John Lewis issues profit warning as MD steps down January 9, 2020 John Lewis & Partners issued a profit warning today and said its managing director will leave the struggling business next month after underwhelming Christmas sales. The retail partnership warned full-year profits will be “substantially down” on last year as it revealed significant drops in both John Lewis and Waitrose revenue. Read more: Four problems new [...]
Tesco sees Christmas sales rise for fifth year in a row January 9, 2020 Tesco delivered its fifth consecutive Christmas period of growth last year, outperforming its competitors in a tough retail environment. The grocer’s UK and Ireland division, which includes its wholesale business Booker, increased like-for-like sales by 0.4 per cent in the 19 weeks to 4 January due to a strong operational performance and competitive deals. Read [...]
All Bar One owner Mitchells & Butlers posts ‘good, not great’ Christmas sales January 9, 2020 Pub chain Mitchells & Butlers enjoyed a solid rise in like-for-like sales over Christmas, but suffered from strong comparative sales the year before. The core three-week festive period saw the firm’s pub chains – which include All Bar One, Ember Inns and Harvester – enjoy comparable sales growth of 5.6 per cent. Read more: Wetherspoon [...]
Card Factory shares dive as retailer warns on profit January 9, 2020 Shares in Card Factory plunged more than 19 per cent this morning after the retailer warned that profits will be lower than expected following a challenging Christmas trading period. The high street chain said full-year adjusted underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) will be in the range of £81m to £83m, reflecting [...]
‘Worst year on record’ for retailers in 2019 January 9, 2020 Last year was the worst 12 months on record for UK retailers, as overall annual sales dipped for the first time since 1995, according to the latest data. Total sales in 2019 fell 0.1 per cent, marking the worst year for retailers since records began 25 years ago, due to a year of political uncertainty [...]
Marks and Spencer’s former finance chief to join Belron January 8, 2020 Marks & Spencer’s ex-finance chief will make a swift return to the corporate world, only eight days after leaving the British retail stalwart. Humphrey Singer, who worked for Marks &Spencer’s for less than two years, will become the new chief financial officer at Belron, a vehicle glass repair firm. Read more: Ocado joint venture with [...]
Ted Baker lenders appoint advisers to review prospects January 8, 2020 Ted Baker’s lenders have appointed advisers to review the struggling high street retailer’s prospects. Lenders including Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland have lined up restructuring experts FTI Consultants to lead an independent business review to explore the health of the company, Sky News reported. The review could take several weeks, and may lead to [...]
Greggs to roll out delivery nationwide after successful trials January 8, 2020 Greggs is preparing to roll out a delivery service nationwide following successful trials with Deliveroo and Just Eat. Fans of pasties, cakes and the bakery’s vegan sausage rolls across the UK will be able to order Greggs’ products to their door by the end of the year. Read more: Greggs employees to get £7m payout [...]
Fitness startup Classpass becomes a unicorn with $285m funding round January 8, 2020 Fitness startup Classpass today announced the close of a $285m funding round, pushing its total value past $1bn. The round, which was led by L Catterton and Apax Digital, means that the American company has joined the ranks of the so-called unicorns, startups which have raised more than $1bn in funding. Read more: Puregym expands [...]
On a roll: Greggs employees to get £7m bonus after ‘exceptional year’ January 8, 2020 Greggs has said it will give staff a special £7m bonus payment following a “phenomenal” year when the launch of its wildly popular vegan sausage roll helped bring in a higher than expected profit. In a trading update issued this morning, Greggs raised its profit forecast for the 12 months ending 28 December 2019, calling [...]
