Tesco and Carrefour in bidding war for Czech chain December 15, 2010 Europe’s largest retailer Carrefour and its largest British peer Tesco are among four bidders for the Zabka retail chain, according to Reuters sources. Zabka owner, Czech-based Penta Investments, might sign the deal, valued at no less than 300m euros (£255m), in 2010, the sources said. “There are four bidders left, two strategic (investors) and two [...]
Supermarket chains halt Xmas orders in Scotland after weather takes its toll December 13, 2010 SUPERMARKETS and online shops – including Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda – have halted orders or suspended deliveries, after last week’s heavy snow weather brought the transport network to a standstill. Many are struggling to cope with a backlog of deliveries after strong downfalls. Couriers including Parcel Force and Home Delivery Network have also been affected, as [...]
Mothercare speeds up its foreign plans December 9, 2010 MOTHER and baby products retailer Mothercare is accelerating its expansion overseas, particularly in India, and has raised its profitability target for international stores. Mothercare, which is taking analysts on a tour of its operations in India, said yesterday it expected total overseas network sales to double to £1bn by 2014. As well as expansion in [...]
THE TIPSTER December 8, 2010 Retailers have had mixed results recently with supermarket Tesco announcing bumper numbers and Game Group doing the opposite. HMV steps up to the plate today and investors will want to know if the Christmas season is providing a welcome uptick in sales. The share price has performed poorly so far in 2010 but it seems [...]
Tablets are this year’s turn-on for gadget lovers December 8, 2010 TECH TALK The must-have present this year is a tablet. If you can’t afford an iPad an Android is arguably much better value. Are tablets sexy? I suppose they are if you can watch certain movies. But which blue tablets are the best? The Binatone HomeSurf 8 Touch Tablet is an eight incher. The similarities [...]
Game Group profit hit as price promotions weigh December 8, 2010 COMPUTER games retailer Game Group said its profit margins would fall by more than expected as it steps up promotions to lure cash-strapped shoppers and maintain share in a cut-throat competitive market. Game, which has been hit by the absence of new games console launches this year, said yesterday sales trends had improved in recent [...]
A Twentieth Century business model can’t keep up with leaner competitors December 8, 2010 THERE isn’t anything particularly wrong with the way management is running Game Group. Like-for-like sales are still falling, an inevitability when one considers the unbelievable hype that surrounded the Nintendo Wii last year, but the declines are starting to narrow. The firm’s decision to focus on market share also appears to make sense, as does [...]
Game Group profits to be hit by discounts December 8, 2010 Computer games retailer Game Group said profit margins would fall by more than expected this financial year as it cut prices to retain share in a market being targeted by grocers and other retailers. Game, which trades from over 1,300 outlets in nine European countries and Australia, said on sales trends had improved in recent [...]
Retailers and commodities push FTSE to three-week high December 7, 2010 Britain’s top shares closed at their highest level in over three weeks yesterday, lifted by commodity makers and retailers as equities remained the preferred asset class among investors despite macro concerns. The FTSE 100 ended up 38.17 points, or 0.7 per cent, at 5,808.45, having closed 0.4 per cent higher on Monday and 7.3 per [...]
Banks: retail sector is competitive December 7, 2010 LEADING banking industry figures yesterday defended the level of competition in the UK’s retail banking sector, in evidence to the Treasury Select Committee. Lloyds Banking Group chief executive Eric Daniels, whose bank faces the possibility of being broken up by the government, denied that the UK market was made uncompetitive by four of the top [...]