Retail Week looks ahead to the next seven days with updates from B&M, Asda and Card Factory all on the agenda.

B&M

The value retailer will report its interim results on Tuesday. B&M posted a jump in pre-tax profits and sales at its last full year results. Pre-tax profits jumped 25% while group sales were up 22%. UK like for likes grew 4.7% over that period but slowed to 1.6% in its first quarter, so investors will be keen to see whether this has continued.

Kantar/Nielsen

Tuesday also brings the latest Kantar/Nielsen grocery sales figures. Kantar figures for October showed all of the big four, aside from Morrisons, lost market share on a year-by-year basis, while Aldi, Lidl, Ocado and The Co-op gained market share.

Card Factory

The specialist will post its third-quarter figures on Thursday. Card Factory’s profits and sales both grew at its interims but like-for-likes slipped due to lower high street footfall in a weak consumer environment.

Asda

The big-four grocer will report its third-quarter results on Thursday. Asda has had five consecutive periods of like-for-like growth, demonstrating that its recovery is well underway. The grocer is focused on cutting costs and is in consultation with 2,500 staff as it pursues a mega-merger with Sainsbury’s, which is being examined by the Competition and Markets Authority.

Intu

Thursday also brings the deadline for John Whittaker of Peel Group and his consortium to finalise their bid for Intu. If the deal goes ahead, it will be worth £2.8bn. The group has until 5pm on Thursday to decide whether to proceed with the bid or to pull out of the process.

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