DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Britain faces 'epidemic' of shoplifting as Primark profits hit
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( James Davey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Sadly, in the last year we've seen twice as many offences," Sharon White, chair of the John Lewis Partnership that owns department stores and Waitrose supermarkets, told BBC Radio. Weston said some of the theft was "quite organised" and Primark was also seeing higher levels of anti-social behaviour. His comments echo those of Tesco (TSCO.L) CEO Ken Murphy, who earlier this month said Britain's biggest supermarket chain was offering body-cams to staff who need them. Murphy also called for a change in the law to make abuse and violence towards retail workers a specific offence in Britain. Target (TGT.N), Foot Locker (FL.N) and Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS.N) have all warned that profits have been under pressure from loss of inventory due to theft at their stores.

Persons: John Lewis, It's, we've, Sharon White, White, shoplifters, George Weston, Weston, Primark, Ken Murphy, Murphy, James Davey, Mark Potter Organizations: Police, Foods, John Lewis Partnership, Waitrose, BBC Radio, British Foods, Crown Prosecution Service, Reuters, Tesco, Dick's Sporting, Thomson Locations: Britain, United States

Major players are hoping that the SEC and Washington takes, what crypto watchers see as bluffs, seriously and soften the hard line that regulators have taken on the industry. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said last week that the SEC was on a "lone crusade" with its tough actions against certain crypto companies. "The SEC is a bit of an outlier here," Armstrong told CNBC's Dan Murphy in an interview in Dubai. But he's created some lawsuits, and I think it's quite unhelpful for the industry in the U.S. writ large." "The biggest fear of crypto companies is that regulation will cause panic among crypto investors and prices will go down.

☆ Cut-price fast-fashion retailer Primark is eyeing an ambitious US expansion, opening stores across southern states like Texas and Florida
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

It will open new stores across the South, including Texas, "anchored" to a new warehouse in Florida. It said that in the coming months it expected to sign leases for stores across the South, including in Texas. It has also signed leases to open stores in Orlando, Florida and Jersey City, New Jersey. "The first Florida store has shown us that we're relevant in that market," Weston told investors. As of March 4, Primark had 419 stores globally, with nearly half in the UK.

Machin also noted a trend of more eating at home as consumers look to save money by cutting down on restaurant visits. Katie Bickerstaffe, joint CEO, told reporters that its customers had already bought about 30% of their clothing and homewares Christmas gifts. "People are planning forward a little bit now," she said, highlighting very high demand for Christmas pyjamas. Similarly, Sainsbury's said last week consumers were buying cakes, mince pies and chocolates in advance of Christmas. ($1 = 0.8747 pounds)Reporting by James Davey and Sarah Young; Editing by Kate Holton and Alexander SmithOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Primark owner AB Foods warns of 'substantial' cost inflation
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Primark owner Associated British Foods (ABF.L) faces "substantial and volatile" input cost inflation that will hit results in its current financial year, it said on Tuesday, taking the shine off a 42% jump in 2020-21 profit. AB Foods, which also owns sugar, grocery, ingredients and agricultural businesses, reported annual adjusted operating profit of 1.44 billion pounds ($1.65 billion), up from 1.01 billion pounds in 2020-21, mainly reflecting higher Primark sales after the end of COVID-related restrictions. The group also announced a 500 million pound share buyback programme and an 8% increase to its total dividend. AB Foods expects 2022-23 profit in its grocery business, which includes Twinings tea, Jordans cereals, Kingsmill bread and Ovaltine drinks, to be broadly in line with 2021-22. ($1 = 0.8705 pounds)Reporting by James Davey Editing by David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Primark’s price freeze is risky inflation gambit
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Nov 8 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Primark is breaking with the pack to navigate soaring inflation. Its largest rival Inditex (ITX.MC), owner of Zara, is taking a different approach by hiking prices over the next year. AB Foods Chief Executive George Weston appears to be willing to sacrifice Primark’s near 10% operating margin to keep price-sensitive customers happy. Assume inflation shaves almost 3 percentage points off the retail unit’s operating margin next year, taking it down to 7%. The 4% bump in AB Foods’ share price on Tuesday suggests investors reckon the plan may work.

Search resuls for: "George Weston"

6 mentions found