All Series: City Insider articles – Page 10
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OpinionComment: Flexible contracts may be more ‘hero than zero’
A lot has been written this week about zero-hour contracts, whereby employees need to be available for work, but are not guaranteed any set number of hours.
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OpinionComment: What Bezos's Washington Post deal says about retail and HMV
Amazon is as much a media business as it is a retailer, so are there retail lessons to be learned from the etailer’s founder Jeff Bezos’s acquisition of US newspaper the Washington Post?
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OpinionComment: Crown Estate's pop-up retail venture is inspired
Anyone who reads this column will know that I’m always on the lookout for new and innovative ideas in the UK retail space – and clearly I am not alone.
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OpinionComment: M&S shows signs of improvement as its autumn collection launches
The first lines from Marks & Spencer’s much-anticipated autumn collection started to go into stores last week and the drop seemed to be accompanied by a feeling of genuine confidence and excitement at the retailer.
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OpinionComment: One-off events can’t guarantee retail success
There’s no doubt that ‘feel good’ events, like the birth of the Royal Baby, can have a positive impact on the retail sector.
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OpinionComment: Tesco's latest food launch shows strategic progress is being made
Tesco boss Philip Clarke’s recovery strategy will stand or fall as much by skill of execution as intellectual coherence.
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OpinionComment: Retailers need to learn that trust starts on the shop floor
Reports out this week have revealed that Tesco has launched a new marketing campaign as part of Philip Clarke’s plans to reinvigorate its fresh food offer.
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OpinionComment: SuperGroup's global appeal excites investors
SuperGroup’s full-year figures showed “a return to form”, maintained founder and chief executive Julian Dunkerton as he unveiled a rise in profits and sales.
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OpinionComment: Not all administrations are created equally
Several more retail businesses have hit the headlines after falling into administration in recent weeks. As this list continues to grow, it’s interesting to note the very different reasons why retailers end up in this situation.
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OpinionComment: Marks & Spencer's focus turns to autumn fashion range
Investors are likely to press the pause button on Marks & Spencer for the time being. The retailer’s first-quarter statement came in much as expected.
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OpinionComment: Tesco continues to innovate with new projects
With news out this week that Tesco is to launch a wine brand which will be created by consumers, the supermarket giant looks likely to set a new benchmark for customer engagement.
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OpinionComment: Was Lord MacLaurin’s criticism of Sir Terry Leahy fair?
It wasn’t quite a regicide, but former Tesco boss Lord MacLaurin’s criticisms of his successor Sir Terry Leahy prompted sharp intakes of breath - and some applause - at the grocer’s AGM last week.
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OpinionComment: Self-help measures make a difference at Carpetright
Carpetright boss Darren Shapland’s improvement plan, initiated when he took up the role a year ago, looks as if it is paying off.
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OpinionComment: Majestic shows specialists can compete against big grocers
If Majestic Wine was a bottle of bubbly, it might appear to lack a little sparkle. Profits didn’t move much last year and sales were down.
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OpinionComment: The online shopping experience needs human interaction
Burberry has just unveiled its latest attempt to humanise the online experience by allowing consumers to seal their electronic messages with a real kiss. ‘
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OpinionComment: Supply chain improvement cuts time from shore to store for M&S
Marks & Spencer this week became the first company to sign up for a distribution centre at the new DP World London Gateway deep-sea port on the Thames estuary.
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OpinionComment: Tesco’s woes are the dreams of others
Another week, another Tesco bashing. Whilst it is clearly going through a rough patch, its issues are exacerbated by the fact it is the bellwether, not just for UK retail but for the UK’s economy.
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OpinionComment: Does Card Factory have investor appeal?
Card Factory is undoubtedly an impressively run retailer, so in many ways reports that the owners of the budget greetings card chain are considering a float is not surprising.
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OpinionComment: Ocado’s pet store - The dawn of an online empire?
Just this week, the Centre for Retail Research released new findings predicting that the share of online from overall retail sales will rise from 12.7% in 2012 to 21.5% by 2018.
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OpinionComment: Mothercare’s turnaround is making steady progress
Mothercare’s full-year update last week marked one year into chief executive Simon Calver’s three-year Transformation and Growth turnaround plan.