Drapers
8 December 2007
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Alexon issues profit warning
Alexon has issued a profit warning after like-for-like sales crashed 7% in the 18 weeks to December 1. -
Asos reports 83% sales rise
Asos reported an 83% rise in sales to £31.8 million and 700% uplift in pre-tax profits to £2.4m for the six months to September 30. -
Blog: Cleaning up the act
Having previewed the young menswear on the high street for spring 08, I can confirm that the smartening up is continuing with clean, neat tailoring infiltrating the likes of New Look, River Island and Next among others. -
Bring on the sub-brands
Sub-brands can better segment an offer and provide greater choice, but multiples must take care not to confuse shoppers and weaken the impact of their core ranges -
Debenhams appoints Angela Spindler as managing director
Angela Spindler has been appointed managing director of Debenhams, starting the role in the new year. -
Early bird rate extended for Drapers Fashion Summit
The early bird discounted rate for the Drapers Fashion Summit has been extended to this Friday. -
Etail should be on your Christmas list
At the time of writing, Drapersonline.com’s visitors were pessimistic about the chances of recouping the season’s sales deficit by Christmas. Some 52% of those who took part in our online poll believed that three weeks away from the big day itself, it was too late to make up lost ground. -
Feminine is in for autumn 08
Womenswear silhouettes have moved towards a more feminine tailored look for autumn 08, after several seasons dominated by voluminous smock styles. -
Footfall slump piles on Christmas fears
Footfall fell back 3.5% for the week commencing November 26 against last year, prompting further fears that Christmas sales will be a wash out this year. -
Former Lambert Howarth boss joins Theo Fennell
Pamela Harper, the former chief executive of the defunct Lambert Howarth, has been appointed chief executive of luxury jewellery company Theo Fennell. -
Galeries Lafayette eyes China
French department store group Galeries Lafayette has kick-started plans to enter China in a joint venture with fashion retail company IT. -
High Street will die, says David Jones
Retail guru and former Next chief executive David Jones has forecast a revolution in British shopping habits and the death of the high street. -
Ichi
High margins and trend-led designs have helped to establish Ichi as a key player on the UK young fashion scene. -
Interest rate cut means little to shoppers
Trimming interest rates by quarter of a per cent will make little different to the cash in consumer pockets this Christmas. -
Interest rates trimmed to 5.5%
The Bank of England has cut UK interest rates to 5.5%, from 5.75%, giving retailers a welcome boost ahead of Christmas. -
Intimas chairman resigns
Michael Hobbs, chairman of lingerie business Intimas, has resigned. -
Investment to fuel Julien Macdonald growth
Designer Julien Macdonald plans to build his designer business into a British luxury brand after securing a private investment deal. -
JD buys SergioTacchini licence
John David Group has bought the UK licence for Italian sports label Sergio Tacchini and acquired a 49% stake in design and sourcing firm Focus Group. -
JD invests in Focus Group
The John David Group is to invest in design and license business Focus Group after like-for-like sales at the sports retailer rose 11.8% for the 44 weeks to December 1. -
JD relaunches London flagship
The John David Group unveiled its revamped Oxford Street flagship store last night. -
JJB Sports appoints commercial director
JJB Sports has appointed David Madeley as commercial director. -
John Lewis kicks off Christmas with 4.5% sales hike
John Lewis said that like-for-like sales rose 4.5% for the week to December 1, marking a strong start to the Christmas shopping season. -
John Lewis sales rise
Sales at John Lewis stores for the four days to Wednesday December 5 are up 6% on last year and 15% on the same four days last week. -
Kid's Fashion Mode Enfantine axes autumn show
Kidswear trade fair Kid's Fashion Mode Enfantine has cancelled its Paris edition due to take place in January after low exhibitor numbers. -
King’s Road poised to host second FrostFrench store
Contemporary womenswear independent FrostFrench will open its second shop next year, ahead of plans for further expansion. -
La Senza unveils new store fit
Lingerie retailer La Senza has unveiled a new store concept in north London, with plans to roll it out to the rest of its portfolio. -
Lee Klabin
Lee Klabin opened Blue Poppy Couture in 2006, initially specialising in made-to-measure corsets. Lauretta Roberts visited her boutique. -
Merrill Lynch tells Sports Direct investors to sell
Investment bank Merrill Lynch has urged Sports Direct investors to sell their shares in the troubled business. -
Moss Bros warns on profit
