Latest news with #sales
Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
HBO's ‘Mountainhead' Depicts Hollywood's Sinister View of Tech Titans
Welcome to Tech In Depth, our daily newsletter with reporting and analysis about the business of tech from Bloomberg's journalists around the world. Today, Ellen Huet looks at how HBO's movie Mountainhead shows the changing cultural view of tech's rich and powerful. Microsoft job cuts: The software maker is planning to eliminate thousands of jobs, particularly in sales, beginning next month. The reductions follow an earlier round of cuts announced in May that hit 6,000 employees.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
UK retail sales record biggest monthly drop since 2023
By David Milliken LONDON (Reuters) -British retail sales volumes recorded their sharpest drop since December 2023 last month, as demand fell after shoppers splurged on food, summer clothes and home improvements the month before, official figures showed on Friday. Retail sales volumes dropped by 2.7% in May, the Office for National Statistics said, a much sharper decline than the median forecast of 0.5% in a Reuters poll. Sales volumes were also 1.3% lower than a year earlier, the biggest annual drop since April 2024 and well below a Reuters poll forecast for 1.7% annual sales growth. The monthly decline was mainly due to what ONS statistician Hannah Finselbach described as a "dismal month for food retailers" with lower spending on alcohol and tobacco, as well as reduced footfall at clothing stores and less demand for DIY items as dry weather had allowed work to be done earlier. "The sharp 2.7% m/m drop back in retail sales volumes in May adds to other evidence that the burst of economic growth in Q1 is over. That said, consumer spending may still outperform other areas of the economy this year," Capital Economics' Chief UK Economist Paul Dales said. Sterling dropped by about a quarter of a cent against the U.S. dollar after the data, which came alongside government borrowing figures which showed a slightly larger than expected budget deficit of 17.7 billion pounds ($23.85 billion) for May. Britain's economy grew a faster-than-expected 0.7% in the first quarter of 2025 but shrank in April - due to the end of a property tax break and an initial hit from U.S. tariffs - and the Bank of England forecasts overall growth of 1% for 2025. April's retail data had shown robust 1.3% sales growth after demand was boosted by unusually sunny weather for the time of year and GfK consumer sentiment data for June, released earlier on Friday, showed the highest sentiment so far this year. However, reports from retailers have been more mixed. The British Retail Consortium said earlier this month that sales growth slowed sharply in May as shoppers had done much of their summer purchases a month earlier. Updates this month from major British retailers have been mixed. Tesco, the country's biggest food retailer, beat expectations for first quarter sales, despite what it called an "intensely competitive" market. However, struggling discounter Poundland said it plans to close 68 stores. ($1 = 0.7422 pounds)
Wall Street Journal
3 hours ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
China's Midyear Shopping Festival Pulls In Record Online Sales
China's second-largest shopping event of the year generated record sales, with online spending by consumers exceeding $100 billion as government measures bolstered consumption among cautious households. The value of goods sold by Chinese e-commerce platforms reached an all-time high during the '618' shopping festival that took place from mid-May to mid-June this year, according to figures from data provider Syntun.
