Supermarket sales continue to edge upwards in the months following the Brexit vote September 20, 2016 Supermarket sales continued to edge upwards this month, increasing by 0.3 per cent for the three months ending 11 September. The growth was against a backdrop of price deflation of 1.1 per cent. Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar Worldpanel, said: “While overall sales growth has been slow, consumers have been keen [...]
Online retailer Hut Group set to announce Ideal acquisition September 18, 2016 Online retailer Hut Group is poised to announce the takeover of an American dieting and sports nutrition company. The digital retailer is expected to announce the deal for Ideal Shape in the coming days, Sky News reported. Read more: The Hut Group eyes acquisitions after securing £210m loan Hut Group reported group sales of £334m, [...]
A tale of two retail sectors: Shares in fashion retailers fall as supermarkets jump September 15, 2016 It was the best of times, it was the worst of times in the retail sector today, as shares in retailers led both the risers and the fallers in the FTSE 100. Firmly in the spring of hope was the supermarket sector, where Morrisons led the risers, with shares jumping 7.13 per cent to 207.4p in [...]
All eyes will be on Morrisons’ interim results this week to see if the strategy of CEO David Potts has delivered September 13, 2016 WM Morrison is on a mission to be leaner and meaner. Under CEO David Potts, 'in' have come aggressive price cuts while 'out' are a series of ill-fated ventures including a minority stake in US online grocery business Fresh Direct and M-Local, a hastily assembled collection of convenience stores. Potts has turned his focus to the [...]
Marks & Spencer loses another senior executive as Laura Wade-Gery steps down September 12, 2016 Marks & Spencer has confirmed the woman who oversaw the launch of its website is stepping down. In a statement today the retailer said Laura Wade-Gery, its executive director of multi-channel, will not return from maternity leave. Wade-Gery, who oversaw the rocky launch of M&S' website last year, will step down from the board immediately, and [...]
See us after class: Disappointing back to school week for FTSE 100 as retailers drag it lower September 9, 2016 The FTSE 100 had a decidedly wobbly start to the school year, finishing the first full week of September 1.7 per cent lower than it started. Having come tantalisingly close to the 7,000 mark last week, it finished today at 6,776.95 points, 1.2 per cent down. "You’d be forgiven for falling asleep this afternoon," complained SpreadEx financial analyst [...]
Three former Tesco executives have been charged by the SFO in relation its accounting scandal September 9, 2016 Three former Tesco executives have been charged with fraud by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in relation its accounting scandal. The ex-financial director Carl Rogberg, former commercial director John Scouler and the former UK managing director Christopher Bush have been charged for their role in the retailer's profit overstatement. They have each been charged with one count of [...]
Greene King warns that Brexit could hurt pub industry after strong summer September 9, 2016 The Euro 2016 football championship and sunny summer weather helped pub group Greene King enjoy a "strong start to the year", but the company said it is preparing for tougher trading conditions as a result of the recent Brexit vote. Shares in the company were down 3.8 per cent in early trading. The firm reported 1.7 [...]
Corporate governance: the Institute of Directors’ best and the worst September 7, 2016 While British American Tobacco’s (BAT) products may be the subject of various health warnings, it has topped a corporate governance health-check by the Institute of Directors (IoD). Supermarket giant Tesco, meanwhile, brings up the rear in a new governance ranking of the UK's top 100 companies. BAT performed particularly well in terms of dealing with its shareholders and [...]
Andrew Tyrie blasts banks as they come clean on overdraft fees September 6, 2016 Influential Tory backbencher Andrew Tyrie has blasted UK banks for their bewildering array of overdraft fees and charges and called for customers to be given more information about their accounts. Tyrie, who chairs the Treasury Select Committee (TSC), also criticised recent proposals from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to encourage customers to switch bank accounts. [...]