Newspaper retail round-up
A roundup of the retail stories in the newspapers this week… M&S, snow, Christmas shopping, E-Bay, VAT
Retailers have suffered at the hands of a second blast of snow in the peak-trading week of the year. Alexon, which owns womenswear chains Ann Harvey and Kaliko, has warned that lower footfall and unexpected closures due to poor weather, will impact sales and profit by 10%.
From The Times
Technology tops gift lists
Early sales figures show that smartphones, tablet devices and internet-connected television sets have topped the list of popular Christmas gifts.
E-Bay buys into private shopping
E-bay the online marketplace has acquired German private shopping site Brands4friends as part of a $200m deal. It is e-Bay’s latest move into the growing private shopping club market.
Bolland may restructure M&S board
Marks & Spencer CEO Marc Bolland may be planning to restructure the board at the retail chain, according to analysts.
Retailers slash prices to grab final sales
Retailers are making last ditch attempts to entice shoppers with heavy discounting, after poor weather impacted sales in the last week before Christmas.
VAT increase will be permanent
George Osborne has declared that the increase in VAT to 20%, due to come into effect on 4 January, will be permanent, rather than a temporary measure as many retailers and consumers had hoped.
From the Financial Times
Supermarkets plan one new store a day
The Big Four supermarkets, Tesco, Morrisons, Asda and Sainsbury’s have gained planning permission for one new store every working day, in the past year, according to a BBC Panorama investigation.
Snow puts sprouts in short supply
Christmas dinners may be without sprouts this year as snow has put the supply of fresh fruit and vegetables in jeopardy.
From The Guardian
Biggest shopping day ever on 23 December
Tomorrow (23 December), is set to be the biggest shopping day of all time, as retailers and shoppers make up for lost time as a result of the weather and take the last opportunity to shop before heading home for Christmas. Visa expects to process around 26.5 million transactions, worth more than £1.2 billion, a 20% increase compared with last year.
From The Telegraph
