Newspaper retail round up
A round up of retail stories in the papers… Ocado, Whole Foods Market, Burberry, Debenhams, Amazon, Brighthouse
Ocado float 80% subscribed
Ocado’s stock market flotation is said to be 80% subscribed with one day to go, as thousands of shoppers buy shares ahead of the float.
Whole Foods still in the red
Whole Foods Market continues to lose money, three years after opening its London flagship. The chain reported £4.3m losses in the year ending September.
From The Guardian
Burberry to take control of its Chinese portfolio
Burberry is to buy out its Chinese franchises in a £70m deal. It will take direct control of the 50 Burberry stores in China.
Amazon’s e-book sales outdo hardback
Amazon.com has sold more e-books for its Kindle e-reader than hardback books in the past three months.
Debenhams completes refinancing
Debenhams department store chain has completed a £650m refinancing deal, slashing the cost of its borrowing by a third, and extending the maturity on its debt.
Unemployment boosts Brighthouse revenue
Brighthouse, the rent-to-buy furniture and electricals chain, has increased sales by 11% as demand for consumer credit increased driven by unemployment.
Tourists boost luxury sales
Sales of luxury products have held up in the past year, thanks in part to tourists, according to the first UK Luxury Benchmark research by Walpole and Ledbury Research.
From The Financial Times
Property group Land Securities has given the go ahead for a 1m sq ft shopping centre development in Leeds – the first major shopping development since the onset of the recession. It will hold 120 new retail outlets.
From The Telegraph
