Breakfast briefing: Retail news on MandM Direct, Forever 21, Tesco and more

MandM Direct expected to announce intention to float on junior AIM market

Discount online clothing retailer MandM Direct is expected to reveal its plans to float as early as Tuesday, with the IPO garnering the business at roughly £140m to £170m, the Telegraph reported. MandM Direct is being advised by Canaccord and Investec. M&M Direct is considering listing on the junior AIM market. MandM Direct hope to get its float away by tapping into demand from investors looking to build exposure to online retailing.

Forever 21 UK incurs £66.5m in pre-tax loss in 2013

Fashion retailer Forever 21 UK’s pre-tax loss widened to £66.5m last year from £7.6m in the year earlier as it was forced to take impairment charges on the value of its assets, the Telegraph reported. According to accounts filed by the company, its revenues grew from £23m to £37.1m in the year to February 28, 2013 on the back of new store openings.

Tesco boss creates two roles on executive committee

Tesco’s chief executive Philip Clarke has said that the retailer is creating two executive roles, hoping to ‘reshape’ the company and meet changing customer demands amid price cuts and a weak food market, Reuters reported. Jill Easterbrook, who is currently running Tesco’s emerging health and well-being businesses, will take on the position of the chief customer officer. Matt Atkinson will become chief creative officer, Clarke said.

Inditex set to bring Stradivarius women’s clothing business to London

Zara owner Inditex is poised to open its first UK Stradivarius women’s clothing store in London, London Evening Standard reported. A first outlet will be opened this year at Westfield Stratford. Stradivarius, targeting women aged 20 to 35, is in 60 countries across the globe with sales topping €1bn (£813m) for the first time last year, and bosses at the Spanish fashion retailer are keen to cash in on London’s renewed fondness for spending.

Wm Morrison found to be in breach of groceries code

The Groceries Code Adjudicator has found UK supermarket giant Wm Morrison in breach of the groceries code after it overcharged suppliers, the Financial Times reported. Morrison fell foul of the grocers’ watchdog after it debited 67 suppliers without their permission.

But the retailer was cleared over its plans to make suppliers pay for a prominent showing on its new website. Those who refuse to pay will still be stocked online, albeit less prominently. A spokesman for Wm Morrison said: “We mistakenly took payments from a small number of suppliers as we rolled out the programme and these were paid back as soon as we discovered the error. We made these refunds without any prompting.”