Marks & Spencer shares slip as clothing underperformance weighs on Christmas trading January 9, 2020 Marks & Spencer’s Christmas performance was weakened by poor sales in its menswear business, after the retailer ordered too many skinny jeans in the wrong sizes. The high street chain said it over ordered skinny and slim-fit mens’ trousers, under-bought regular fit jeans and had too many small sizes and not enough medium and large. [...]
Tesco sees Christmas sales rise for fifth year in a row January 9, 2020 Tesco delivered its fifth consecutive Christmas period of growth last year, outperforming its competitors in a tough retail environment. The grocer’s UK and Ireland division, which includes its wholesale business Booker, increased like-for-like sales by 0.4 per cent in the 19 weeks to 4 January due to a strong operational performance and competitive deals. Read [...]
Banks suspend currency exchange after Travelex cyber attack January 8, 2020 High street banks Barclays, Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland are without foreign currency services after a cyber attack against forex giant Travelex. The banks, who get their foreign notes from Travelex, said supplies were running short after last week’s attack, in which hackers warned the firm that unless it paid $6m (£4.6m) they would [...]
Sainsbury’s Christmas sales slip despite online boost January 8, 2020 Sainsbury’s suffered the biggest drop in Christmas sales of general merchandise since it bought Argos in 2016, as consumer demand for toys and games weakened. General merchandise sales, which includes Argos, dropped 3.9 per cent in the 15 weeks to 4 January, driving a 0.7 per cent decline in total retail sales excluding fuel. However, [...]
The changing face of income January 8, 2020 Henderson High Income Trust celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2019, having launched in 1989. This was the same year that Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web. Given Henderson High Income provides shareholder with a high dividend income by predominately investing in UK companies, this article looks at how the internet has led the UK market [...]
Christmas supermarket sales growth slows to four-year low January 7, 2020 Supermarket sales growth over the Christmas period slowed to the lowest rate in four years as shoppers watched their budgets over the festive period. Retailers reported sales of £29.3bn, up £50m on last year, however growth slumped to the lowest rate since 2015. Read more: Morrisons sales fall in ‘unusually challenging Christmas period’ Year-on-year supermarket [...]
Aldi Christmas revenue tops £1bn but growth slows January 6, 2020 German discount retailer Aldi said today that its Christmas sales increased 7.9 per cent year-on-year to break £1bn for the first time. The supermarket chain said its sales in the four weeks ended Christmas eve were driven by strong growth in beers, wines and spirits, its premium Specially Selected range and fresh meat. Total beers, [...]
UK High Street sees slight increase in December sales January 4, 2020 UK shops saw a marginal increase in December sales year-on-year driven by widespread discounting, a new survey revealed on Saturday. Sales in British shops were up 0.7 per cent for the month compared with 2018, according to the accountancy and business advisory firm BDO’s monthly High Street Sales Tracker. Read more: Next raises forecast after [...]
China denies forced labour accusations after Tesco Christmas card discovery December 23, 2019 China has denied accusations of forced labour at a prison in Shanghai after a Christmas card sold at Tesco was reportedly found containing a message from an inmate. Six-year-old Florence Widdicombe in London discovered a note in charity card sold at the supermarket saying “We are foreign prisoners in Shanghai Qingpu Prison China”. Read more: [...]
Five people sentenced to death for Jamal Khashoggi killing December 23, 2019 Saudi Arabia has sentenced five people to death over the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul in October 2018. The kingdom’s public prosecutor also handed out three people jail terms totalling 24 years over the killing of the journalist. Read more: China to cut tariffs on hundreds of products Khashoggi was a US [...]