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John Lewis had disappointing festive season

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6 hours ago

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January 31, 2025

Many big names in UK retail had a good Christmas season — despite the sector being generally sluggish — but it seems John Lewis Partnership (JLP) may not have been one of them.

The retailer — which operates its eponymous department stores and webstore, plus Waitrose supermarkets — has missed its profit target after a disappointing festive season.

It hasn’t shared any info officially but internal documents seen by The Telegraph suggest bad news to come when it does release its results.

Those internal documents have only been shared with staff so far with the company saying that sales have fallen short of expectations and it’s unlikely to achieve its hoped-for £131 million full-year profit.

The company is said to have blamed “lower consumer confidence and weaker than expected market confidence” for the sales miss in the month to 21 December, although also the fact that key trading days fell outside the period.

Sales targets were missed at both of the firm’s chains, although the newspaper said it still claimed it outperformed rivals and staff should be “proud of our performance”.

It will be interesting therefore to see exactly what its figures were as  a number of rivals have actually reported a good Christmas. If its stores have beaten other supermarkets and chains like M&S, perhaps its targets were too ambitious in the first place.

We won’t know for a while, but we do know that with M&S resurgent, JLP’s supermarkets and department stores have lost some of their lustre as the destination of choice for Britain’s middle classes.

So what were the firm’s benchmarks? Back in September it had said it was seeing strong demand and expected a significant rise in profits for the year to January. The prior year’s pre-tax profit had been £56 million and the year before that it made a loss.

It had also talked about its turnaround efforts paying off and that it was seeing a “considerable improvement” in performance, with the John Lewis chain in particular expected to benefit from a buoyant second half.

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Boss in major launch of Boss One Bodywear, campaign stars David Beckham

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19 minutes ago

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January 31, 2025

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January 31, 2025

Giving hope to many middle-aged men, David Beckham (49) stars in the new Boss intimates campaign, as the fashion brand stages a major launch of its new Boss One Bodywear collection.

Designed by the Team Laird agency, the campaign’s directed by fashion photography duo Mert and Marcus who apply their distinctive cinematic style to both video and stills of Beckham, who’s first seen pulling up in a classic sportscar and entering a New York City warehouse apartment. On screen, Beckham invites the viewer in (to the beat of the rock anthem In the Air Tonight) before revealing himself wearing just the new black Boss One Bodywear trunk.

The launch is supported by a 360-degree marketing campaign. In a brand first Beckham will appear before audiences in cinemas and at home, appearing in campaign clips on the big screen and on streaming platforms such as Amazon Prime, Netflix, HBO Max, Paramount Plus, and Sky TV.

Stills of Beckham will appear on billboards and in selected high-traffic locations, as well as in Boss stores and department stores around the world. On social media, the campaign will see close to “100 talents of the moment” show off their Boss Ones across various platforms.

Also as a debut for the brand, vending machines will be placed at key locations in Europe and the US, selling hero products from the collection “in a fun, interactive way”. Additionally, over 100 dedicated pop-ups will appear in premium retail locations worldwide, featuring the complete first drop.

The collection consists of men’s underwear essentials, including trunks, briefs, tank tops and T-shirts in minimalist black and white. Crafted from a blend of cotton and elastane, the selection “offers all-day comfort and confidence”.

It will be available on boss.com, at dedicated pop-ups, at Boss stores globally, and via selected wholesalers from 1 February.

Daniel Grieder, CEO of Hugo Boss, said: “The launch of the Boss One Bodywear collection marks another milestone and a new chapter in our long-term strategic partnership with David Beckham.

“It is also a testament to our joint dedication to style and excellence. Bodywear is an iconic product group, and with this campaign, we aim to inspire customers and fans of the brand worldwide more than ever.”

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M&S cuts kidswear prices as it aims to attract more family shoppers

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50 minutes ago

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January 31, 2025

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January 31, 2025

With cost remaining a decisive factor for consumers, M&S said Friday (January 31) it’s continuing to cut prices of over 300 “family favourite” products with kidswear the latest target.

M&S

The high street retailer said it “re-affirms its commitment to delivering trusted value and everyday low prices on the products that matter most to its 32 million customers”.

The latest cuts include an up to 20% price reduction on over 100 products from its ‘everyday essentials’ Kidswear range.

Key pieces include its Cotton Rich Hoodie and Joggers as well as range of Sweatshirts, Leggings and T-Shirts which now start from £5.50, with the retailer saying the reduction in price will not compromise on the “quality or high sourcing standards it is known for”.

Alexandra Dimitriu, Kidswear director, Clothing & Home, said: “Now more than ever, customers are looking for trusted value. When it comes to clothing, we know value is more than just the product’s price – they also want confidence that it is made well and made to last and offers versatility.”

M&S reported positive figures for its festive trading period with total group sales increasing 5.6% to £4.064 billion, but much of the strength was concentrated in the Food area with Clothing, Home & Beauty, rising just 1% to £1.305 billion, with like-for-like sales rising ahead of the market at 1.9% as underlying sales grew 2.6%.

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Burberry names new exec in charge of tech team

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1 hour ago

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January 31, 2025

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January 31, 2025

Burberry announced a key appointment on Friday with the luxury business saying it will soon have a new chief information officer.

Charlotte Baldwin

It has appointed Charlotte Baldwin to the role and she’ll join the business at the end of March. Baldwin will be responsible for leading Burberry’s global technology team and will join the executive committee. She’ll report directly to Burberry CEO Joshua Schulman. 

He described her as “a highly experienced technology and digital leader with a track record of leading large-scale digital transformation”.

She hasn’t previously worked in the luxury fashion sector but has wide-ranging experience across some major-name businesses in Britain.

She’s currently the global chief digital and information officer at coffee chain Costa Coffee where she oversees the company’s technology, digital and data organisation. 

Prior to joining that firm, she was the chief information, digital and transformation officer at private healthcare giant Bupa’s Bupa Insurance unit. She’s also held senior roles at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Pearson and Thomson Reuters.

Burberry has been navigating a tough period of late and Schulman joined in the top job last year, tweaking the firm’s strategy. His approach seems to be paying off with the company last week porting improved results, although the turnaround is still undeniable a work in progress.

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