Metro Group: negative currency effects and deflationary trends in food hurt sales

Cost-cutting measures helped German retail conglomerate Metro Group to achieve stable EBIT for the third quarter, despite a 4.6% drop in group sales to E15.6 billion caused primarily by declining food inflation and negative currency effects in Eastern Europe. While the rest of the year will remain challenging, growth in international markets will provide a further boost to sales.

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New Look: Middle East to get British fashion

New Look has signed a franchise agreement with Landmark International, affiliate of the Landmark Group, the largest retailer in the Middle East and India, to launch the brand in the region. Its strategy of shifting its brand positioning from discount retailer to aspirational value fashion brand has increased its international appeal.

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No signs of an e-tail slowdown

Despite signs that the economy and retail sales are both starting to slow, the boom in online retail has continued. Online retailing is now worth GBP19.5 billion and accounts for around 7% of all retail expenditure, and this growth is set to continue in 2008. As a result, an online presence will become a much more important differentiator between retail success and failure.

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Pick 'n Pay: a change at the top

After 33 years service - 11 of them as CEO - Sean Summers is to step down from Pick 'n Pay and will be replaced by Nick Badminton, currently retail managing director. While Pick 'n Pay has made solid progress in recent years, its profitability remains weak in comparison to rival Woolworths.

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PPR: outstanding 2007 performance

French group PPR achieved strong growth in 2007; overall revenues grew by 16.1% to E19.8 billion, or 7% on a like-for-like basis. As the group's 2007 operations were impacted upon by the acquisition and integration of Puma, it is clear that the company has not taken its eyes off the ball. Although PPR's future outlook is broadly positive, worries remain about Conforama and Redcats.

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Qatari investment could be the solution to secure House of Fraser's future

The Qatari Investment Authority, owner of Harrods, is the latest party to consider acquiring UK department store chain House of Fraser, a deal that would provide the retailer with the investment that its outdated stores and brands desperately need.

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Record liquefied natural gas production, but downstream activities are being neglected

LNG production and exploration has increased significantly since 2010, with the top five global fuel retailers making it a major part of their future strategies. These companies have focused on upstream production of LNG, but are neglecting the retail distribution infrastructure and the relative lack of vehicle manufacturers that make natural-gas-powered vehicles.

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Retail facing difficult year as like-for-likes go negative

UK retailing is facing one of its toughest ever years as the sector attempts to come to terms with a dangerous cocktail of intense competition, space saturation, consumer apathy and slowing spend. The coincidence of these trends will mean that on a like-for-like basis, retail spend will contract in 2008, causing a significant number of retailer causalities.

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Retail spend: bright future predicted for non-store channels

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Retailers turn to new technologies to retain market share

Faced with the threat of online retailing and other pressures, retailers globally are seeking to win back market share by making the customer shopping experience more theatrical. As a result, it is expected that retailers will seek to streamline the buying experience, bringing it more in line with internet shopping in terms of ease and speed of transaction, to ensure market share is retained.

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