Retail and consumer
Peacocks staff plead for chain’s survival
Employees are urging possible buyers not to break up the indebted retailer and to keep its head office and distribution centre in Wales
Categories: Retail and consumer
Game Group's banks hire PwC to help it play on
Lenders to struggling video games retailer Game Group have hired PwC to look at the long-term strategy of the business.
Categories: Retail and consumer
And the Inditex bride wore.... Zara, of course
Marta Ortega, daughter of Amancio Ortega, Inditex fashion boss and Spain's richest man, will tie the knot wearing a dress from Zara, the jewel in her father's retail empire crown.
Categories: Retail and consumer
First-time buyers return to property market
First-time buyers made a surprise return to the housing market in January while repossessions fell to a four-year low, in some rare good news for the property market.
Categories: Retail and consumer
Sainsbury's ditches 'freeze on day of purchase' advice
The distress of having to throw away food close to its sell by date because it won't be used in time has been relieved by Sainsbury's who have introduced a new label to assure their customers that many products can still be frozen.
Categories: Retail and consumer
News of the World bullying culture came from editors
The inquiry ended its first phase with extensive evidence that bullying and contempt for ethical behaviour were the norm in some UK national papers
Categories: Retail and consumer
Diageo boss warns bonus bashing is repelling business away from UK
Diageo's chief executive has weighed into the row over the growing "anti-business" sentiment in Britain, warning the Coalition to be "very mindful" about the mixed messages it is sending out to industry.
Categories: Retail and consumer
Groupon rattles market with surprise fourth-quarter loss
Shares in Groupon plunged more than 10pc on Thursday after the controversial online discounter surprised analysts with a fourth-quarter loss.
Categories: Retail and consumer
Tate & Lyle faces $40m proft hit on ethanol tax
Tate & Lyle could suffer a hit of as much as a $40m (£25.2m) to its annual profits from the removal of US tax breaks given to ethanol manufacturers.
Categories: Retail and consumer
Hugo Boss fashions record results
Fashion house Hugo Boss benefited from continued strength in the luxury products market, turning in record figures in 2011.
Categories: Retail and consumer
Royal wedding leads to tourism boom
The royal wedding helped Britain have its best ever year for tourism in 2011, as a record number of foreigners took a holiday in the UK.
Categories: Retail and consumer
Diageo's focus on emerging markets offsets euro woes
Diageo's continued shift towards emerging markets has paid off in a 15pc jump in half-year profits, offsetting a slump in UK sales and weakness in several troubled eurozone economies.
Categories: Retail and consumer
Luxury demand boosts Hugo Boss earnings
German fashion group reports better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and annual sales climb 19 per cent to €2.1bn
Categories: Retail and consumer
Pair's rivalry extends to football terraces, too
Is football the great leveller? Labour politician Lord Mandelson and Standard Chartered economist Gerard Lyons nearly came to blows in Davos.
Categories: Retail and consumer
Groupon debuts results with surprise loss
The daily deals company disappointed investors with its first quarterly financial results since it went public
Categories: Retail and consumer
Stronger solutions are needed to restore Reckitt Benckiser's dazzle
It might own Brasso polish but Reckitt Benckiser is losing some of its shine.
Categories: Retail and consumer
Mothercare names Lovefilm boss as chief
Babycare retailer hopes Simon Calver can use e-commerce expertise to lead recovery, after the store issued an autumn profit warning
Categories: Retail and consumer
New boss must nurse Mothercare to health
Simon Calver will be joining a board whose average age is 58 and composed largely of men; yet the retailer’s core customers are women
Categories: Retail and consumer
Reckitt Benckiser chases emerging markets growth
The new man at the helm of Reckitt Benckiser has unveiled a push into emerging markets and an unusual shake-up of North American and European operations, in what will be a "year of transition" for the consumer goods giant.
Categories: Retail and consumer
SuperGroup shares tumble as sales growth slows
Mass-market fashion brand SuperGroup saw its shares slump up to 15pc in early trading as it warned on future growth.
Categories: Retail and consumer
The Bottom Line:If Mr Cable has his way...
"If Mr Cable had his way, all the big banks would be broken up and bonuses would be virtually eliminated - a sure-fire way in my view of guaranteeing an end to the UK’s ability to compete as an international financial centre. Let’s not forget that this is a man who is on record as saying that everyone who works in a bank has an ‘aristocratic lifestyle’ clearly demonstrating his lack of understanding of the sector." A tough line on bankers’ bonuses could make a brain drain of financial talent a distinct possibility, warns Paul Marsden. Read more