Retail round up – the Sunday papers
Tamara Mellon set to quit Jimmy Choo, Ding-dong! Avon Man calling, Retail giants battle over Croydon site, Shoppers focus on price discounts, Rag trader bags £15m, Reality check for Burberry, Cost of Christmas turkey soars 25%, Report reveals how staff are clueless about returns law, Cost of M&S Paris store rivals London
Sunday Telegraph
Tamara Mellon is poised to quit as chief creative officer of Jimmy Choo, the leading shoemaker she founded 15 years ago. Joshua Schulman, current chief executive of Jimmy Choo, will also depart from the company, banking sources said. Ms Mellon's exit from Jimmy Choo will bring to an end the entrepreneur's relationship with the brand that she set up with Mr Choo, a Malaysian-born cobbler from Hackney in east London.The high-level personnel changes at Jimmy Choo come five months after the business was acquired for over £500m by Labelux, the European private luxury group that owns Bally.
Avon Ladies have been knocking on British doors since the 1950s, selling cosmetics and perfumes. But this year has seen the rise of the Avon Man, as the increase in unemployment has encouraged far more men to take up door-to-door selling. According to the Direct Selling Association, which represents the £2bn industry, men now make up 24pc of sales representatives, a 26pc increase in the average number of men in knocking on doors in 2010. Avon is the association's largest member with 16,000 UK reps.
The Independent
Croydon is set to become a battle ground for two retail developer titans as Hammerson vies with Westfield to be the developer of a giant shopping scheme in the town. The FTSE 100-listed Hammerson has emerged as a contender in discussions with the charity that part-owns the Whitgift shopping centre in Croydon. The news follows last week's announcement from the Australian shopping centre giant Westfield, of its exclusive arrangement with the Whitgift Foundation – the freeholder of Whitgift shopping centre – to look at development options for the centre.
The level of promotions in the UK grocery sector has tripled in the last month and moved decisively towards straight price discounts, underlining the huge pressure on household budgets. Research by the accountancy firm PwC found on average nine of its 20 Christmas items – equal to 45% –were on promotion between 5 and 6 November. This compares with eight the previous weekend and just three at the beginning of October.
Sunday Times
The outgoing boss of River Island, the high street clothing chain, took home £15m for just four months’ work last year. The generous pay packet, which is equivalent to almost £1m a week, is believed to have been a parting gift to Richard Bradbury, who retired as chief executive in April last year after more than 20 years at the business. The payout is a gesture by River Island’s owner, the Lewis family, towards their most senior employee. Bradbury had been chief executive since 2007 and was the only River Island board member from outside the Lewis family.
Burberry boss Angela Ahrendts will attempt to reassure nervous investors with a strong set of interim results on Tuesday, writes Kate Walsh. Shares in the fashion house have been among the most volatile since the market chaos in August, because of fears of weakening demand in China and eurozone countries. From a record high of £16 in late July, they have lost almost 15% of their value, closing at £13.77 on Friday.
Mail on Sunday
The cost of a festive turkey is likely to be 25 per cent higher this Christmas - because of rising demand for meat and dairy products among the rapidly expanding middle classes of India and China. This has contributed to a doubling in the cost of turkey feed over the past 12 months. As a result, British families look set to pay about £50 for an average 12lb turkey – up from £40 last year.
High street stores are fobbing off customers who have legitimate complaints and denying them their legal right to have faulty goods fixed. Household name retailers are misrepresenting the law over repairs, replacements and refunds, according to a damning study by consumer champions Which? Its researchers visited 60 shops, including Argos, Comet, Currys, John Lewis and independent outlets, with a complaint about a faulty fridge that was just out of a one or two-year warranty. Staff in just 16 of the stores accepted the fact that, despite the time since purchase, the retailer still had a responsibility to resolve the problem.
Marks &Spencer is poised to return to France in the next fortnight with a store that will be amongst its most expensive. The group has committed to lease payments of almost £50 million for the store in Paris over the next ten years, which would rank it alongside its most costly London flagship stores.
