Newspaper retail round-up
A round up of retail news from the past week… Boots, Ikea, Nectar, Tesco, One New Change, Westfield, Morrisons.
Boots boosted by acquisitions
Alliance Boots says acquisitions in its pharmacy and retail business have helped boost sales 6% to £8.95bn in the six months to the end of September.
Spending surges in the US
Consumers in the US are beginning to spend again as third quarter results from credit card companies indicate an upturn in domestic spending.
Ikea boosted by kitchen sales
Ikea, the Swedish furniture group, says sales of kitchens helped boost its UK revenue in the past year despite a declining furniture market.
Nectar ventures to India
Groupe Aeroplan, the company which operates the Nectar loyalty card programme, plans to take the concept to India. The Indian retail market is dominated by open-air bazaars and small family-run shops.
From The Financial Times
One New Change opens in London
One New Change, the “premium” shopping centre in London’s financial district, opened last week. The centre includes Topshop, Next, H&M, Hobbs, Banana Republic and Reiss outlets.
From The Guardian
Westfield plans demerger
Australian shopping centre operator Westfield is planning to demerge is Australian business from its UK and US operations.
Morrisons to hire homeless
Morrisons has pledged to train 1,000 former homeless people as fishmongers, butchers and bakers to work behind its fresh food counters.
Tesco petrol blunder freezes prices
Tesco inadvertently froze the price of petrol at one of its forecourts when its price display sign got stuck on a lower price.
From The Telegraph
John Lewis invests in Home stores
John Lewis is investing £15.5m in two additional “at home” stores that will open next year in Chester and Exeter.
Shoppers hit by rising commodity prices
Rising commodities prices forced the price of fresh food up 3.4% in October, the fastest increase since June last year, according to the British Retail Consortium. However retailers are protecting shoppers form the worst of the price rises.
From The Times
Ebay is overhauling its website with new technology and e-commerce features to keep up with rivals including Amazon.com in the run up to Christmas. The site will now include features such as recommendations based on past searches.
From The Wall Street Journal
