Retail Week
January 7 2011
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Christmas sales increases for retailers in India
Retailers have reported strong increases in sales over the Christmas weekend, as rising confidence levels in a fast-recovering economy encouraged shoppers to spend more. Future Group’s department store Pantaloons reported a 30% increase in sales over last year and a 20% rise in footfall. Top selling items included partywear, formalwear, casual clothing, toys and gifts.At Reliance Trends, the clothing chain owned by Reliance Retail, like-for-like sales growth was also 30%, driven by fem -
A customer harassed an employee of mine and now I’m faced with a claim of compensation. Is this right?
A customer harassed an employee of mine and now I’m faced with a claim of compensation. Is this right? -
A tough start to the year for retail shares
General retail stocks began the year in deep freeze as the reporting season got under way. -
Andy Bond named chairman of Republic
Former Asda chairman and chief executive Andy bond has been named chairman of private equity-backed fashion retailer Republic. -
Apoteket stills enjoys a "special position" in the market despite deregulation
SWEDEN -
Are digital advertising screens worth the investment or just a fad?
Are digital advertising screens worth the investment or just a fad, and how can we ensure that the content delivers a good return? -
Arnotts reverses sales and EBITDA declines
Troubled Dublin department store Arnotts said that it expected sales to have bounced back in 2010 after a dramatic fall off in turnover the previous year. -
Asda vows to be 10% cheaper than its rivals
Asda has thrown down the gauntlet to its rivals promising its customers that it will be 10% cheaper than its competitors. -
Aurora to outsource distribution and IT functions
Aurora Fashions, the group comprising womenswear chains Oasis, Coast, Karen Millen and Warehouse, is to outsource its distribution and IT functions. -
BDO High Street Sales Tracker
BDO High Street Sales Tracker data for the week ending January 2, 2011 -
Bestseller increases its stake in Asos
Danish fashion group and investor Bestseller has increased its stake in fashion etailer Asos. -
Black beauty
Black, Dixons’ new stylish store in Birmingham, is unlike anything the electricals giant has done before. -
Blacks sale decision likely after strong Christmas
A decision on the potential sale of Blacks Leisure is likely to be made within weeks after the outdoor specialist beat the big freeze to post a strong seasonal performance. -
Bond stands down as Asda chairman
Asda chairman Andy Bond has stepped down from his position just nine months into the role and will leave parent Walmart at the end of March after completing its acquisition of South African general merchandise retailer Massmart. -
Brian McCluskey
Having sealed a lucrative private equity sale and with overseas expansion on the cards, the Office chief executive is starting the year in style. -
BrightHouse reveals strong Christmas and remains confident for 2011
Rent to own electricals and furniture retailer BrightHouse has revealed a strong Christmas trading period and feels confident of sustaining “robust” growth in 2011. -
Brokers tip share price stars as 2011 set to be a tough one
Kingfisher, Marks & Spencer, Dixons Retail and Dunelm are among brokers’ retail stock picks for 2011. -
Carrefour enters India solo with cash and carry store
Following in the footsteps of its global rivals, Carrefour has finally entered the Indian market with its first cash and carry store -
Clinton Cards warns on profits
Clinton Cards has warned its pre-tax profits will be “significantly lower” than market expectations after the snow hit its December sales. -
Consumer confidence in 2011
Public sector job cuts, the VAT rise and possible interest rate hikes mean consumer confidence will remain jittery this year, but Easter could be retail’s reprieve -
DCM Holdings revenue falls 2% to £2.5bn
Home improvement retailer DCM Holdings reported a 2% fall in revenues to ¥320.8bn (£2.5bn) in the nine months ending November 30, 2010. Operating profit was up by 3.8% to ¥11.8bn (£93m), while net profit was up by almost a quarter to ¥6.5bn (£51m). -
Debenhams like-for-likes slow, market share up
Debenhams has revealed that like-for-like sales at the department store chain were impacted by the snow in December but added that it had notched up market share gains across the board. -
Dunelm's Christmas like-for-likes slide
Dunelm Group has reported a like-for-like sales fall of 4.2% in its second quarter over the Christmas period, resulting in a like-for-like dip of 1.2% for its first half. -
EBay mobile sales triple in 2010 as UK leads m-commerce revolution
Mobile sales at online giant eBay tripled to nearly $2bn in 2010 with the UK the fastest adopter of m-commerce. -
Emart aims for £557m in turnover and to expand stores by 40% annually
Electronics retailer Emart is targeting turnover of 4,000 crore (£557m) in the next three to four years and will expand its store count by about 40% annually. Sunil Mehta, chief executive of Emart’s electronics business Next Retail, said that the chain expected to reach 1,000 stores by the end of fiscal 2011 and would achieve turnover of about 1,500 crore (£210m).Next Retail operates 600 stores in 270 cities, of which 182 are company-owned and the remainder franchised. The retailer has -
Experian Footfall: Week 52, 2010
Experian Footfall index data for the week ending January 2, 2011 -
Furniture Sales benefit from VAT rise
