Retail

Sir Ken Morrison backs down

21 Jun 2005

After a bitter fight with David Jones, the deputy chairman, Sir Ken has bowed to the inevitable and named three nonexecutives. It looks like Sir Ken realised that he would lose an outright war. A reasonable start, but there is a lot left to do.

Tesco still has plenty of growth

19 Jun 2005

The value of the retailer s international arm isn t properly appreciated by investors. Returns are improving, and investment is pouring in. And rather than being a mature market, the UK is still growing strongly too.

UK retailers suffer collective madness

10 Jun 2005

Almost all chains, even the unsuccessful ones, are expanding. That s provoking price cuts and profit warnings. Too many stores are chasing dispirited consumers. But jumping off the growth rollercoaster is also risky.

GUS disappoints with Experian delay

25 May 2005

The UK retail group is moving towards simplifying its structure: it is fully demerging Burberry and says Experian will eventually go too. With the high street in trouble, GUS isn't saying when. But if it doesn't shed some light, its slim conglomerate discount could widen.

Sir Ken Morrison needs a change of heart

23 May 2005

Wm Morrison's chairman may say he wants to bring nonexecs on to his board. But it's not clear he really means it. Investors don't want to lose the benefit of Sir Ken's vast experience. But if he stands in the way of reform, they may change their mind.

M&S chairman squabble ends in fudge

17 May 2005

Myners gets another year at the top before Lord Burns steps in. This papers over the boardroom cracks that emerged over the chairmanship. But it isn t clear that the board has picked the best man for the job. This doesn t seem to have the makings of a great solution.

Wm Morrison warns on margins

13 May 2005

The good news is that this seems to be a cost problem, rather than sales. But this is Morrison's third warning since it bought Safeway. And it is hard to see why it got caught on the hop again.

Middelhoff named Karstadt boss

12 May 2005

The struggling retailer s former chairman will shakeup Karstadt s mail order business, whose sales fell sharply in the first quarter. A firmer hand may be what Karstadt needs. But constant management changes signal growing uncertainty about Karstadt s future.

Kingfisher warning sparks bid rumours

4 May 2005

Even after its share price decline, the £6.7bn DIY retailer would be a huge morsel for private equity. And, while the numbers make more sense for trade buyers, the UK consumer slowdown might give them pause for thought.

M&S has got itself in a pickle

3 May 2005

Should Myners stay on as the retailer s chairman, the relationship between him and senior independent director Lomax may well be strained. But if Myners goes, Rose the chief executive who is supporting him may have his own difficulties with the board.

Kingfisher warns on profits

27 Apr 2005

The retailer blames the consumer slowdown. As a bigticket DIY group, it gets hit faster and harder than the high street. But with likeforlike sales at the UK arm B&Q down by an estimated 8%, it looks as if Kingfisher is faring worse than its rivals.

M&S shouldn’t rule out Myners

25 Apr 2005

The retailer s interim chairman has shown he can make time for the job. He wants it, and there's no evidence he is too close to CEO Rose. Myners shouldn t be a shooin, of course. But to exclude him would be pure boxticking.

Why are so many retailers struggling?

17 Apr 2005

It isn t just the UK, where Boots, Sainsbury and M&S are coming under pressure. Carrefour, Benetton and Karstadt are also suffering. These more mature businesses have stopped moving and left space for smarter competitors like Tesco, H&M and Inditex to sweep the field.

Apax pulls out of Woolies takeover

14 Apr 2005

The private equity house says its due diligence threw up problems: it was unable to confirm key cash items . It was always going to be hard for Apax to turn Woolies around. Investors betting on private equity bids for retail dogs should take note.

Barclays orchestrates swoop on Somerfield

12 Apr 2005

By pooling its consortium with Baugur, the UK bank has removed one bidder for the supermarket and probably got the price down. This looks nifty. But Barclays s team must hope the ghost of the last Somerfield buyout when it was called Isosceles won't haunt them. This looks nifty. But Barclays s team must hope the ghost of the last Somerfield buyout by a vehicle called Isosceles won't haunt them.

M&S still going backwards

12 Apr 2005

There are glimmers of light in the UK retailer's trading update. The decline in sales is slowing and clothing volumes are up for the year. But unless chief executive Rose manages to steady the ship this year, he will have only himself to blame.

Debenhams LBO backers make killing

10 Apr 2005

The private equity groups have trebled their investment making this one of the most successful big UK buyouts ever. The secret of their success? Turning around the retailer fast, and riding the credit boom.

Achenbach’s exit at Karstadt a mixed blessing

8 Apr 2005

The German retailer's boss was only ever a standin and not a very effective one at that. So noone will rue seeing the back of Achenbach. But Karstadt has turned to another standin: its finance chief. He isn't a retailer, and his appointment may presage more financial trouble.

Boots warns on profits again, puts BHI on the block

7 Apr 2005

The retailer has sugared the pill by promising to sell its subscale healthcare business and return most of the proceeds to shareholders. But this can't conceal the bitter taste underneath. Profits are still falling at the core chemists chain.

Inditex has room to narrow the gap with H&M

7 Apr 2005

The Swedish retailer s business model does give it an edge, especially since it seems to have cracked the US. But that doesn t mean its shares are set to outperform. Inditex's discount of over 20% actually looks too wide.