All articles by Nick Bubb – Page 4
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Analysis
The year in retail: Christmas quiz
Test your knowledge of developments in retail in 2013 with analyst and commentator Nick Bubb’s seasonal quiz.
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Opinion
Nick Bubb's Verdict: Sports Direct and SuperGroup - A tale of two IPOs
Now that Fat Face is the latest retailer to be thinking about an IPO, it’s timely to look back at how Sports Direct and SuperGroup have fared since going public.
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Opinion
Nick Bubb’s verdict: Tesco - no easy solution
The stockmarket had been softened up for bad news on Q3 sales, so, with no profit warning today, Tesco’s shares have rallied.
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Opinion
Nick Bubb’s verdict: Poundland - will investors in the IPO be quids in?
Five years on from the demise of Woolworths, fund managers will soon have a new discount retailer to invest in.
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Opinion
Nick Bubb’s verdict: Dixons - Down with Comet, up with service?
Dixons has picked up a lot of market share over the last year, thanks to the demise of Comet, but can they now build on that success?
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Opinion
Nick Bubb’s verdict: Arcadia - if in doubt blame the weather?
Sir Philip Green says the weather has been both unseasonably mild and wet recently, but Arcadia’s problems are more deep-seated than that.
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Opinion
Nick Bubb’s verdict: Next - Weathering the retail storm
Monday’s storm reminded us how extreme “the weather” can get, but today’s Next update reminds us how short people’s memories are about the weather.
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Opinion
Nick Bubb’s verdict: Marks & Spencer Food - bags of offline potential?
Even former boss Stuart Rose thinks that M&S Food needs to get online, but management think that there’s still lots to go for offline.
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Opinion
Nick Bubb’s verdict: Wickes - Not doing it for me?
A trade-focused DIY retailer such as Wickes should be cashing in on the “Do It For Me” boom, so what lies behind the weak third quarter?
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Opinion
Nick Bubb's verdict: WHSmith's same strategy delivers again and again
In a fast-changing world, one thing you can always rely upon is WHSmith to deliver the goods and the business strategy remains exactly the same.
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Opinion
Nick Bubb's verdict: Ted Baker - a great advert for good design
Ted Baker famously hasn’t got to where it is today, after 25 years of existence, by spending lots of money on advertising and PR.
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Opinion
Nick Bubb’s verdict: Is the rising tide lifting House of Fraser’s yacht?
Despite impressive online sales growth, helpful autumn weather and rising consumer confidence, is House of Fraser rising with the tide?
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Opinion
Nick Bubb’s Verdict: Asos - Amazingly strong online sales?
Back in the past, Asos stood for “As Seen On Screen”, but now it seems to stand for “Amazingly Strong Online Sales”…
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Opinion
Nick Bubb’s Verdict: Next - Deflating the bubble
If Chancellor George Osborne thought that his friend Simon Wolfson would come out today and share his rosy view of the economic recovery, then he was mistaken…
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Opinion
Nick Bubb’s Verdict: Dixons – could the 'dream scenario' come true?
Shareholders in Dixons have been haunted by the prospect of the UK recovery being frittered away by persistent losses in peripheral businesses.
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Opinion
Nick Bubb’s Verdict: Shopping Centres - Can they adapt to an online shopping world?
Shopping centres have a tough job to compete with online retailing these days, but the big landlords seem surprisingly confident.
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Opinion
Nick 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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Opinion
Nick 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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Opinion
Nick Bubb’s verdict: The changing retail hierarchy - Snakes and Ladders?
Did you know that Asos and Sports Direct combined are now nearly as big as mighty Marks & Spencer in market cap terms?
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Opinion
Nick Bubb’s Verdict: The Weather - Fairweather friend or foe?
It is easy to mock retailers’ excuses about the weather, but fair weather really can be their friend or foe at this time of year.