magazine archive
magazine archive
Under The Bonnet
M&S should choose revolution over evolution in order to grow
Thursday 23 Jan 2020According to chief executive Steve Rowe, a 35-year veteran of Marks & Spencer ( MKS ) , the venerable retailer is roughly at the halfway point in its three to five-year journey of transformation to ‘restore the basics’ and create a ‘profitable, growing family of businesses’. However, true to...
Why growth could be a hard slog for Morrisons
Thursday 16 Jan 2020The UK’s fourth-largest supermarket chain can proudly trace its roots back to 1899 when William Morrison first set up his stall trading eggs and butter in Bradford Market. Today the business operates from almost 500 stores across the country, most of which it owns freehold, and turns over more than...
Unilever needs to revive growth to reignite its share price
Thursday 09 Jan 2020Consumer goods firm Unilever ( ULVR ) has found itself at a crossroads at the start of a new decade having ended 2019 with a whimper. It warned on sales growth in a disappointing trading update on 17 December. The timing of the update was poor given the company had spent a large part of a recent...
McDonald’s investors will be ‘lovin’ it’ if its growth plans succeed
Thursday 07 Nov 2019A man was walking along a busy shopping street with his six-year-old niece looking for a place to stop for lunch. They spotted a McDonald’s and immediately the little girl reeled off the meal, drink and toy she wanted to have – no menu required, no eye-catching photos to prompt a decision, she just...
Find out about how GlaxoSmithkline is changing
Thursday 31 Oct 2019When new chief executive Emma Walmsley took over the reins of GlaxoSmithkline ( GSK ) in April 2017 she conducted a strategic review of the business. The upshot is that over the last year the company has been undergoing a complete change of direction to become a more focused specialised...
Is Halfords a bargain or a value trap?
Thursday 24 Oct 2019Specialist retailer Halfords ( HFD ) may be the market leader in various parts of the motoring and cycling sectors, but the company’s protracted struggles are reflected in a rock-bottom equity valuation. Once the go-to place for car parts and bikes, Halfords is recovering from a failed strategy...
The key reasons why Berkshire Hathaway is so successful
Thursday 03 Oct 2019Best known as the investment vehicle of legendary value investor Warren Buffett and his business partner Charlie Munger, Berkshire Hathaway has also produced remarkable returns for outside investors since the pair took over running the firm more than 50 years ago. Berkshire says its total gain in...
Nagging cash flow concerns mean Netflix’s shares aren’t worth owning
Thursday 19 Sep 2019US streaming TV giant Netflix is one of those stock market ‘marmite’ stories; investors tend to either love or hate it. Even at a glance the bear argument is easy to grasp. Subscriber growth is slowing, competition is intensifying and large amounts of cash are needed to keep content fresh, while it...
How retailer Next is radically transforming its business
Thursday 12 Sep 2019Leicester-based Next ( NXT ) has navigated through the tough retail environment by radically changing the shape of its business while maintaining a disciplined financial performance. The company has indicated that it expects more of the same over the next decade. Rather like a swan gracefully...
We explain how Google’s owner Alphabet makes its money
Thursday 05 Sep 2019Google has become a major part of everyday life thanks to its range of sought-after products and services. To ‘Google’ has become an English verb to describe searching the internet, while many readers will own Android-powered smartphones or tune in to YouTube videos regularly – all part of the...