John Lewis axes jobs amid name rebranding September 5, 2018 Department store chain John Lewis is cutting 300 jobs as part of a back office shake-up, it emerged yesterday. The job losses come as the retailer changes its name to “John Lewis & Partners” in an effort to underline the point that it is owned by its employees. A number of IT, finance and store [...]
Philip Day’s Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group ends business with House of Fraser September 5, 2018 The Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group has ended business with House of Fraser due to lack of confidence in the business's future. The company, owned by retail tycoon Philip Day, said it had not been able to agree future trading terms with new owners Sports direct. Concessions for EWM's brands including Jaeger and Jacques Vert closed [...]
Everyman revenues climb higher as cinema chain plots expansion September 5, 2018 Boutique cinema chain Everyman reported soaring revenues this morning as it rolls out to new sites around the UK. The company will open a cinema at the City's Broadgate development next year, making it just the second cinema in the Square Mile after the Barbican. The figures Revenue for the six months to 5 July [...]
M Restaurants founder to lead Gaucho as new owners take control September 5, 2018 Administrators have confirmed the sale of Gaucho to a pair of banking groups, and the appointment of M Restaurants founder Martin Williams to lead the business. As City PM has previously revealed, Investec and SC Lowy bought out the company's debt last month with a view to a takeover. Today administrators at Deloitte said Gaucho had been sold [...]
JD.com share price falls after CEO’s sexual misconduct arrest September 4, 2018 Chinese retail giant JD.com's share price has fallen more than six per cent in early trading this afternoon, after its chief executive was arrested and released on suspicion of criminal sexual conduct in the US over the weekend. Richard Liu has since returned to China, after being arrested by Minneapolis policy on Friday and later [...]
London luxury goods repair service The Restory among startups picked for Farfetch incubator September 4, 2018 A London-based start-up which repairs luxury fashion items is among the businesses selected for Farfetch's retail technology incubator. The Restory, which restores designer items, is one of 11 start-ups selected for the 12-week Dream Assembly programme. Farfetch plans to support fashion tech start-ups with talks, mentoring and networking opportunities. "The companies we have selected for the first Dream [...]
AccorHotels scoops up Movenpick Hotels September 4, 2018 Ibis and Mercure owner AccorHotels announced today that it has completed its £430m takeover of Movenpick Hotels and Resorts, adding to its collection of recent luxury acquisitions. The French hotel giant paid €482m (£434m) for the 84 hotels which began life as an offshoot of the famous ice cream brand during the 1970s. It will enhance Accor's presence [...]
Pret a Manger unveils £100m sales growth as coffee war heats up September 4, 2018 Sales at Pret a Manger grew by more than £100m in 2017 as the chain expanded globally and opened its 500th shop. Revenue soared by 13.2 per cent to £878.5m, driven by expansion into 58 new stores as well as strong like-for-like growth of 3.2 per cent. Read more: Coca-Cola moves for Costa coffee brand in £4bn [...]
Bricking it: Lego sales and profits fall on weaker dollar September 4, 2018 Lego was impacted by the weaker US dollar in the first half of 2018, reporting lower sales and profits today. The Danish toy company said it was pleased with performance given the challenges of the toy industry, and is now focused on stabilising the business. The figures Global consumer sales grew one per cent in [...]
