All City & finance articles – Page 422
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NewsBest Buy UK big box stores to shut
Electricals group Best Buy is to close its big boxes in the UK and partner Carphone Warehouse’s will instead focus on developing its ‘connected world’ store model.
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NewsHobbs profits soar on record sales
Upmarket womenswear retailer Hobbs’ pre-tax profits soared 137% on record sales in the year to January 29.
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OpinionM&S steady in rough seas
Amid renewed economic gloom and relentlessly downbeat consumer sentiment, next week brings a chance to gauge the sector’s temperature as some of retail’s biggest beasts report.
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NewsUncertain outlook knocks retailers hard
General retailers had a bad week as their stocks declined by twice as much as the wider market, which took a knock as the eurozone crisis dragged on and pundits argued over the UK’s economic prospects.
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AnalysisAmazon’s profits hit as it focuses on long-term gains
Last week Amazon recorded a 73% fall in net profit to $63m (£39.1m) during its third quarter ended September 30 compared with the same period last year, despite sales jumping 44% to $10.88bn (£6.75bn).
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NewsBlacks appoints Dominic Lavelle as interim finance director
Embattled retailer Blacks Leisure has appointed Dominic Lavelle as interim finance director.
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NewsStore Twenty One to push trend-led fashion
Value clothing and homewares retailer Store Twenty One is to further increase its fashionability after its trendier lines helped it bounce back into the black.
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OpinionStill deals to be done despite volatility
It is no great surprise that the mergers and acquisitions environment has been getting much tougher over recent months with increasingly volatile trading conditions and darker consumer outlook – but more about that later, what has happened so far this year?
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NewsNo respite for furniture retailers until 2014
Battered furniture and flooring retailers will not have any relief from punishing conditions until 2014 as the housing market remains stagnant.
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OpinionArgos will have to fight in China
Back in the summer, at the time of Home Retail Group’s full-year results, I asked Terry Duddy whether international expansion might make sense for Argos.
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NewsBlacks like-for-likes plummet as turnaround plan is unveiled
Blacks like-for-likes plummeted 7.2% in its first half as new boss Julia Reynolds unveils her turnaround strategy.
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NewsMore bad news from Carpetright as sales continue to fall
Carpetright has announced a 5.2% fall in second quarter sales, and warned that full-year profits will come in at “the lower end of current expectations.”
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OpinionWHSmith pushes the envelope
WHSmith has never been the most exciting of retailers. In the last few years its City updates have followed the same reassuring yet predictable path – rising profits as further cost savings are found, and falling sales, particularly in its high street arm.
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NewsKesa manoeuvres to keep ‘economic interest’ in Comet
Kesa could keep an economic interest in Comet, the embattled electricals chain it has put up for sale, under a proposal being discussed with private equity firm OpCapita.
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AnalysisCarrefour sounds profit warning as sales slide
Last week, the world’s second largest retailer, France-based Carrefour issued its fourth profit warning saying it expected 2011 operating profit to fall by up to 20%, compared with 15% stated previously for its third profit warning in August.
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NewsRetail suffers as bad news hits confidence
The overall market was up but retail shares were down over the week, with a raft of bad news and concern about consumer confidence hitting the stores sector.
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NewsSharp sets out strategy as Debenhams records 10% profit increase
New Debenhams chief executive Michael Sharp has revealed his growth strategy for the department store, as he revealed full year pre-tax profit jumped 10% to £166.1m..
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NewsSports Direct profits jump 13.3% as sales grow
Sports Direct retail gross profit advanced 13.3% to £119m as sales thrive.
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NewsArgos continues to drag down Home Retail as profits slump
Argos has continued to drag down the performance of its parent Home Retail in the first half, as group pre-tax profit slumped 70% to £28m.
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NewsMothercare suffers but retail improves
While retailers rose over the week, Mothercare’s shares went in the opposite direction as desperate trading in the UK claimed the scalp of chief executive Ben Gordon on Tuesday.