1. Sainsbury’s half-year profits nosedive 91% as it begins £500m cost-cutting
Sainsbury’s revealed a massive drop in statutory half-year profits as the Big 4 grocer started its £500 million cost-cutting drive in earnest.
It took a £203 million hit to its balance sheet from a series of store closures and as a result, statutory pre-tax profits came in at £9 million in the six months to September 21 – a 91 per cent nosedive on the £107 million recorded a year ago.
However, Sainsbury’s insisted its plans were on track, with improvements to pricing and product ranges.
2. Amazon has employed more staff than any of the Big 5 tech companies since 2000
Amazon has created more jobs than any of the Big 5 tech companies since 2000, expanding its headcount 72-fold since the turn of the century.
Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon have collectively employed over 1 million people between 2000 and 2018, according to a new analysis from CNBC.
3. Superdry revenue slumps 11% thanks to heavy discounting
Superdry reports a decline in revenues as heavy discounting affected its overall performance.
In the 26 weeks to October 31, group revenue fell by 11.3 per cent to £367.8 million.
4. Augmented reality most likely technology to make a brand appear innovative
Augmented reality (AR) is the most likely feature to make shoppers associate a brand with innovation.
Over a quarter of respondents (26 per cent) in a recent survey, conducted by YouGov on behalf of Diffusion, said that AR led them to think of a brand as hi-tech.
This was more than any other cutting-edge technology commonly employed by retailers, including artificial intelligence (19 per cent), facial recognition (18 per cent) and chatbots (six per cent).
5. Shares in The Works plunge 43% amid profit warning
Shares in The Works took a battering this morning after the retailer warned that profit will be much lower than expected over the year, even as it eyes the vital Christmas period.
The gifts, arts & crafts and stationery retailer’s value on the London markets fell a massive 43 per cent after it said it had been hit by a “difficult consumer backdrop”.
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