More on Me + Em – Page 2864
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News
DSGi to close its loss-making Nordic stores
DSGi will shut its loss-making Finnish chain Markantalo and Swedish chain PC City.The retailer is in negotiations to close 19 out of 23 stores under the Markantalo fascia, which was acquired in December 2005 for £33.6m. The remaining four shops will convert to Gigantti, the 26-store Finnish equivalent of DSGi’s ...
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Westfield falls short of Next’s expectations
Next chief executive Simon Wolfson said that its Westfield London shop has so far performed below expectations and that the scheme has had less of an impact on its West End shops than it anticipated.Wolfson said Next, which this week reported like-for-like sales down 6.5 per cent in the full ...
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NewsClinton Cards’ lending terms revised
Clinton Cards has insisted it will ride out the downturn as it renegotiated its lending terms and paid its quarterly rent bill in full.The retailer also said it has noticed an “upside” from the demise of Woolworths and Celebrations, and that its Birthdays chain in particular “picked up a bit” ...
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Jysk makes early loss in UK but trading on the up
Jysk made a pre-tax loss of £1.9m in its first five months of operating in the UK due to the impact of start-up costs but said trading is “very good”.In the five months to August 31, 2008, the UK arm of the Danish furniture giant made sales of £1m in ...
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NewsFigleaves to expand its offer with clothing range
E-tailer Figleaves is to expand beyond lingerie with the launch of a clothing range next week after a £1m investment to build its offer.
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Dreams defies furniture sector gloom with 18% jump in profits
Bed specialist Dreams has triumphed over grim furniture retail conditions by revealing an 18 per cent hike in operating profits to £14.4m in the year to December 25.Dreams said it was able to lift profits as a result of driving “significant economies of scale, despite the rising fuel and steel ...
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NewsLloydspharmacy to save on outsourced IT
Lloydspharmacy parent Celesio is to save up to €200m (£186.2m) by outsourcing the group’s IT infrastructure.The UK pharmacy chain’s IT infrastructure will be outsourced to HP as part of a seven-year deal. German parent Celesio wants to standardise and centralise its IT infrastructure across Europe.Celesio has begun the transition phase, ...
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News
Tesco gears up for in-store banking
Tesco is to install private consul-tation rooms in its banks as it prepares to open 30 branches in stores by the end of this year.The grocer will have representatives at its banks to talk customers through finance offers. A spokeswoman said the consultation rooms will “give customers privacy” as they ...
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NewsH&M London stores refresh
The fashion giant has re-engineered two of its busiest London stores to add space and introduce design elements to improve the shopper experience.Last week H&M completed its new-look Oxford Circus shop; this week it will unveil its refreshed Covent Garden store, to which it has added a new floor.H&M managing ...
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Diamonds & Pearls negotiates on rents as it readies for expansion
Jewellery retailer Diamonds & Pearls is in talks with landlords to secure new terms as it primes itself to become a 100-strong store chain by the end of the year.The retailer was bought out of administration last month by a consortium of undisclosed suppliers to the retail jewellery trade. The ...
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Ian Cheshire pledges B&Q China turnaround after sales slump
B&Q owner Kingfisher will “reinvent” its store model in China as it prepares to slash shop space in the country by 40 per cent.The home improvement group’s B&Q China arm, which made losses of £52m and experienced a 24 per cent decline in sales in the year to January 31, ...
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Signet to cut costs as it tries to tackle debts
Jewellery giant Signet has outlined plans to slash costs and more than halve its debt.The retailer, which operates fascias including H Samuel and Ernest Jones in the UK and Kay Jewelers in the US, said it will cut costs by $100m (£69.9m) in the US and aims to reduce net ...
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Game streaming service threatens the specialists
Video game specialists are likely to come under threat as a new online game distribution system emerges from the US.Onlive allows players to stream high quality on-demand games onto any Intel-based Mac or PC running XP or Vista. Games do not have to be downloaded and no specific console hardware ...
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NewsLaura Ashley remains resilient
Fashion and homewares group Laura Ashley claimed a “resilient” performance despite suffering a fall in full-year profits from £15.8m to £9.6m.Promotions and the weakness of sterling sliced 2 percentage points off gross margin, but the retailer generated a 9.6 per cent rise in total group sales to £260.5m in the ...
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NewsM&S rounds off good week for retail stocks
Marks & Spencer spearheaded an advance by retail shares on Tuesday, when its fourth-quarter numbers defied downbeat expectations.The retail sector rose 6 per cent on the day, when there was also the successful refinancing of Clinton Cards and placings of Debenhams and Sainsbury’s shares. Improving sentiment towards retailers helped the ...
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Hobbs to pilot mother and daughter format
Upmarket fashion retailer Hobbs is to try out a new fascia for a range targeting mothers and daughters in the autumn.The contemporary womenswear range, called NW3, is designed to attract a broader shopper base and lapsed Hobbs customers. It has been spearheaded by former Jaeger creative director Sandy Verdon, who ...
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Ferrari finally makes UK debut on Regent Street
Ferrari is due to open its much-delayed first UK store on London’s Regent Street today.The 5,920 sq ft shop, covering two floors, will stock merchandise ranging from a £3 branded key fob to a Ferrari car.The ground floor features a glazed floor, allowing views of the basement and providing a ...
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Phones 4U reviews roles in service push
Mobile phones retailer Phones 4U has begun a consultation period with 290 in-store administration staff.The third-party mobile phone retailer, which has more than 450 stores in the UK, has proposed a restructure as it overhauls the way it operates its stores.Phones 4U said that it will relocate most of the ...
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International news
US Health and beauty giant Walgreens reported net earnings for the second quarter ending February 28 down 6.7 per cent to $640m (£450.5m). Total sales increased 7 per cent to $16.5bn (£11.6bn), while comparable store sales rose 1.3 per cent.Prescription sales, which accounted for 63 per cent of the total, ...
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Analysis: Inditex’s Euro strongholds give it the edge over H&M
Fashion giants Inditex and H&M reported solid results last week, but as the global downturn continues to deepen both retailers need to remain at the top of their game. While both are formidable players, some argue that H&M faces more challenges than its rival Inditex.The Spanish giant – owner of ...