Furniture retailers have experienced a good start to their Boxing Day Sales despite the snow putting off customers initially. -
Gap like-for-likes dip over Christmas
Gap international like-for-likes, which includes the UK, were down 4% in the key Christmas trading period in the five weeks to January 1. -
Good cost control can help bottom line
There’s no doubt 2010 was a school of hard knocks for many retailers and consumer sentiment suggests 2011 will be another tough year. -
Grocers slash prices in battle to keep customers spending
Morrisons vows to help shoppers beat VAT rise while Asda guarantees to be cheaper than competitors -
Harveys appoints former Dixons director to drive market share
Furniture chain Harveys has hired former Dixons director Stephen Campbell as its new managing director. -
HMV backtracks on fashion after grim trading
Embattled HMV is scaling back its fashion ambitions and has not ruled out closing more stores after a disastrous Christmas. -
House of Fraser enjoys record Christmas
House of Fraser has posted a record Christmas with like-for-like sales increasing 8.5% in the five weeks to January 8, despite last month’s snow. -
Imaginarium, Madrid
A new 9,700 sq ft toy shop set over two floors may be of passing interest, but will probably not be worth writing home about. When it is a new format and a flagship rolled into one, it is rather more noteworthy and Spanish retailer Imaginarium’s flagship in Madrid’s Salamanca district, is more or less that. -
Inditex chairman Amancio Ortega to step down
Amancio Ortega, founder of Spanish fast-fashion group Inditex, which runs the Zara, Massimo Dutti, Bershka and Pull and Bear chains, is to step down from his role as chairman. -
J Front Retailing revenue falls 3.1% to £5.4bn
Revenues at department store group J Front Retailing fell by 3.1% to ¥687.8bn (£5.4bn) in the nine months ending November 30, 2010. Operating profit increased by 3.5% to ¥9.3bn (£73.2m) while net profit doubled to ¥4.8bn (£37.8m). -
JD Sports' profits to beat expectations after strong Christmas
Fashion group JD Sports will make higher full-year profits than expected after Christmas trading beat expectations. -
John Lewis Partnership to invest £500m this year
John Lewis Partnership is to invest a record £500m in 2011 and indicated that the John Lewis chain will be ready to expand overseas by the year’s end. -
Jumbo ramps up rebannering Super de Boer stores to Jumbo
Dutch supermarket group Jumbo plans to accelerate the conversion of former Super de Boer stores to Jumbo, rebannering 90 stores during 2011. In 2010, the retailer’s group turnover reached E3.51bn (£3.03bn), mainly thanks to acquisition of large parts of Super de Boer from French Casino. -
Kantar Worldpanel: Clothing, footwear and accessories
The latest Kantar Worldpanel Clothing, footwear and accessories data for the 24 weeks ending October 3, 2010 vs 2009 -
Kingfisher launches tender offer for £100m of notes
International DIY group Kingfisher is to cut debt and improve its return on cash by purchasing up to £100m of loan notes from holders. -
Losses fall at Jysk as turnover soars 20%
Danish furniture retailer Jysk has increased sales in a difficult market while shaving a third off its losses. -
Lush Christmas sales up 6.8%
Ethical cosmetics retailer Lush has reported UK retail sales excluding VAT up 6.8% for the key Christmas trading month of December. -
Majestic Wine reports strong Christmas
Majestic Wine has reported strong Christmas with like-for-like UK sales for the nine weeks to January 3 up 3.7%. -
Marks & Spencer posts 2.8% Christmas like-for-like sales rise
Retail bellwether Marks & Spencer generated UK like-for-like growth of 2.8% and market share gains over the Christmas period, despite arctic weather conditions. -
McBride quits Amazon for health reasons
Amazon UK managing director Brian McBride has stepped down from the business for health reasons. -
Morrisons Christmas like-for-likes up 1%
Morrisons has reported like-for-like sales up 1% in the six weeks to January 2, saying it served an average of two million more customers each week over the Christmas period than five years ago. -
Morrisons makes four senior appointments
Morrisons has made four senior appointments as new chief executive Dalton Philips bolsters his team. -
Mothercare issues profit warning
Mothercare has warned its profits will be below expectations after the snow impacted its third quarter like-for-likes by around 4%. -
Netflix on the look-out for new international markets after success in Canada
Online streaming site Netflix said it was pleased with the results of its recent market entry into Canada and was looking at new international markets for 2011. Spokesman Steve Swasey declined to reveal how many subscribers had signed up in Canada, but said: “After a short period in Canada we’re now talking about other regions in the world, so that’s a good indicator.”Chief executive Reed Hastings revealed during a recent event that Netflix.ca is on track to be profitable by the time o -
Next offers lessons for a difficult 2011
The shape of things to come for retailers in 2011 was evident in this week’s updates from Next and HMV. -
Ocado Christmas sales up 26.7%
Ocado has reported gross sales up 26.7% to £50.9m in the four weeks to December 26, with gross sales of £12.3m, up 43.5%, in Christmas week itself. -
OFT called upon to block Tesco takeover of Mills
Convenience retail trade body the ACS has called on the OFT to stop the takeover of Mills Group by Tesco’s c-store business One Stop. -
Opportunity awaits in Ireland
