High street retailer Marks & Spencer has reported its first rise in profit for four years, with underlying profit before tax rising 6.1 per cent to £661.2m – described by CEO Marc Bolland as “good progress”.
Banks are often considered part of the problem for businesses that are struggling to secure money. As such, alternative finance methods – such as crowdfunding – have become a blessing, while venture capital is still a popular way to secure investment. But entrepreneur Mark Pearson has something else in mind – financing a VC firm with the crowd.
As Argos’s parent company, Home Retail Group (HRG), announced its annual results, it also revealed its plans to launch 200 new digital stores for the coming year. More intriguing though, was the confirmation that customers are still fond of the classic Argos catalogue.
British businesses are encouraged to embrace smartphones and tablets as consumers will spend around £53.6bn annually via mobiles by 2024, which is more than a fivefold increase on the £9.7bn spent through devices today, according to Barclays.
Sainsbury’s plans to focus on future innovations with the creation of 480 “specialist” new positions in London and Coventry, which will focus on digital, while tech boss says he is “structuring and equipping entrepreneurial teams”.
Despite the rise of ecommerce, and perceived decline of the high street, a staggering 89 per cent of UK retail still occurs offline. Of this, 50 per cent of home and fashion items are researched online, and then purchased locally, in bricks and mortar shops. This has uniquely positioned Everline Future 50 mobile app StreetHub to help shoppers find products in independent home and fashion boutiques.
Everline Future 50 entrant Shopwave provides the UK’s only retail management system that allows an iPad to become the core of automated retail business. With the mobile trend in full gear, it’s easy to see why enabling a seamless consumer experience from all devices set the company on a disruptive path.
By David Craik
Whisper it, but SecretSales has had plenty to boast about in the last twelve months.
Steve Lewis is resigning from his post as CEO of Majestic Wine and will be replaced temporarily by the company’s finance director as a search for a new head is undertaken.
A new study from Dyn has highlighted yet more of the frustrations shoppers have with ecommerce, but when will businesses make the changes – and will the consumers ever truly be happy
