Retail news

• Sports Direct offers Debenhams £150m interest-free loan

  13-03-2019 20:50
  Retailer would have to make Mike Ashley chief executive and hand over further 5% stakeMike Ashley’s Sports Direct has offered to bail out Debenhams with an interest-free £150m loan in exchange for an additional 5% stake in the company, on top of a prior demand to make Ashley chief executive.Sports Direct set out its one-year loan proposal as an alternative to a £150m loan Debenhams that said this week it was negotiating to obtain from existing lenders as the department store ch
  
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• Carphone's reputation takes a hit from £29m fine for mis-selling | Nils Pratley

  13-03-2019 20:37
  Watchdog’s finding is a terrible blow for a business built on the idea that it’s the punter’s friendRemember those sunny days of 2014 when the managements of Dixons and Carphone Warehouse unveiled their “genuine” merger of equals? The fit was perfect, the executives agreed, and Carphone’s mobiles would soon be communicating with Dixons’ fridges. The 50:50 merger terms were declared to be fair to both sets of shareholders.But they weren’t. Half a de
  
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• Sports Direct offers Debenhams new loan

  13-03-2019 20:19
  Potential deal for £150m comes after another broadside at management
  
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• Debenhams board accused of 'deliberately misleading' statements

  13-03-2019 19:28
  Sports Direct claim is latest strike in Mike Ashley’s battle with department store boardSports Direct has accused Debenhams of putting out “deliberately misleading” statements in the latest strike in its battle against the department store’s board.In a letter sent to the department store chain the night before it issued a profits warning on 5 March, Sports Direct criticised the Debenhams board for changing its view only a few weeks after publishing a statement that the co
  
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• Sports Direct accuses Debenhams of ‘misleading’ investors

  13-03-2019 18:16
  Ashley’s group says it has reported company it owns nearly a third of to the watchdog
  
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• Morrisons hails strong annual sales and profit growth

  13-03-2019 17:35 via theretailbulletin.com
  The Morrisons supermarket chain has seen its annual pre-tax profit before exceptional items rise by 8.6% to £406 million.
  
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• Mamas & Papas partners with John Lewis

  13-03-2019 17:34 via theretailbulletin.com
  Nursery brand Mamas & Papas is partnering with John Lewis & Partners to supply a curated range of products on the department store’s website and in its stores.
  
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• Whistleblowers see Carphone Warehouse fined for mis-selling

  13-03-2019 15:50
  Regulator says retailer trained staff to ‘spin sell’ its ‘Geek Squad’ insurance
  
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• Shoppers stockpiling painkillers and toilet roll, says Morrisons

  13-03-2019 10:59
  Supermarket is also building up stock for in-house operation against a no-deal BrexitShoppers have begun stockpiling toilet rolls and painkillers ahead of a potential no-deal Brexit, according to Morrisons.The supermarket’s boss, David Potts, said sales of these basic goods had risen by more than 7%. “Whether that has any bearing on how people are feeling about Brexit, I don’t know,” he said. Continue reading...
  
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• Vilebrequin’s in-store conversions go swimmingly, partnering with Cegid

  13-03-2019 10:32 via theretailbulletin.com
  Luxury international swimwear and lifestyle brand, Vilebrequin, is enhancing its international unified commerce capabilities, thanks to a robust, omnichannel solution from Cegid.
  
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• Is this the age of the four-day week? | Robert Booth

  13-03-2019 10:30
  Dozens of firms are trying out shorter working hours – and finding it’s good for workers, customers and the bottom lineIf you try to contact Indy Cube, a provider of workspaces in Wales, after 5pm you receive an automatic message that would make a good manifesto for the fast-growing four-day week movement.“We’ll get back to you pretty quickly during working hours,” it says. “If you’re messaging us outside of these, we’re probably busy with other th
  
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• Kingfisher to stop selling products containing metaldehyde

  13-03-2019 09:33 via theretailbulletin.com
  B&Q owner Kingfisher is to stop selling products containing metaldehyde and will replace them with environmentally-friendly alternatives.
  
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• Dixons Carphone incurs £29.1 million fine due to insurance mis-selling

  13-03-2019 09:30 via theretailbulletin.com
  The Financial Conduct Authority has fined Dixons Carphone £29.1 million after it concluded that the company’s Carphone Warehouse business did not meet expected standards for its Geek Squad mobile phone insurance selling processes.
  
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• Carphone Warehouse fined £29m over ‘Geek Squad’ mis-selling

  13-03-2019 08:52
  Regulator accuses retailer of ‘spin selling’ insurance product
  
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• UK grocer Morrisons to pay special dividend as recovery continues

  13-03-2019 08:26
  Wholesale business shines, offsetting more tepid growth in supermarket unit
  
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• Morrisons shoppers stock up on toilet rolls and painkillers

  13-03-2019 08:26
  Supermarket says some higher costs would be passed on to consumers if UK crashes out of EU
  
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• Hunter appoints chief financial officer

  13-03-2019 08:02 via theretailbulletin.com
  Hunter has appointed Mark Reed to the position of chief financial officer with immediate effect.
  
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• John Lewis sales down 8.8% last week

  13-03-2019 08:01 via theretailbulletin.com
  The John Lewis & Partners department store saw its sales decline by 8.8% year-on-year last week after trading figures were impacted by the later fall of Mother’s Day and Easter this year.
  
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