Nike shares fall as footwear giant could lose production of 160m pairs of shoes September 14, 2021 Nike is at risk of losing the production of 160m pairs of shoes after the shutdown of factory operations in Vietnam due to Covid. Nike shares were down 2.5 per cent on Tuesday morning after the sportswear giant was downgraded from neutral to buy at BTIG. Manufacturing in the country was paused in July after [...]
Hot under the collar: Ocado pins revenue tumble on warehouse fire September 14, 2021 Online supermarket Ocado has pinned a revenue dive over the last quarter on a fire at one of its London warehouses, in its latest trading update today. The fire, at its south London Erith Customer Fulfilment Centre in July, cost Ocado some £35m in revenue, it said in a statement – the equivalent of 300,000 [...]
CDR agrees pensions deal with Morrisons as takeover nears September 14, 2021 Private equity house Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CDR) looks to have shored up its grip on takeover target Morrisons after coming to an agreement with trustees over the supermarket’s pension schemes. The supermarket has been at the heart of a bidding war between CDR and fellow private equity firm Fortress, with the former agreeing a £7bn [...]
Tesco launches zero-waste trials in stores September 13, 2021 Tesco has launched zero-waste shopping trials at ten stores where customers can buy goods in reusable packaging so they can be returned and used again, in partnership with Loop, a waste management company. Customers shopping in the ten Tesco stores, all in the east of England where the initiative is being tested, will be able to [...]
Sainsbury’s to close all stores, Argos and Habitat on Boxing Day as a ‘thank you’ to its 170,000 employees September 13, 2021 Sainsbury’s, Britain’s second-largest supermarket chain will keep all of its supermarkets, convenience stores and petrol filling stations shut this Boxing Day as a “thank you” to its roughly 170,000 colleagues. Sainsbury’s added that all its Argos and Habitat stores will also remain shut for the day. The decision follows rivals including Morrisons, Waitrose and Marks [...]
Exclusive: Tax benefits turn luxury watches into investment asset as imports swell to £500m September 13, 2021 A new audience of buyers of luxury watches is increasingly taking the market by storm as they view watches that contain precious metals as a stand-alone investment asset. The value of premium luxury watches imported into the UK increased 43 per cent in the last decade, with £488m worth of imports last year alone, compared to just £276m [...]
ABF pins ‘lower than expected sales’ at Primark on summer pingdemic September 13, 2021 Sales at Primark, a subsidiary of Associated British Foods, have dipped below expectations in the last year, as Gen Z shoppers move away from fast fashion brands. In its pre-close trading update for the full year to 18 September, Associated British Foods (ABF) said: “We have seen a significant improvement in trading as the period [...]
US activist fund Causeway Capital builds major stake in WH Smith September 12, 2021 Activist US fund Causeway Capital has amassed a £178m stake in WH Smith as the retail giant tries to get back on its feet post-Covid. Causeway Capital, which is based in Los Angeles, this month increased its share in WH Smith to 9.05 per cent and is now the retail chain’s largest single shareholder. WH [...]
Brexit hit: Stephen Rubin’s Pentland moves to Ireland September 12, 2021 Citing Brexit, the chairman of Pentland Group has relocated overseas according to The Times, who first reported the news. Stephen Rubin was Britain’s biggest taxpayer three years ago according to The Sunday Times Tax List. His brand management company Pentland Group is the largest shareholder in JD Sports, and owns other sports clothing brands including [...]
Franco Manca’s Fulham Shore hails rising revenues after its full-year slip September 10, 2021 Fulham Shore, which owns Franco Manca, has hailed rising revenues in its latest trading update after it fell behind 2020’s recording. The hospitality group pulled in £40.3m in revenue in the year to 28 March, plunging 41.3 per cent from the £68.6m it raked in last year. But in the three weeks to 5 September, [...]