Ireland might be struggling but retailers can capitalise if they time it right, says Simon Burke -
Pawnbroker H&T lifts profit guidance
Pawnbroker H&T expects to beat City profit forecasts for the year just ended as a result of the rising price of gold and record lending to customers. -
Retail resolutions for 2011
All the signs are that 2011 will be a tough year for retail, so how can businesses prepare? Charlotte Hardie and Rebecca Thomson report -
Retail sector like-for-likes fell 0.3% in December
The stores sector suffered a like-for-like sales decline of 0.3% during the crucial month of December as snow hit sales. -
Rose: the legacy
After almost seven years, Sir Stuart Rose has finally cut his links to Marks & Spencer. How big an impact did he have on the retailer, asks George MacDonald -
Rossmann to open 110 stores in Germany in 2011
Drugstore business Rossmann plans to open 110 stores in Germany in 2011. The retailer has earmarked E92m (£79.2m) for investment in the country, out of a total E150m (£129.2m) which will be invested across the business during 2011.Rossmann generated group revenue of E63bn (£54.bn) in 2010, a 12.9% rise over the previous year and higher than the retailer’s own projection. Sales in its 1,580 German stores rose 10.8% to E3.4bn (£2.9bn). -
Rough Trade festive sales up 5%
Iconic music retailer Rough Trade has revealed a strong Christmas performance and remains confident for 2011. -
Ryman sales and profits rise despite ‘tough year’
Stationery specialist Ryman generated sales and profits growth last year but cautioned 2011 will be challenging. -
Sainsbury's emerges Christmas winner, according to Nielsen
Sainsbury’s has emerged the Christmas winner out of the big four grocers according to market research company Nielsen. -
Sears to launch movie download service
Department store group Sears has unveiled plans to launch a movie download service at its eponymous and Kmart stores. The service, called Alphaline Entertainment, would be available to users on a variety of devices, including mobile, and will offer customers the ability to download movies and TV shows the same day they are released on DVD and Blu-Ray.Alphaline is powered by Sonic Solutions’ RoxioNow platform. A number of Sears’ competitors, including -
Shop Direct Christmas sales up 5%
Online giant Shop Direct notched up a 5% increase in total sales, excluding VAT, for the six weeks to December 31. -
Shop Direct to launch new brand targeting mature market
Online giant Shop Direct Group is launching an online department store on Saturday aimed at style-conscious mature customers. -
Should be better
Heathrow has had its fair share of detractors lately with BAA being lambasted for poor performance, leaves on the line and suchlike. -
Sir Philip Green to 'double' Topshop sales
Arcadia boss Sir Philip Green is aiming to double sales at Topshop within the next five years, through an ambitious programme of international expansion at the young fashion chain. -
Sir Philip Green: Topshop will not pass on VAT hike
Topshop and Topman will not pass the January VAT rise on to customers, Arcadia owner Sir Philip Green has confirmed. -
Store chiefs to attend Cameron jobs summit
Top retailers are expected to attend a jobs summit to be held by Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday and designed to shift the agenda away from cuts to economic recovery. -
Store chiefs warn interest rate hike would rock retail
Keeping interest rates low is vital for the retail industry this year, says Next boss -
Target pinpoints 10 locations for small-format stores
Get the knowledgeSubscribers have exclusive access to Retail Week Knowledge Bank. Find out what you’re missing now.Discount variety retailer Target has pinpointed 10 locations where it will open its smaller-format store concept. The list is composed of urban areas with densely populated central business distr -
Tesco acquires 128 Czech Republic stores for £35m
Tesco has strengthened its central European operations with the acquisition of 128 convenience stores in the Czech Republic for CZK1.02bn koruna (£35.1m). -
Tesco China boss Ken Towle to move back to UK to head online
Tesco China chief executive Ken Towle is to return to the UK to take over the online operation under the newly-created role of director of internet retailing. -
Tesco is still the food retail star
Predictably the new year not only started with the VAT rise but also with a pledge from Tesco to save customers money by slashing prices. -
Tesco promotes insider to new role of UK chief operating officer
Incoming Tesco UK chief executive Richard Brasher has drafted in a Tesco lifer to the newly created role of UK chief operating officer. -
Tesco to follow customer in services
Tesco’s group strategy director Andrew Higginson says that there are no limits in the services that the retailer might be prepared to move into. -
Tesco unveils UK board appointments
Tesco has made a raft of appointments in its newly-created UK board, under UK chief executive Richard Brasher. -
Theo Fennell issues profit warning
Jeweller Theo Fennell has become the latest retailer to issue a profits warning as snow hit its Christmas sales. -
Topps Tiles sales up despite snow disruption
Topps Tiles like-for-like sales grew 2.2% in the 13 weeks to January 2. -
Under the weather
The snow, swine flu, and subdued consumer sentiment conspired to keep shoppers away from stores in December. -
Weather forces Alexon profit warning
Womenswear group Alexon issued a profit warning before Christmas after its three peak weeks were wiped out by icy weather. -
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