All AO (Appliances Online) articles – Page 3
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News
AO to review German business as supply issues and marketing costs bite
AO has said it will explore options for its German arm as a number of issues impacted its revenues over the past nine months.
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Opinion
‘The era of Covid-forgiveness is over – retail must put service at the top of the agenda’
Shoppers were willing to put up with lower standards of service while they and the retailers they relied on navigated the health emergency. But now, as conditions normalise, they expect better. Good service will increasingly characterise retail success but a poor experience will be punished, argues Luke Tugby.
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Analysis
Who will be the retail winners and losers of 2022?
Which retailers will fly and flop in the year to come? We asked retail experts to share their tips for 2022.
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News
AO boss laments Xbox and iPhone shortages as Black Friday nears
AO chief executive and founder John Roberts told Retail Week that small consumer electricals have been the worst affected by supply chain issues in the lead up to the festive season.
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News
AO slashes profit guidance as product shortages batter festive forecasts
AO has swung to a loss and slashed its full-year profit guidance after ongoing supply chain disruption and the HGV driver shortage battered its golden quarter expectations.
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Opinion
‘It’s the power of imagination that makes technology deliver brilliantly for customers’
Retailers are still just scratching the surface when it comes to leveraging tech for the benefit of the consumer, writes Danny Emmett, chief operating officer of AO.com.
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Analysis
From float to flop – why the pandemic’s winners are struggling on the stock market
For retail businesses booming during the pandemic, an IPO seemed like the natural next step. Yet for many of the 2020 winners share prices have plummeted – Retail Week asks why.
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News
AO warns supply chain ‘disruption’ will trigger profit decline
AO.com has said that “challenging market dynamics” across the UK and Germany have constrained its sales growth, and that it anticipates a decline in full-year profits as a result.
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Analysis
Analysis: How can retail respond to ‘The Great Resignation’?
As retail and hospitality get back to business, something seems to be missing – staff. Dubbed ‘The Great Resignation’ in the US, the UK is also being hit by workers who have had time to take stock over the pandemic and, in many cases, decided to change path.
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Opinion
‘No one wants to hear the pandemic used as an excuse for poor service any more’
This summer of sport has provided endless moments of inspiration for all of us as we start getting back to normality after a difficult year: determination, grit, teamwork, discipline, heart.
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Opinion
‘Climate change will collide with business as usual – retailers need to act now’
The Covid pandemic may finally be starting to cool down, but attention this week has shifted to another crisis that’s threatening to boil over – climate change.
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Future Leaders
What can retailers do to meaningfully support transgender customers and employees?
Pride Month may be over, but the work needed to create real change is not. Retail Week analytical journalist Eleanor Smith asks, if equality isn’t contentious, why are trans identities?
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News
AO plots European expansion as German business rebounds
After returning AO.com’s German arm to profitability, boss John Roberts is eyeing expansion into France, Italy and Spain in the near future.
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News
AO.com back in the black as Covid drives soaring sales and profits
Pureplay electricals specialist AO.com has reported a return to operating profit driven by a surge in sales and EBITDA.
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Retail Navigator Analysis
AO (Financials)
AO’s renewed focus on profitability continued to pay off in the year to end-March 2024 (FY2023). The electricals specialist reported “good progress” in its profit performance despite a decline in sales. Total sales fell 8.7% year on year to £1,039.3m in FY2023, from £1,138.5m the previous year, which management said was “as expected following decisive actions taken to remove non-core channels and loss-making sales”. Sales returned to growth in the fourth quarter of the year. Pre-tax profits grew threefold to £34.3m in FY2023, from £7.6m the year before, reflecting a 3.3% margin, which management said marked “good progress on profit performance” amid the retailer’s “strategic pivot” to concentrate on profit and cash generation.
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Retail Navigator Analysis
AO (SWOT)
AO is an online market leader for household appliances in the UK and amongst the largest retailers of major household appliances. This position allows it to capitalise on further growth in the sector.
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Retail Navigator Analysis
AO (Overview)
AO has embarked on a streamlining programme, reducing costs to focus on profits rather than overall growth. This has been paying off, with the electricals specialist moving back into the black in FY2022 and profitability further improving in FY2023.
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Analysis
Analysis: Will the supermarket shop-in-shop resonate now high streets have reopened?
One of the retail phenomena of the past year has been the rise and rise of the supermarket shop-in-shop.
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Opinion
AO’s Danny Emmett: ‘Pitting online and in-store against each other is a false fight’
Great innovators from Henry Ford to Steve Jobs had it right. Don’t just give customers what they ask for, give them what they don’t know they want yet
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News
AO hails ‘outstanding progress’ as sales and profits soar
AO.com has reported strong sales and expects profits for the year to be in line with market consensus after capitalising on “ the challenges and opportunities” presented by the pandemic.