News.com.au
17 hours ago
- Business
- News.com.au
‘They're off': $962m man's look into real estate woes
Alexander Phillips, Australia's top real estate agent for the 10th consecutive year after topping the Real Estate Business (REB) industry website rankings, doesn't have a secret winning approach. He reveals everything about his powerhouse sales method, in appearances on the weekly High Performance industry podcast, for any agent tuning in. Phillips, of Phillips Pantzer Donnelley, and his support staff, topped the latest rankings when securing a $962m annual tally from 196 sales across Sydney's coastal east in 2024. Phillips, with 24 years' experience, first hit the REB list in 2014 when he ranked second with 108 sales yielding $200m. It was to an agent from Toorak. His average price sale has risen over the period from $1.85m to $4.9m in 2024, which compares to an average of $2.89m across the top 50 NSW agents on the CommBank-sponsored list. Phillips also ranks among the quickest agents, selling homes in an average of 21 days, although this rose from 19 days in the prior year. The son of an acclaimed car salesman credits his success to 'good relationships and good processes'. Of course sales success leads to continued momentum. Significantly, while he represents vendors like all agents, Phillips displays an acute sense of buyer placement as soon as a listing comes into view, and then from the innovative photo shoot open house. The ongoing momentum, and self promotion amid the many neighbourhoods of his sales success, ensures he is top of mind when prospective vendors are making their decision. Recent analysis of 35,000 active listing agents across the residential market in 2024 suggests that the top 20 per cent of agents listed more than 60 per cent of all properties. Phillips's nearest challenger, Michael Clarke, had an $871m tally from 221 sales across the harbour at Manly. While they don't compete, the tally reflects a slight narrowing in the gap to $91m for Clarke. Clarke had $814m in 202 sales in 2023 when the gap was $159m. Clarke was also a new entrant in 2014 with 97 sales, yielding a $139m tally. Entry on to the REB list published by Momentum Media is voluntary, and self nominating, with the data overseen by Agile Market Intelligence. Numerous agents have ceased declaring their sales tally, since the reveal will show that they are way behind their perceived rivals. The 45-year-old Phillips wakes weekdays at 4am, has a hot bath, manifests, and trains on gym equipment, before grabbing a coffee and getting to the office by 6am. 'Getting up early gives me two hours where I'm not bothered to plan the day because by 6.30am my phone is ringing,' he recently told the podcast. He's not had a weekday client lunch for a decade. Describing the current market as 'challenging', Phillips notes 'volumes are down, sales are down and agents are off'. 'There's stress out there,' he says.
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Vince reports 2.1% dip in Q1 sales and withdraws FY25 guidance
Global retail company Vince Holding has reported total net sales of $57.9m in the first quarter (Q1) of the fiscal year 2025 (FY25) - down 2.1% compared to $59.2m in Q1 FY24. The decrease has been attributed to store closures and remodels impacting the direct-to-consumer segment. Vince CEO Brendan Hoffman stated that the 'performance was relatively in line with our expectations [...] As an organisation, we quickly pivoted all efforts in the latter portion of the quarter to develop and put into action mitigation plans in light of the evolving tariff policies. 'In short order we have diversified our supply chain, negotiated with vendors and leveraged other opportunities to mitigate near-term costs. As we look ahead, we will continue these efforts along with providing customers a high quality product offering and an engaging experience across our channels." The wholesale segment saw a marginal increase of 0.1% in sales to $30.3m, while the direct-to-consumer segment sales fell 4.4% to $27.6m. Gross profit stood at $29.2m, a slight decrease from the $29.9m reported in Q1 FY24. The company cited higher freight and duty costs, changes in the wholesale channel mix, and increased distribution and handling expenses as the main contributors to the reduced gross margin rate. These were partially mitigated by lower product costs and reduced promotional activity. Selling, general, and administrative expenses rose to $33.6m, driven by increased marketing, advertising, legal, IT and third-party costs, and expenses related to store remodels and relocations. The company experienced a loss from operations of $4.4m, compared to a $5.6m income from operations in Q1 FY24. Vince reported a net loss of $4.8m - a significant change from the net income of $4.4m in the same quarter of the previous year. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was reported at a loss of $3m, compared to a $1.5m loss in the preceding year. The number of company-operated Vince stores decreased by four and it ended the quarter with 58 stores. At the end of Q1 FY25, Vince's total borrowings were $34.7m, with $20.4m of excess availability under its revolving credit facility. Net inventory stood at $62.3m - an increase from $56.7m at the end of Q1 FY24. Looking ahead to the second quarter of FY25, Vince expects net sales to be down by a maximum of 3%, with adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of net sales ranging from 1% to 4%. In May 2023, the company completed a strategic partnership with Authentic Brands Group, which includes a long-term licence agreement for the usage of intellectual property in line with Vince Holding's current operations. "Vince reports 2.1% dip in Q1 sales and withdraws FY25 guidance" was originally created and published by Retail Insight Network, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
