Retail round-up: What the Sunday papers said, November 30, 2008
- Published: 01 December 2008 10:21
- Last Updated: 01 December 2008 11:07
- Reader Responses
The newspapers speculated who would bid for Woolworths and Theo Paphitis' name invariably cropped up
Most of the newspapers this weekend were dominated by stories on potential bidders for Woolworths, which include Ryman's owner and Dragon's Den star Theo Paphitis, Tony Page, who runs the Woolworths' store divisions and Leeds-based investor Endless. A raft of retailers are also said to be vying for Woolworths' stores including Tesco, Asda, Iceland and Primark.
The Sunday Times reported some rare good news this weekend saying that trading profits for Selfridges soared 30 per cent in the year to last January. Sales for the year rose 10 per cent to £655 million.
It also reports that Baugur has put its tea and coffee chain Whittard of Chelsea up for sale. Sources suggest that Hilco and US-based Gordon Brothers were interested in the retailer.
The Mail on Sunday and the Sunday Express both ran stories on the VAT cuts with The Express reporting that toy retailer The Entertainer and home shopping specialist Boden are running campaigns offering to pay all the VAT on customers' purchases to boost sales.
The Mail on Sunday also reported that Christmas hamper specialist Park Group is expected to report this week a rise in customers attracted to its savings plan this year.
