Category Archives: Retail

The Double-dip Failure Shortlist

Posted on November 17, 2011 by Adrian Fowles

I couldn’t help but notice that Mothercare is in the news again with the BBC headline Mothercare reports loss after weak UK sales  This time the business has posted a half-year loss of £81.4m, a like-for-like sales drop of 7%, … Continue reading →

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How to be successful in business selling to retail

Posted on May 23, 2011 by Adrian Fowles

I’ve spent a lot of my business life working in and around consumer goods companies.  Now, the FMCG world is an interesting place, dominated by the uneasy relationships between the big retailers and the smaller suppliers. Over recent years the … Continue reading →

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Fred Sirieix

Posted on January 28, 2011 by Adrian Fowles

Something that I always find inspiring is seeing passion and great achievement emulating from an unlikely source. And so, over the last week or so, our house has been spell-bound, mesmerised and overjoyed as we watch the TV.  The program … Continue reading →

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HMV and Credit Insurance

Posted on January 19, 2011 by Adrian Fowles

On January 6th, in my post about HMV, I commented that the issue for SMEs will be what happens if or when the insurers pull cover: When a big retailer sneezes it is the suppliers that catch the flu.  The … Continue reading →

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Mothercare and Clinton Cards in delusional weather warning

Posted on January 9, 2011 by Adrian Fowles

Two more profit warnings have hit the press – This time it is Clinton Cards and Mothercare The Telegraph article opens by saying that shares in Clinton Cards and Mothercare fell sharply on Thursday after they became the latest retailers … Continue reading →

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HMV – three years ago

Posted on January 6, 2011 by Adrian Fowles

As a postscript to my blog entry this morning, I thought I’d mention that just under three years ago there was a blog post about HMV on the Interactive Investor site : Is HMV in the ‘buggy whip’ business? A … Continue reading →

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HMV – Highstreet Media Vanishing?

Posted on January 6, 2011 by Adrian Fowles

Another interesting article in the Telegraph has caught my eye: HMV profit warning: can it survive? Now, I am going to have to confess some pro-HMV bias here.  I’ve been involved with them on a number of occasions over the … Continue reading →

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