More finance – Page 123
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OpinionComment: Chris Bryant's criticism of Next and Tesco missed the real retail jobs story
British retailers employ 3 million people in the UK, but you’d think from Labour immigration spokesman Chris Bryant MP’s comments that they all come from Gdansk or Warsaw rather than Dagenham or Wakefield.
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AnalysisInternational analysis: Metro scrapes back into the black
Germany’s Metro Group has returned to the black, albeit at a very low level, with net profit of R17m (£14.6m) for the first half to June 30, compared with a net loss of R98m (£84.6m) during the same period last year.
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OpinionComment: Flexible contracts may be more ‘hero than zero’
A lot has been written this week about zero-hour contracts, whereby employees need to be available for work, but are not guaranteed any set number of hours.
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OpinionComment: What Bezos's Washington Post deal says about retail and HMV
Amazon is as much a media business as it is a retailer, so are there retail lessons to be learned from the etailer’s founder Jeff Bezos’s acquisition of US newspaper the Washington Post?
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AnalysisAnalysis: Payment and targeted marketing - how bank data is changing retail
Bank data is allowing for more targeted and convenient payment and marketing offers. Rebecca Thomson looks at how the partnership between finance and retail is changing.
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OpinionComment: George at Asda - quick to capitalise on new royal arrival
As the nation waited in anticipation for the royal baby to be named, marketing and product teams from the UK’s leading retailers all charged full steam ahead.
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OpinionComment: Crown Estate's pop-up retail venture is inspired
Anyone who reads this column will know that I’m always on the lookout for new and innovative ideas in the UK retail space – and clearly I am not alone.
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OpinionComment: Next right to be wary of recovery claims
It is testament to the skill with which Next has navigated almost five years of financial turmoil that the opinion of chief executive Lord Wolfson is almost as highly anticipated as the traditional quantitative measures as a bellwether for the economic recovery.
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AnalysisNext’s second quarter: What the analysts say
Next today reported its sales jumped 2.3% in its first half as it revised up full-year profit forecasts. The City reacted positively to the results.
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OpinionNick Bubb’s Verdict: Next - 'spontaneous' shopping and retail disciplines
The heatwave in July certainly felt like spontaneous combustion at times, but Next thinks that consumers are becoming more “spontaneous”.
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OpinionComment: M&S shows signs of improvement as its autumn collection launches
The first lines from Marks & Spencer’s much-anticipated autumn collection started to go into stores last week and the drop seemed to be accompanied by a feeling of genuine confidence and excitement at the retailer.
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AnalysisInternational analysis: Is the Carrefour supertanker turning around?
With a mere 1.4% growth in sales to E20.46bn (£17.6bn), Carrefour’s performance remained weak in its second quarter.
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OpinionComment: One-off events can’t guarantee retail success
There’s no doubt that ‘feel good’ events, like the birth of the Royal Baby, can have a positive impact on the retail sector.
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OpinionComment: Retailers must make the best of the weather
The entry at number 24 of the weather in Retail Week’s 2013 Powerlist was not a flippant attempt to add controversy into the annual ranking but a reflection of the increasing influence changing weather patterns are having on the sector.
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OpinionNick Bubb's verdict: B&Q can't always rely on the weather
B&Q has at last had the right weather recently to shift its seasonal ranges, but who is best placed to benefit from a pick-up in the UK housing market?
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OpinionComment: Tesco's latest food launch shows strategic progress is being made
Tesco boss Philip Clarke’s recovery strategy will stand or fall as much by skill of execution as intellectual coherence.
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AnalysisCarpetright's first quarter: What the analysts say
Carpetright today reported a decline in first quarter like-for-like sales as the warm weather hit its performance in the UK. Retail Week rounds up the City’s reaction.
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OpinionComment: Retailers need to learn that trust starts on the shop floor
Reports out this week have revealed that Tesco has launched a new marketing campaign as part of Philip Clarke’s plans to reinvigorate its fresh food offer.
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AnalysisInternational analysis: German DIY retailer Praktiker under pressure as rivals circle
Germany-based Praktiker is on the brink of collapse after negotiations over restructuring its finances broke down last week.
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AnalysisAnalysis: Shop Direct to focus on personalisation to become a "world-class digital retailer"
Under new chief executive Alex Baldock, home shopping group Shop Direct plans to develop a world-class digital offer.