Newspaper retail round up

Big freeze boosts sales at Blacks

The cold weather has boosted sales at outdoor retailer Blacks over the Christmas period and the chain is considering raising £15m-£20m to expand its store portfolio.

Sales at BrightHouse soar

BrightHouse, the rent to buy furniture retailer has seen like-for-like sales jump 9% in the 13 weeks to December 24.

Daisy Lowe boosts sales at Peacocks

Peacocks the discount fashion retailer outperformed its larger rivals with an 8% rise in like-for-like sales over the Christmas period, helped by a collection designed by model Daisy Lowe.

From The Financial Times

 

Tesco loses out to German supermarket, Metro

Tesco has dropped a place in the league table of the world’s biggest retailers, according to a study by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. Britain’s biggest grocer has been overtaken by Metro, of Germany, the owner of Makro the cash-and-carry store.

Bolland in talks about M&S joining date

Marc Bolland is due to begin talks with his ex-employer, Morrisons supermarket chain, about when he can join Marks & Spencer as chief executive.

From The Times

 

Tesco opens hypermarket in China

Tesco has opened a 30,000sq m hypermarket in Qingdao, China, which boasts a cinema and residential flats.

Supermarket criticised over stealth price hikes

British supermarkets have been accused of using the return of the 17.5% VAT rate to pass on stealth price rises on a range of products.

From The Independent

 

Pets at Home bidders given deadline

Potential buyers of the Pets At Home chain have been given a final bid deadline of January 25 by the pet retailer’s private equity owner Bridgepoint Capital.
From The Daily Telegraph

Spending on gaming slips

High-street spending on computer games, consoles and accessories slipped by £700m to £3.3 billion last year, despite high profile launches such as Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. The Nintendo Wii remained the top-selling games console, but Microsoft’s XBox 360 earned most from its games sales, which rose 4% to £459m.

From The Sunday Times

Sales surge at my-wardrobe.com

Sales at online fashion retailer my-wardrobe.com surged by 121% last month. Sales reached £1.1 million as shoppers ordered its designer ranges such as Vivienne Westwood’s Anglomania.

B&Q to trial small format stores

B&Q plans to test a new small-store format which will stock a mixture of basic products for DIY jobs such as small repairs and redecorating in edge of town locations.

From The Mail on Sunday