MBS News
Tuesday
August 17, 2010
Industry headlines from Moira Benigson Executive Search
Retail
B&M Bargains Buys Opus Homewares For £48m
Value group B&M Bargains has acquired Scottish retailer Opus Homewares for £48m, extending its presence north of the border and in Northern Ireland.
Read more on www.retail-week.com »
Sainsbury's And Nectar Launch iPhone Apps
Sainsbury’s and loyalty scheme Nectar have launched iPhone and iPod Touch apps, which give shoppers a store locator and personalised offers. Separately, Nectar has overtaken Tesco’s Clubcard in terms of number of cardholders.
Read more on www.retail-week.com »
JJB Sports Loses Fight To Derecognise Union
JJB Sports has had its application to derecognise the GMB union rejected by the Central Arbitration Committee.
Read more on www.retail-week.com »
Consumer Goods
Guinness Kicks Off Sporting Season With £3m Campaign
Guinness is launching into the British sporting season with a £3m marketing campaign, focusing on the association between the drink and sport.
Read more on www.talkingretail.com »
PepsiCo To Invest $250m In Vietnam In Next Three Years
PepsiCo will invest $250m in Vietnam over the next three years in its food and beverage businesses, capitalising on the fact that the country has huge potential for growth.
Read more on www.businessweek.com »
Digital And Online
AOL To Launch 500 More Local Sites This Year
AOL will launch 500 more websites under its Patch vehicle this year, as part of its plans to relaunch itself as a destination site for local content. The estimated cost of these additional sites is $50m.
Ocado Second Warehouse Site Gets Green Light
The green light has been given to a 124-acre extension to Birch Coppice Business Park where etailer Ocado is expected to build a £200m warehouse and distribution centre.
Read more on www.retail-week.com »
Fashion, Lifestyle And Luxury
Urban Outfitters Plots Store Roll-Out
Urban Outfitters is planning retail expansion, focused on its Anthropologie chain, across Europe and the US as it reports strong like-for-like growth.
Read more on www.drapersonline.com »
Grazia For Him Set For Autumn Launch
Fashion glossy Grazia is reportedly set to launch a menswear version of the magazine, Grazia For Him, this Autumn.
Read more on www.drapersonline.com »
Dive In
Harrods has opened its first dedicated swimwear room, also stocking holiday accessories and beauty products, which will be open all year round.
Read more on www.vogue.co.uk »
Travel And Leisure
easyJet Help To Get British Troops Home
easyJet has launched a special rescue fare for British troops who have been delayed coming home from the front. ‘Rescue rate’ tickets are available at certain airports at a fraction of their standard price.
Read more on corporate.easyjet.com »
On The Move
Bernard Matthews Brand Chiefs Depart
Bernard Matthews marketing director Matthew Pullen will leave at the end of September, having accepted a senior marketing position at Dulux-owner Akzo Nobel. This follows managing director Jeff Halliwell's departure last week.
Read more on www.marketingmagazine.co.uk »
John Lovering Joins Go Outdoors As Chairman
Private equity tycoon John Lovering has joined the board of outdoor chain Go Outdoors as its chairman. The Peacocks chairman has also been chairman at Debenhams, Somerfield and Homebase.
Read more on www.retail-week.com »
The Weatherman Says...
My brother has invented an alter ego for himself, basically in order to score a free gold scooter. My brother is THE MAN when it comes to getting free stuff...even if it means dressing up like a berk! Disco Dave is his name and he wears a Discoman suit. Obviously, he now rides a gold scooter. If you look not very hard you might find him on Youtube as Discodavelegend gettin' his freak on to James Brown. I think it's going to rain...but then I am a weather genius (a humble one at that).