Moss Bros said like-for-like sales fell 1.5% for the 18 weeks to date after footfall dipped and sales slowed in the last seven weeks. -
Mulberry appoints Emma Hill
Mulberry has appointed Emma Hill as creative director with effect from the spring 09 collection. -
N Brown sells Zendor arm
Home shopping firm N Brown is selling its ecommerce fulfilment arm Zendor for £3.83 million. -
New Look launches transactional website
New Look has launched its transactional website, with the new site going live last night. -
News in brief for the week ending December 8, 2007
News in brief for the week ending December 8, 2007: -
November sales uplift driven by discounting
UK retail sales in November grew 1.2% on a like-for-like basis but this was driven by heavy discounting. -
Oasis to ramp up its offer with four new sub-brands
Womenswear chain Oasis will unveil four new sub-brands for spring 08 as it looks to capitalise on the success of its Little Black Dress range. -
Original Factory Shop sold for £68.5m
Value retailer Original Factory Shop has completed a £68.5 million management buy-out deal backed by private equity firm Duke Street Capital. -
Pay day and discounting boosts pre-Christmas shopping
Pay day, discounting and promotions helped drive shoppers back out onto the high street last week according to research group SPSL. -
Planet, Walton-on-Thames
The youngest of Jacques Vert’s four womenswear fascias unveils its most youthful look yet in Surrey. -
Product tops Spindler’s list at Debs
Angela Spindler has put product at the top of her priority listafter being appointed managing director of department store chain Debenhams this week. -
Profits slide at Sears
Warm weather and worried consumers combined to send operating profits tumbling at US retail giant Sears, slipping from US$276 million to US$46m (£134m to £22m) for the third quarter to November 3. -
Radley bites back at fakers
Handbag brand Radley is to put anti-counterfeiting technology on its products from autumn 08. -
Riva Shoes agent dies
Neil Mattison, the northern agent for Riva Shoes, has passed away. -
Roderick Charles to expand
Classic menswear retailer Roderick Charles will open three more stores including a flagship in the City of London. -
RSPCA launches anti-fur campaign
The RSPCA has launched a new anti-fur campaign called 100% Fake after the animal protection charity found two high street chains selling unlabelled and mislabelled fur. -
Sales and profits soar at Wolford
Sales at luxury hosiery brand Wolford jumped by 18% during the six months to October 31 to EUR 76.5 million (£53.8m). -
Seen to expand after Queen of Shops refit
Doncaster boutique Seen is to open a new menswear shop, after sales soared following its appearance on TV show Mary Queen of Shops. -
Selina Blow to wholesale
Selina Blow is to re-enter the wholesale market with a capsule collection of day and evening dresses for autumn 08. -
Shoplifting to surge this Christmas
Retailers must brace themselves for a huge surge in shoplifting in the run up to Christmas - £431.2 million worth of stock will be stolen from UK stores in the four-week period according to Checkpoint Systems. -
SRG banks on 2008 recovery
Menswear company Speciality Retail Group will open five new stores next year under the Suits You fascia as it battles through its recovery plan. -
Stylo open to offers for Shellys
Footwear brand Shellys is understood to have been put up for sale after parent company Stylo received a number of unsolicited approaches for the business. -
Ted Baker showcases latest look in Miami
Ted Baker unveiled its latest store design in Miami last weekend. -
Tesco delivers strong Q3 trading
Group sales at Tesco rose by 11.8% for the 13 weeks to November 24, but non-food categories continued to experience price deflation. -
Topshop is target of demonstrations today
High street retailers will be bracing themselves for a raft of demonstrations about factory worker exploitation outside their stores today. -
Topshop Oxford Circus protests a wash out
Protests at Topshop Oxford Circus last night were as damp as the rain pounding London as a just a handful of campaigners gathered to wave banners outside the landmark store. -
Troubled Logo closes stores
Young fashion chain Logo has closed a handful of stores, amid speculation of difficult trading. -
Warhol tie-up at Pepe Jeans
Pepe Jeans London is to launch a full menswear and womens-wear range for autumn 08 in conjunction with arts trust The Andy Warhol Foundation. -
Whistles to break away from Mosaic
Baugur is planning to spin off Whistles from Mosaic Fashions and install Jane Shepherdson as the brand’s new chief executive. -
Xmas tills start to ring
Christmas trading finally kicked off last week, as consumers went ahead and spent despite their financial worries. -
Yukka website offers US labels
Streetwear etailer Yukka has launched a new website to introduce premium US street-wear brands to the UK market.
