All General merchandise articles – Page 220
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Opinion
John Richards: Think it's bad? You've seen nothing yet
Plan for lower sales in 2009 and 2010 and you won’t suffer too many unpleasant shocks. The severity of the financial crunch and the excesses that led to it mean that the adjustment process must not only be painful but protracted.
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News
Fund set up to back retailers of the future
A consortium of retail entrepreneurs has united to create an investment fund to support fledgling UK retail businesses.
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News
Blackwell creates wholesale arm
Academic books retailer Blackwell is venturing into the wholesale arena with the launch of a new division to drive sales of its own-brand products.
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Analysis
NRF: Brave New World
After a year of financial turmoil a more humble and socially aware retail industry was on show at this year’s National Retail Federation convention last week. Joanna Perry reports from New York
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News
Short selling on retail stock doubles
Short selling positions on retail shares have almost doubled between November and January, as investors bet on further misery for the sector.
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News
Sir Tom Hunter slams Flying Brands management
Sir Tom Hunter has lambasted the management of Flying Brands and said he will take a more active role in the future of the home shopping group following yesterday’s profits warning.
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News
Marks & Spencer extends services tie-up for EPoS roll-out
Marks & Spencer is working with Computacenter to improve the time it takes to get new IT systems up and running.
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News
Flying Brands issues profit warning
Home shopping group Flying Brands has issued a profit warning as the Jersey-based retailer continues to struggle with rising costs and shrinking margins.
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News
Home Retail Group buys Chad Valley toy brand
Argos parent Home Retail Group has bought Woolworths' toy brand Chad Valley for 5 million.
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News
Inflation falls to 3.1 per cent
Inflation fell to 3.1 per cent in December, down from 4.1 per cent in November, the Consumer Prices Index showed.
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News
Woolworths Group applies for administration
The board of Woolworths Group has applied to go in to administration, following the collapse of its retail arm and entertainment division EUK last year.
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News
Retailer critical list grows
Retailers are set to face further distress in 2009 after the number of companies facing bankruptcy soared 81 per cent in the final quarter of 2008, according to a survey.
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News
Worst Christmas sales growth in London since 2004
London retailers experienced their worst like-for-like growth this Christmas since 2004. December sales in the capital were 0.7 per cent lower than a year ago on a like-for-like basis.
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News
Pets at Home like-for-likes up 10.4 per cent
Pets at Home has defied the economic gloom by posting a 10.4 per cent increase in like-for-likes in the six weeks to January 8.
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Analysis
Supply Chain: Reverse psychology
Returns can be a costly burden, yet retailers’ supply chains are often ill-equipped to deal with them. Charlotte Hardie asks where savings can be made as unwanted gifts fly back to stores.
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News
HobbyCraft profits soar
Arts and crafts chain HobbyCraft’s pre-tax profits rocketed 122 per cent to 6.1m in the 10 months to January 4.
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News
Retail stocks languish as dismal Christmas fails to lift confidence
Hard-pressed retailers outperformed the All Share index as the first week of trading updates brought few nasty surprises.
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News
Electricals and toys bolster salesat Shop Direct
Electricals and toys lifted sales over Christmas at Shop Direct Group.
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News
Instore festive sales hit by Woolworths discounting
Value retailer Instore has reported like-for-like sales down 1.9 per cent for the five weeks to January 3 as it was hit by the heavy discounting at Woolworths in the run-up to Christmas.
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NewsOriginal Factory Shop and TJ Hughes cash in on festive trading down
Discount retailers Original Factory Shop and TJ Hughes have delivered stellar Christmas results amid a challenging economic climate.