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Articles about Home & Design
Ikea returns horse meat products to Swedish stores Tuesday, 16th April 2013
Image courtesy of Ikea
Ikea is considering returning the infamous horse meat meatballs to shelves at its Swedish stores.
The furniture retailer was recently forced to remove the well-loved foodstuff from stores across Europe and the UK after the horse meat scandal rocked the food retailing industry.
Meatballs containing the controversial ingredient will be sold to the Swedish public after being relabelled as ‘containing horsemeat’ – with proceeds from each sale being donated to charitable causes.
A spokesman in Sweden told The Daily Mail: “We are working on finding a sustainable solution for the sales stopped meatballs that may contain horsemeat, which are currently stored frozen in our warehouses.
“There is no health risk associated with eating the meatballs, so we would like to sell them relabelled and at reduced price and donate the money to charity.
“We are currently in dialogue with relevant authorities to explore if and how we can do this in accordance with legal demands.
“All foods that cannot be sold or otherwise used for food will be turned into biogas.”
Posted in Food, Home & DIY News Tagged Ikea, home & diy, home & design, horse, meat, scandal, swedish, general merchandise, food
Liberty bolsters home and furniture departments Tuesday, 9th April 2013
Image courtesy of Liberty
Liberty has added swathes of new designers, artists and products to its home interiors and furniture floors.
Rory Dobner’s ceramic tiles and table wear by Astier de Villatte will be available to buy on the third floor of the department store.
The fourth floor will soon play host to vases by Moorcroft, a heritage British pottery company.
“We have balanced our heritage and authority with the cutting edge,” said Liberty’s managing director Ed Burstell. “From guerrilla gardening to Arts & Crafts and the irreverence of House of Hackney, our aim is to delight and amaze.”
Posted in Department Stores, Home & DIY News Tagged Ed Burstell, Liberty, Department Stores, Home & Design, Home & DIY
Home Retail Group upgrades annual profit forecast Thursday, 14th March 2013
Image courtesy of Home Retail Group
Home Retail Group has upgraded its annual profit forecast as sales at Argos continue to increase.
The group is now expecting pre-tax profit to be around £90 million.
Recently, Argos posted a same store sales increase of 5.2 per cent in the eight weeks to 2 March, its fiscal fourth quarter. This surpassed analysts’ expectations of a 2.1 per cent rise.
Underlying sales at Argos for the 52 weeks to 2 March were up 2.1 per cent, with total sales of £3.9 billion. At Homebase, underlying sales fell 4.9 per cent, with total sales of around £1.4 billion.
Posted in Home & DIY News Tagged Home Retail Group, Argos, Homebase, Home & Design, Home & DIY
Aga reports 12% profit increase for 2012 Friday, 8th March 2013
Aga Rangemaster today reported a 2.5 per cent sales dip to £244.6 million for 2012.
The cooker brand also posted a 12 per cent increase in pre-tax profit to £8.6 million.
The business saw sales grow in France, Belgium and Holland and is expecting North America to be its fastest growing market in 2013. It also expects to begin selling its cookers in China this year.
"The strength of our product offering and the efficiencies of our operations increased further in 2012, but there was little respite to the long running weakness of the consumer markets in which we operate," said the chairman and chief executive in a statement.
Posted in Home & DIY News Tagged Aga Rangemaster, Aga, kitchen, home & design
Dunelm steps up expansion plans as profits rise Wednesday, 13th February 2013
Image courtesy of Dunelm Mill
Dunelm is planning to further expand its online business this year as the homewares retailer posted strong sales and profit increases for the first half of the year.
Profit before tax increased 14.6 per cent to £59.8 million in the six months to 29 December, up from a £52.2 million increase a year ago. Revenues were up 13 per cent and same-store sales rose 2.2 per cent.
The group is planning to open a new warehouse for online orders this year.
Posted in Franchise & Expansion, Home & DIY News Tagged Dunelm, Dunelm Mill, Home & DIY, Home & Design, Expansion & Franchise
John Lewis weekly sales rocket 20.6% Friday, 8th February 2013
Image courtesy of John Lewis
John Lewis has hailed a positive start to its new financial year as the business reported a 20.6 per cent sales increase for last week.
For the week ending 2 February electrical and home technology sales rocketed 47.1 per cent.
Apparel sales rose 11.1 per cent, boosted by the launch of the Somerset by Temperley range. Homeware sales rose eight per cent.
Sales at the department store’s online arm were up 48.5 per cent.
Maggie Porteous, head of selling operations, said: "The momentum from last year certainly seems to be continuing into the new trading year, and with fabulous new products, improved availability in shops and online, and superb service in our shops, there is every sense that this should continue this week."
Posted in Department Stores, Food, Home & DIY News Tagged John Lewis, food, department stores, home & design, electrical, Maggie Porteous
Ikea approved for entry by Indian foreign investment agency Tuesday, 22nd January 2013
Image courtesy of Ikea
Ikea has received approval from India’s foreign investment agency to open stores in the country, which has only very recently opened up its retail sector to foreign investors.
The Swedish furniture retailer, which will be the first single-brand foreign company to open stores in India, is planning to open around 25 stores with an investment of approximately £1.3 billion over the next 15-20 years.
"The government is committed to play a constructive role in encouraging foreign direct investment especially in areas which create jobs and provide technological advancement," Trade Minister Anand Sharma said.
The proposal now needs to be approved by the federal cabinet.
Ikea’s expansion into India comes as the government attempts to provide a shot in the arm for the economy by relaxing investment rules for foreigners. As a result of the policy change the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India and Yes Bank projected that India’s retail sector will double to USD 874 billion in 2017.
Posted in Franchise & Expansion, Home & DIY News Tagged India, Home & Design, Expansion & Franchise, Global Expansion & Franchise, Anand Sharma, Ikea
Topps Tiles posts festive sales growth Wednesday, 9th January 2013
Topps Tiles today posted 1.6 per cent rise in same store sales for the 13 weeks to December. This result stood in stark contrast to a 4.2 per cent drop in revenues for the same period in 2011.
Growth was particularly strong over the final six weeks of the period.
The retailer is to hold its annual meeting on 23 January.
Posted in Home & DIY News Tagged Topps Tiles, Home & Design, Home & DIY
Beds retailer Dreams hits the market after business struggles Monday, 24th December 2012
Dreams has been put up for sale, according to The Sunday Times.
It is believed that the business struggled after founders Mike and Carol Clare sold it to Exponent for £220 million.
Ernst & Young have been appointed to take care of the sale process.
The beds retailer operates 270 stores in the UK.
Posted in Deals and Takeovers, Home & DIY News Tagged Dreams, Ernst & Young, Home & Design, Mike Clare, Carol Clare, Deals & Rumours
Laura Ashley reveals sales growth boost Friday, 14th December 2012
Image courtesy of Laura Ashley
Laura Ashley today reported a sales growth boost, but cautioned that margins are likely to be lower than last year.
Like-for-like sales for the 19 weeks to 8 December were up 4.9 per cent, an improvement on the 3.9 per cent it reported during the first half. Online sales grew 22.6 per cent.
The firm said in a statement: “The introduction of a mobile site that offers the complete range of our products, and increased overseas deliveries, have both been instrumental in this growth.”
Freddie George, retail analyst at Seymour Pierce, told The Scotsman that the retailer is “well on track” to delivering a pre-tax profit of around £20 million for the full year, up from £18.8 million for the previous financial year, which ended on 28 January.
Posted in Home & DIY News Tagged Laura Ashley, Home & Design
