2009 NEWCASTLE fans reacted with dismay yesterday after chairman Derek Llambias announced their historic stadium is to be re-branded as sportsdirect@St James’ Park. Owner Mike Ashley, who also owns the retailer Sports Direct, last week declared his intention to sell the naming rights to the club’s home of 117 years. The change will be effective for [...]
Sports Direct will fight to keep its Blacks holding October 27, 2009 Sportswear retailer Sports Direct is ready to defend its claim to a 28.5 per cent stake in outdoor goods firm Blacks Leisure, rejecting a counter claim by administrators of Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander. “Sports Direct is in the process of taking an action against Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander and its administrators, Ernst & Young,” Sports [...]
Sports Direct races ahead October 22, 2009 Mike Ashley’s budget sports retailer Sports Direct gave an up beat pre-close trading update, saying it is still confident of achieving earnings before interest, tax and depreciation of at least £150m in the current financial year. Ashley also said the board is comfortable the company could reduce its net debt to below £400m. The company, [...]
Battered JJB to carry on with cash call October 11, 2009 JJB Sports is ploughing ahead with its ambitious £100m cash call, despite calling it off on Friday following a suspected dirty tricks campaign. JJB Sports is expected this morning to hand over a dossier of emails and bank documents to City watchdog the Financial Services Authority for it to investigate what it believes is a [...]
Top lady shot takes the helm at a new City member’s club October 11, 2009 CLAIRE Zambuni could be dangerous. A leggy blonde with Baywatch-style features and a big smile, I’d not be surprised to hear that men routinely fall at her feet. But its her way with a gun that makes her particularly worth buttering up – she’s the UK’s best lady shot, in the top three best shots [...]
JJB Sports plunges to a huge 43m loss September 24, 2009 EMBATTLED sportswear retailer JJB Sports yesterday reported widening losses for the six months to July, dragging the group £42.9m into the red. JJB Sports said that the losses had grown from £14.8m the year before, as revenue dived by 42.5 per cent to £178.6m. The group also said like-for-like sales were down by 27.4 per [...]
Scandals do little damage to Renault and JJB September 22, 2009 BRAND INDEXSTEPHAN SHAKESPEARE WE’VE discussed before the stability of brands: British Airways is a great example of those that have suffered all sorts of media squalls and yet always return to their same high BrandIndex score. They are in the overwhelming majority: it’s one of the key reasons to invest heavily in brand-building, that it [...]
HOW WELL IS JD SPORTS PERFORMING IN WHAT CONTINUES TO BE A CHALLENGING ENVIRONMENT FOR RETAILERS? September 22, 2009 KEITH BOWMAN HARGREAVES LANSDOWN The figures are at the higher end of expectations and the dividend hike is encouraging, though recent sales are a little disappointing. But JD Sports seems to have avoided the worst of the retail shakeout due to its young customer base, so it will be given the benefit of the doubt [...]