John Lewis, M&S, Debenhams – the best Christmas TV adverts of 2014 November 7, 2014 Alright, so there's still a month and a half until the big day – but settle in, because Christmas ads have begun to grace our screens, and they're going to be around for the next 47 evenings in. You might as well become acquainted. First up, we had the big one: John Lewis' much-awaited Christmas [...]
Marks & Spencer sees food sales spark share price rally November 5, 2014 Marks and Spencer shocked markets yesterday with unexpectedly strong sales, driven by its food business and – until the warm weather in September hit sales – robust clothes results. Investors had been worried that the group would follow Next and Tesco with poor results, but instead flooded back into the stock. The share [...]
M&S boss Marc Bolland puts the focus on womenswear and a five gold rings chocolate Christmas cake November 5, 2014 Everyone knows Marc Bolland is a bit of a charmer. The M&S chief has been under pressure all year with disappointing clothes sales and a finance chief who decided every little really did help and hopped over to Tesco. But yesterday, at the retailer’s half-year results event, the suave Dutchman came out fighting, with compliments. [...]
M&S adds sparkle to FTSE after good corporate results – London Report November 5, 2014 BRITAIN’S top share index advanced yesterday, as reassuring corporate reports helped to counteract modest weakness in commodity-related stocks. Ahead of this week’s meetings of the Bank of England and European Central Bank and Friday’s US jobs data, the FTSE 100 finished 1.32 per cent higher at 6539.14 points. Marks & Spencer soared 9.74 per cent [...]
Is today a turning point for Marks & Spencer’s share price? November 5, 2014 Marks & Spencer's share price has soared 8.3 per cent this morning, suggesting that investors were pleasantly surprised by its better-than-expected results. Although it marked its 13th quarter of declines, the 3.4 per cent drop in clothing was lower than consensus. Analysts this morning are suggesting this could be, if not the beginning of [...]
Marks & Spencer share price leaps, despite 13th consecutive fall in clothing sales November 5, 2014 Shares in Marks & Spencer opened more than eight per cent higher this morning, after it posted expectation-beating half-year results – even though group profits before tax fell 0.4 per cent on the same period last year. In the the 26 weeks to 27 September, like-for-likes in clothing and general merchandise fell 2.2 per cent [...]
Marks & Spencer’s half year results – here’s what to look out for November 4, 2014 Marks & Spencer is due to report its first half results tomorrow morning, and the consensus is that it will be another gloomy one for the venerable British retailer. Analysts are saying the 770-store retailer will have racked up a 3.7 per cent decline in general merchandising like-for-likes during its second quarter. If [...]
Marks and Spencer likely to join Next and Tesco in slump as like-for-like sales decline November 3, 2014 The slump in British retail is set to hit Marks and Spencer hard this week, after poor financial results from rival Next and supermarket Tesco. Weak sales figures will pile increasing pressure on chief executive Marc Bolland – like-for-like sales have already fallen for the past 13 quarters, despite the growing economic recovery. The consensus [...]
Marks & Spencer finance boss Alan Stewart joins Tesco two months early following £250m profit overestimate September 23, 2014 Alan Stewart will assume his new role as chief financial officer of Tesco from today – over two months earlier than originally planned. Yesterday, the troubled retailer reported it had overstated its first-half profit expectations by £250m, leading to its biggest share price fall in 11 years. In July Stewart announced his plan [...]
Marks & Spencer’s clothing sales through Alibaba soar in China September 21, 2014 Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce giant which could hold the title of having the world’s biggest ever initial public offering after raising $21.8bn on Friday, has helped to boost Marks & Spencer’s (M&S) online clothing sales in China. The head of M&S’s overseas internet business, Ricky Wilson, said on Saturday that M&S is now the fastest [...]