Asda and Tesco have strongly attacked Competition Commission’s crackdown plans on supermarket’s relationships with vendors, saying it will escalate prices as grocers will be experiencing further deluge of red tape. Read the rest of this entry »
March 3rd, 2009Primark shrugs off recession, half-yearly sales to rise 5%
The value fashion giant Primark defies recession by declaring that its half-yearly sales would go up by 5%, but revealed that performance of grocery division of its Associated British Food (ABF) will be disappointing. Read the rest of this entry »
March 1st, 2009Retailers slashing jobs at high rate
Survey data released by the CBI business group on February distributive trades showed balance of 49% of retailers had slashed their workforce, the highest cut since 1983. While record 45% stated that they planned staff reduction for March. Read the rest of this entry »
February 28th, 2009Thousands of Barratts and PriceLess staff to lose jobs
Thousands of employees at high street shoe chain Barratts and PriceLess are threatened with job loss as attempts to avert crisis failed. Parent company, Stylo’s deal with landlords and creditors to retrieve Priceless and Barratts from administration did not materialise.
Stylo chief executive Michael Ziff had warned that if rescue proposals were not accepted, jobs of nearly 5,400 people will be at risk. Barratts and PriceLess have already gone into administration on January 26. Stylo is likely to apply to be placed in administration in next 2 days, under Deloitte.
Stylo was expecting that creditors of Barratts and PriceLess would ensure to retrieve the business from administration through Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA), giving breathing space to company in repayment of debt.
Joint administrator, Daniel Butters, of Deloitte, confirmed that landlords and creditors refused to accept CVA proposal put before them in a meeting yesterday. He also stated that company was seeking to achieve a sale in order to preserve maximum jobs and was holding dialogue with interested parties to find a quick solution.
Stylo runs 400 high street shoe stores under PriceLess and Barratts brands in the UK and employs 5,450 people.
Stylo, which has headquarters in Yorkshire and Bradford, was founded in 1935.
February 28th, 2009High Street shops suspend business with discount group Webloyalty
High Street stores Thomas Cook, Asda, BOQ, Debenhams and HMV have severed ties with the UK’s one of the biggest internet discount firm, after receiving wave of complaints regarding the scheme.
Angry shoppers raised hundreds of objections after it came to light that they were signed up to pay monthly membership fees of £10, under company’s Shoppers Discounts & Rewards scheme, without consent or prior intimation of terms. Read the rest of this entry »
February 27th, 2009Tesco to offer new “pay day” discounting
Tesco is all set to lure customers with roll out of “pay day” discount strategy which will help customers ward off effects of credit crunch.
The UK supermarket giant will make huge offers to shoppers at the end of every month when their bank accounts carry maximum cash. Read the rest of this entry »
February 25th, 2009Organic food retailer Whole Foods suffers losses
London’s UK flagship store of world’s largest retailer of organic food, Whole Foods Market, is suffering losses.
In its first quarter report, Whole Food Market’s High Street Kensington store accounted for 50% of its 2% fall in return on investment in less than 2 years of its commencement of sales. Whole Foods veteran, Jeff Turnas, is being posted as regional president of the UK to tide over the crisis. The food retailer rebranded four of its Fresh & Wild stores this month to the Whole Foods Fascia.
According to John Mackey, Chairman, Whole Foods, the operating cash flow on a currency-adjusted basis in the UK, has improved to minus $1.7m in the current year first quarter compared to minus $3.3m during same period last year. He expressed confidence in dedicated and focussed leadership for driving further improvement in financial performance leading to strong ROI in the long run. He added that there wass great potential for growth in the UK and management was initiating proactive actions to improve operations.
In spite of John Mackey’s confident comments, the financial data points out that Whole Foods’ London store has struggled badly since its opening in June 2007 and has suffered from customers’ reluctance in buying at expensive prices and lack of adequate parking facilities. The launch occurred during severe credit crunch when sales of organic food had started tapering off.
Whole Food is actively searching for new sites in the UK and would open stores at new locations very soon.
February 4th, 2009DVD and game retailer Zavvi to close 15 more stores
Administrators today disclosed closure of another 15 stores of the DVD, music and games retailer, Zavvi, putting 295 employees out of work.
Ernst & Young announced that 15 stores would be closed immediately, while trading at the remaining 48 stores of the chain throughout the UK will continue. Read the rest of this entry »
January 23rd, 2009Celebrity jeweller Theo Fennell falls victim to credit crunch
The UK’s celebrity jeweller failed to protect itself from havoc created by the credit crunch in various industrial sectors of the country. Read the rest of this entry »
January 22nd, 2009Credit crunch – a boon for Britain’s oldest pawnbrokers
Britain’s pawnbrokers are cashing in on prevailing credit crunch in the country. While giant retailers are finding themselves helpless in arresting sharp falls in sales, many household brands are going under administration; pawn broking could successfully insulate itself from credit crunch. Read the rest of this entry »