Barbies and princesses: The game-changer in gender-stereotyped toys May 13, 2019 "Can I be an astronaut if I’m a girl?” That was the question asked by Katy Alexander’s four-year-old daughter, Zabel. To the New Jersey-born mother, this question came as a surprise. “Until then, I’d never really noticed that the characters in the space books she had been reading and the games she had been playing were [...]
Go fish: Angling Direct denies investors a dividend as it doubles down on expansion plans May 13, 2019 Angling Direct boosted sales by 40 per cent in its latest financial year but denied investors a dividend as it doubled down on expansion plans both online and on the UK high street. Read more: Angling Direct shares rise as it reels in record sales The figures Group sales rose 39 per cent to £42m [...]
Retail vacancy rates hit four-year high as shoppers ditch the high street May 13, 2019 Vacancy rates climbed to a four-year high last month, as high streets and shopping centres suffered a year-on-year fall in the number of shoppers during April. Read more: Next credits warm Easter for unexpected jump in retail sales The national town centre vacancy rate reached 10.2 per cent in April, marking a further increase on the [...]
Britain has too many shops – no wonder more and more are being boarded up May 13, 2019 Boarded-up shop fronts are a common sight during recessions. In the early 1990s, they became an eyesore for town centres and the Conservative government alike, an everyday visual reminder of the economic slump that dragged the Tories lower and lower in the polls (albeit not low enough to deliver Neil Kinnock into Downing Street, once [...]
Sir Philip Green loses his billionaire status May 12, 2019 Sir Philip Green has lost his billionaire status, rounding off a torrid 12 months for the scandal-hit fashion mogul. For the first time since 2002, Green can no longer count himself a member of the billionaires club after seeing his personal fortune halve over the course of the last year. The Topshop tycoon and his [...]
Local authorities braced for budget hit as Debenhams demands business rates cut May 12, 2019 Cash-strapped local authorities are set to become the latest victim in the demise of Debenhams, as the embattled retailer embarks on a turnaround plan that includes a controversial move to cut business rate bills that it owes. New research shown to Morning Wire estimates local authorities will no longer receive £8.5m of the total £17.3m [...]
Goals Soccer Centres chief executive to quit to join British Olympic Association May 12, 2019 The chief executive of Goals Soccer Centres, the five-a-side football venue operator, is stepping down weeks after the company’s shares were suspended following a £12m accounting error. Andy Anson, who has been in the role for a year, is stepping down to take on the chief executive job at the British Olympic Association (BOA), Sky [...]
Short-sellers smell blood at embattled shopping centre firm Intu May 12, 2019 Short-sellers have been stepping up their bets against Intu in recent months, as they look to cash in on the embattled shopping centre owner’s current retail woes. City punters have been circling the FTSE landlord, which recently appointed Matthew Roberts as its new boss, amid downbeat forecasts that the group’s rental income will slide as [...]
Chinese retail giant JD.com hits record quarterly profits to beat expectations May 10, 2019 Chinese e-commerce behemoth JD.com exceeded estimates for its first quarter earnings this year, up 20.9 per cent on the same period in 2018 with record-breaking quarterly profits. The tech giant recently cut staff and wages in a bid to increase profitability and saw revenue grow to Rmb121bn (£13.8bn) for the quarter up until 31 March 2019. [...]
Why bombed-out Sainsbury’s leads the FTSE 100 May 10, 2019 | City Talk Hammered since the Asda merger was blocked, our head of markets explains the surge to a three-week high. Rather than fight the decision of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), Sainsbury (LSE:SBRY) and Asda decided to call off the wedding. This leaves a huge strategic question mark over where Sainsbury's goes next. Not surprisingly, the [...]