DFS reports sales growth but warns on political uncertainty January 10, 2019 Furniture retailer DFS has reported underlying gross sales growth of 10 per cent in a trading update this morning as it announced that chief financial officer Nicola Bancroft has stepped down. The company also reported 22 per cent growth in online gross sales, and maintained its full-year profit expectations. DFS said trading in the five [...]
John Lewis considers slashing staff bonus as it warns on full-year profits January 10, 2019 John Lewis today said it may axe its staff bonus this year as it warned of falling profits, despite a rise in sales over the Christmas period. The department store saw sales increase 1.4 per cent to £2.2bn in the seven weeks to 5 January compared to the same period last year. Like-for-like sales at [...]
Marks & Spencer blames weak consumer confidence for drop in Christmas sales January 10, 2019 Sales slumped at Marks & Spencer over the key Christmas shopping period, the retailer said today, as analysts criticised its "outdated" business model for an over-reliance on high street shoppers. The figures Like-for-like UK sales fell by 2.2 per cent year on year in the three months to the end of December to hit £2.78bn. [...]
Tesco reports sales boost over Christmas period January 10, 2019 Tesco has beaten expectations after the supermarket reported a 2.6 per cent boost in like-for-like sales over the Christmas period. The sales success was driven by the grocer’s “festive five” vegetable offer, which sold 19.7m units over the three weeks to Christmas, promotions on lamb and beef joints and 25 per cent off six bottles [...]
Retail sector suffers worst Christmas in a decade as sales stagnate January 10, 2019 The UK retail sector has suffered its worst Christmas in a decade as sales stagnated during the crucial festive period, despite a string of positive updates offering a glimmer of hope. Overall retail sales were flat in December, the lowest level of growth since April and the worst festive performance since 2008, according to figures [...]
Historic Savile Row men’s tailor goes into administration January 9, 2019 Renowned Savile Row men’s tailor Hardy Amies has gone into administration for the second time in just over a decade. The historic fashion house, which was started by the Queen’s former dressmaker, is touting for buyers over its UK operations after “trading at a loss for some time”, its administrators said today. Menzies are urging [...]
Aisle be damned: The knives are out for big UK grocers January 9, 2019 Aldi and Lidl’s tills jingled all the way in December – handing them their highest-ever combined market share for the festive season, data from Kantar Worldpanel showed this week. All the major supermarkets lost market share in the 12 weeks to 30 December as Aldi’s sales jumped 10.4 per cent while Lidl’s were up 9.4 [...]
Boohoo broke rules by advertising real fur as fake, ASA says January 9, 2019 Boohoo has been warned by the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) after the online retailer was caught advertising a product containing real fur as faux fur. Humane Society International (HSI), which submitted the complaint, claimed that pom poms on a jumper sold by the site contained real fur, rather than fake fur as advertised. Read more: [...]
Fat Face struggles over festive period as shopping model continues shifting to online January 9, 2019 Casual clothing retailer Fat Face’s Christmas sales fell flat, amid “tough” trading conditions after a solid performance in the six months to December. The company reported a six per cent drop in physical sales in December, driven by a shift to online sales both in the UK and internationally. Ecommerce sales were up 16 per [...]
Japan lifts 23-year ban on British beef after fears of mad cow disease finally put to rest January 9, 2019 Japan has lifted a ban on importing British beef – 23 years on from its introduction after an outbreak of the devastating bovine illness dubbed mad cow disease. The Asian nation banned all imports of UK beef in 1996 after an outbreak of the disease, medically called bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Thought to cause the fatal [...]
