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Retail round up - The Monday papers
Former M&S chief slams shareholders,Red faces at JJB Sports over Mike Ashley's £1.5m loan to its chairman,Pets at Home considers flotation,Sock Shop puts a foot back into retail outlets,Rich shoppers cut back more than poor,CBI to unveil plans to reign in jobless total,Annual sales jump 16.9% to £170m at BrightHouse...
The Daily Telegraph.
Sir Richard Greenbury, the former chief executive of Marks & Spencer, has blasted shareholder groups for their "vindictive" attitude towards Sir Stuart Rose, M&S's executive chairman.Sir Richard said that shareholders are holding a "vendetta" against Sir Stuart, who he said should be allowed to get on with running M&S. He also said that he is unable to identify anyone "big enough" to replace Sir Stuart when he steps down from M&S.His comments come days before a significant proportion of M&S shareholders are expected to back an advisory motion calling for the chain to appoint a new independent chairman a year earlier than planned. This would bring M&S in line with corporate governance best practice.Full article
JJB Sports, the troubled sportswear retailer, could be forced to issue a statement to explain an embarrassing loan made to its chairman by Mike Ashley, the owner of arch rival Sports Direct.Mr Ashley lent Sir David Jones, the executive chairman of JJB, £1.5m in 2007. The amount is due for repayment next year.A spokesman for JJB said that Sir David had made the company aware of the loan and dismissed any suggestion that the veteran retailer is in personal financial trouble. The loan was claimed to have gone towards raising funds for Advanced Network Technologies, a software company.Full article.
Pets at Home, the biggest retailer of pet products in Britain, is considering a flotation that could trigger a windfall for its owners.Bridgepoint, the private equity firm that owns the chain, confirmed it had met with a number of banks in recent weeks about a possible initial public offering (IPO) but that no firm decisions had been made.Pets at Home, which was founded by Anthony Preston at the height of the last recession in 1991 and has its headquarters in Handforth, Cheshire, saw its pre-tax profits rise almost 30pc to £39.9m in the last financial year.Full article.
Sock Shop, the iconic 1980s specialist store, is to open its first retail outlet in the UK since the chain closed down after going into administration three-and-a-half years ago.Ruia Group, the hosiery and textiles manufacturer who bought the Sock Shop brand from the administrators, are opening a store at Manchester Airport this week.Amit Ruia, head of retail, said the airport store was intended to be the first of at least 10 outlets at airports in the UK over the next five years and more than 20 longer term.Full article.
Retailers are targeting the wrong consumers because those with the most money are cutting back more than those with the least during the recession, according to a new study from Acxiom.The market research shows that categorising shoppers according to their social strata is now "obsolete and no longer relevant", because the credit crisis has destroyed traditional spending trends.The group's Retail Dynamics study claims that the 19pc of people planning to cut back on grocery spending are some of the highest value purchasers.Full article.
The Independent.
Britain's leading business organisation has unveiled a series of labour market reforms, including an alternative-to-redundancy scheme, that it believes could prevent the economy from surging towards unemployment of more than three million.The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has also warned that levels of employment regulation are at a "tipping point" and have added a jaw-dropping £70bn to business costs since 1998 – equivalent to employing 215,090 people in full-time jobs on average pay over the period.Full article.
The Times
BrightHouse, the furniture and electricals retailer that specialises in selling on credit to customers on low incomes, has reported a 16.9 per cent rise in annual sales to £170.6 million.The company, which is owned by Vision Capital, the private equity firm, also enjoyed a 13.9 per cent rise in sales on a like-for-like basis. BrightHouse opened 21 new stores during the period, which took the total to 177.Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation at the company, which sponsors Trisha, the daytime television show, rose 21.5 per cent to £29.4 million.Full article.
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