WH Smith to restructure its high street business as travel takes off October 11, 2018 WH Smith intends to restructure its high street business after conducting a thorough review of the challenging environment faced by UK stores, as its total revenue edged upwards off the back of growth in its travel locations. While its high street profit was its third highest in 15 years, the retailer said it will wind down [...]
Asos teams up with Google to launch a shopping skill for Google Assistant October 11, 2018 Asos is expanding into voice-assistant technology in a partnership with Google, making it one of the first UK fashion retailers to debut on Google Assistant. Customers in the UK and US will be able to engage with Asos' fashion chatbot Enki, starting a conversation using the phrase "Hey Google, talk to Asos" on a smartphone or [...]
Shares in Burberry fall as Chinese appetite for luxury goods slows October 10, 2018 Shares in Burberry dropped over eight per cent Wednesday after Morgan Stanley downgraded the luxury goods sector over worries of a slowdown in the Chinese market. Chinese consumer confidence has peaked, the bank said, and consumption trends will likely slow further in the second half of the year before a slight upswing in 2019. Read [...]
Fevertree’s fizz falls flat with investors as shares dip again October 10, 2018 Fevertree’s share price is down more than nine per cent today as the tonic maker continues to tumble from its mid-September peak. The gin mixer brand saw its stock hit its highest level on 12 September, at 4,120p, but it has failed to climb further, instead seeing shares dip in the weeks before today’s losses. [...]
Alibaba billionaire Jack Ma named China’s richest man October 10, 2018 Alibaba founder Jack Ma has been named as the richest man in China for the second time in recent years after his wealth rose more than a third to $39bn (£29.6bn). Ma last topped the Hurun rich list in 2014 but has regained his position at the top after a new round of investment in [...]
Patisserie Valerie owner faces HMRC winding up order as it warns investors of potential fraud October 10, 2018 Patisserie Valerie today warned investors of a winding up petition it faces over £1.14m in unpaid tax, after suspending shares this morning over potential fraud. HMRC said Patisserie Holding’s principal trading subsidiary, Stonebeach, owes it the money, and has set a hearing date of 31 October to seek a court order to liquidate the firm [...]
Flat pack expansion: Ikea to reach 3bn people by middle of next decade October 10, 2018 Ikea will reach almost half the world’s population by 2025 as it branches into South America and eleven other markets in the coming year. The furniture giant, which grew retail sales by 4.5 per cent in the financial year ending August, said it would open stores in Estonia, Ukraine, Puerto Rico, Oman, Luxembourg, Macau and [...]
Pub giant Marston’s hikes profits as summer boom adds to sizzling sales October 10, 2018 Pub operator Marston's today said it expects to see higher growth in annual profit, after boosted sales in the summer led the turnaround from a disappointing first half of the year. The figures In a trading update before its preliminary annual results, Marston's said group turnover grew 15 per cent to more than £1.1bn. As [...]
Ten-pin titan Hollywood Bowl Group hopes to score a strike with investors with profit growth October 10, 2018 UK ten-pin giant Hollywood Bowl Group is flirting with the idea of returning a surplus to investors this morning after revealing a rise in annual revenues in a trading update today. The bowling operator reported like-for-like revenue growth of 1.8 per cent in the 12 months to the end of September this year, adding that it expects [...]
