The Great Debate UK
Not many Marks for the Rose Report
– Neil Collins is a Reuters columnist. The views expressed are his own –
If a company’s health can be judged by the clarity of the statements it makes, Marks & Spencer is sick indeed. Its long, comprehensive and in parts incomprehensible statement with Tuesday’s figures is stuffed with jargon, phrases designed to cheer up the troops, while some key news is glossed over.
The dividend is not cut, but merely “rebased”, to provide “a stronger foundation for moving forward”. The group is “the only retailer not benefitting from food inflation”, which is one way of explaining away a margin squeeze.
The unexpected departure of Carl Leaver, considered one of M&S’s rising stars, is because “reverting to the key role of driving international does not fit his career aspirations.”
Dixons asks for the right to survive
– Neil Collins is a Reuters columnist. The opinions expressed are his own –
What is DSG International, the UK retailer business that was formerly known as Dixons, for?
Is Ecommerce losing its immunity to economy woes?
Eric Auchard is a Reuters columnists. The opinions expressed in this column are his own.
For years, Web retailers have touted their convenience and efficency over conventional retailers, and enjoyed surging double-digit sales growth, especially in the crucial year-end holiday shopping season. But the steady draining of consumer confidence reflected in recent government data and the latest market research reports suggest the online retail industry is bracing for a humbling first-ever year of flat or even contracting holiday sales.
