Today’s news in brief-12/1/24

Authentic Brands Group has acquired Sperry, a renowned American heritage footwear brand known for its iconic boat shoes with a 90-year heritage. The Aldo Group joins as Sperry’s North American operating partner for wholesale, e-commerce, and store operations. Authentic Brands plans to use its global network and operating partners to expand Sperry’s product offerings and market share. Jamie Salter, CEO of Authentic Brands, expresses excitement about Sperry joining the Authentic platform, emphasising Sperry's lifestyle celebration of exploration. Burberry warns of below-expectation full-year results due to a slowdown in luxury demand. Retail revenue fell 7% to £706m in the 13 weeks to December 30, with comparable store sales down 4%. Burberry now expects adjusted operating profit for the year ending March 2024 to be between £410m and £460m, compared to previous expectations of £552m to £668m. CEO Jonathan Akeroyd remains confident in Burberry’s strategy and commitment to achieving a £4bn revenue ambition. Peter Ruis returns to the John Lewis Partnership as executive director of department stores, bringing over 30 years of leadership experience. Naomi Simcock appointed operations director, responsible for retail and supply chain, working closely with Ruis. Ruis played a key role in the transformation that led to John Lewis being named 'Retailer of the Year' in 2013. The CEO of John Lewis Partnership, Nish Kankiwala, expresses excitement about Ruis leading the next phase of transformation. Wolf and Badger reports record-breaking festive trading and achieves 15% revenue growth for 2023. The brand maintains consistent profitability, marking its first full-year EBITDA profit despite market challenges. CEO George Graham attributes the success to the dedication of the team and the brand's commitment to promoting independent ethical brands. The brand, with stores in London, New York, and Los Angeles, is exploring further expansion opportunities. The UK economy rebounded in November with a 0.3% increase in monthly GDP after a 0.3% fall in October. Services output rose by 0.4% in November, contributing to the overall GDP growth. Wholesale and retail trade, along with repair of motor vehicles, grew by 0.5%, driven by a 1.3% growth in retail trade. Consumer-facing services showed a 1.0% fall in the three months to November compared to the three months to August. Fortnum & Mason experienced a strong festive trading with a 17% year-on-year sales increase in the five weeks leading to Christmas. Over six million customers shopped with the retailer, a 30% increase from the previous year. CEO Tom Athron notes increased footfall at the London store after reopening the third floor, offering food and drink experiences. The strong performance follows a period of growth for the 12 months to July, with revenues rising by 12% to £208.6m.

Today’s news in brief-12/1/24

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