EWM buys Peacocks out of administration
Edinburgh Woollen Mill has bought Peacocks out of administration. Six thousand jobs have been saved but 3,100 will be lost from store closures and more departures at head office. Neil Saunders, Managing Director of Conlumino, comments: “This news comes as something of a surprise as EWM had originally walked away from talks only to return …
February 23, 2012
Asda Q4 results
Asda has posted LFL sales growth of 1% in the 14 weeks to 7 January 2012; over the same period online sales grew by 20%. Neil Saunders, Managing Director of Conlumino, comments: “On the surface a 1% growth rate looks pretty modest. However, this performance compares very favourably to the results from other retailers and …
February 22, 2012
Strong Results for Sports Direct
Sports Direct has announced a strong set of results, with retail sales in the 13 week period to January 22 increasing 10.2% to £408.6m, and retail gross profit increasing 10.7% to £165.0m. Matt Piner, Lead Consultant at Conlumino, comments: “Sports Direct seems to have hit on a magic formula for sports retail, consisting of a …
February 22, 2012
Kingfisher Q4 results
Kingfisher’s Q4 results showed solid trading across the group and heralded a new management structure. As part of this senior management shuffle, the role of Kingfisher’s International CEO has been phased out and its business is being aligned under core fascias and strategic initiatives such as its expanding own brands and Eco business. Simon Chinn, …
February 20, 2012
Thorntons sales decline
Thorntons’ results for the for the 28 weeks ended 7 January 2012 showed a decline in overall profits (before tax and exceptional) to £3.1m from £8.4m last year. At its own stores, sales declined by 5.5% on a like for like basis and by 7.9% on a total basis. Neil Saunders, Managing Director of Conlumino, …
February 15, 2012
ONS Inflation data
Official inflation figures, released today, show that CPI fell to 3.6%, down from 4.2% in December with RPI, which includes housing costs, falling from 4.8% to 3.9%. Matt Piner, Lead Consultant at Conlumino, comments: “The fall in the rate of inflation and the direction of the trend is a welcome relief for consumers, who have …
February 14, 2012
Dunelm's Sales Increase
In the 26 weeks to the end of 2011, Dunelm reported total revenues up by 8.8% on the year previous and like-for-like sales up by 1.1%. Neil Saunders, Managing Director of Conlumino, comments: “This is a strong set of results albeit against some softer LFL comparatives from last year. Dunelm’s growth has exceeded that of …
February 13, 2012
Mothercare to replace CEO
Mothercare has announced that it is replacing departed CEO Ben Gordon with Lovefilm Chief Executive Simon Calver. Matt Piner, Lead Consultant at Conlumino comments: “Mothercare’s choice is a bit of an unusual one. Through his tenure at Lovefilm and positions at Dell and Pepsi, Calvert has experience of building brands internationally and this is a …
February 13, 2012
Richard Hyman becomes Chairman of Conlumino
Conlumino is pleased to announce the appointment of veteran retail analyst, Richard Hyman, as Chairman of the company. Richard joined Conlumino on 1 February 2012 as Chairman of the company. In this role he will provide internal advice, assist on a range of client projects, and act as an ambassador for the brand. Richard is …
February 13, 2012
BRC January retail sales data
The British Retail Consortium has released figures showing that January retail sales were the second worst on record. While total sales were up by 2.1% on a year-on-year basis, like-for-like sales suffered a slip of 0.3%. Neil Saunders, Managing Director of Conlumino, comments: “After a strong showing in December this is a disappointing start to …
February 9, 2012
