All City & finance articles – Page 602
-
Opinion
Northern Rock fiasco a bad sign
The sight of scared consumers queuing up in their thousands to withdraw their cash from troubled Northern Rock might turn out to be almost as bad news for retailers as it was for the bank.Savers have withdrawn about£2 billion, fearful of losing everything despite reassuring statements from the Government and ...
-
News
Auchan invests in Portugal as rival sells hypermarkets
Auchan is to plough €600 million ( 414 million) into its Portuguese retail arm amid speculation that it could acquire hypermarkets from rival Carrefour. The French food and general merchandise retailer is set to inject the cash over the next three years as part of a drive to expand its ...
-
News
Debt crunch may sting profits, analysts warn
Brokers warned that the ongoing corporate lending crisis could take a slice of retailers’ profits if debt market turmoil continues. As the Bank of England stepped in to keep Northern Rock bank afloat, analysts tried to gauge the impact of tightening credit terms on the finances of store groups. Kaupthing ...
-
News
Debenhams: the city view
There were sighs of relief in the Square Mile when Debenhams’ 52-week update brought no nasty surprises. Although like-for-likes fell 5 per cent and gross margin was down, profit forecasts will be met. Chief executive Rob Templeman flagged a more challenging retail environment, but said: “We believe the actions we ...
-
News
City fears Northern Rock fiasco will erode consumer confidence
Cold weather will be better news for fashion retailers that suffered during the wet summer, but fears mounted that the consumer climate may turn truly arctic. The Northern Rock crisis could be the catalyst for shoppers to snap their purses shut. That fear was reflected in the general retail sector’s ...
-
News
Inditex sales jump 19 per cent
New stores and a growing international presence helps push Inditex sales up to €4.12 billion
-
News
Challenges ahead as Virgin becomes Zavvi
Virgin Megastores managing director Simon Douglas has admitted that rebranding Virgin Megastores to Zavvi will pose challenges for the retailer. This week, Virgin Megastores was sold as part of a management buy-out led by managing director Simon Douglas and finance director Steve Peckham. Douglas conceded that the Virgin name has ...
-
News
Thorntons posts a profits surge across all channels
Thorntons has reported a 36.5 per cent surge in pre-tax profits to£7.1 million with positive sales growth recorded across all channels in its full year to June 30. The chocolate retailer, which recorded a poor first quarter when like-for-likes sales dropped 3.5 per cent and online sales slumped by 5.1 ...