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Wal-Mart has blamed “unseasonably” cold weather for a 5% fall in net income for the quarter to the end of April, with flat like-for-like sales at its stores.The US retailer also said that like-for-like sales at its UK supermarket Asda were down 0.1% and added that it was reviewing the...

Mexican fast food chain Chipotle has seen the biggest shareholder revolt over executive pay of any US firm this year.A total of 77% of shareholders in the chain voted against the plan.Last year co-chief executives Steve Ellis and Montgomery Moran were paid $25.1 million (£15 million) and $24.4 million.Chipotle has...

Fashion chain French Connection has seen success from its turnaround plan, as sales rose in the 15 weeks ended May 10th, driven by product improvements and a lack of discounting.The retailer, which has over 130 stores across Europe, has cut inventory levels, redesigned product ranges and made its buying teams...

Retailer Card Factory has entered the stock market at the lower end of its initial public offering price range as it becomes the latest in a string of retailers to float this year.The company, founded in 1997, raised £90 million from the IPO, a day after the owners of Patisserie...

Carphone Warehouse and Dixons Retail have announced the details of their long-awaited merger, which will result in a new consumer electricals giant, headed by the current chairman of Carphone, Sir Charles Dunstone and Sebastian James, currently CEO of Dixons, who will retain their roles in the new entity.The £3.8 billion...

Cosmetics group Elizabeth Arden has reported a surprise loss for the quarter and said that it has hired investment bank Goldman Sachs to explore its options as shares fell 23%.Chief executive E Scott Beattie said that the firm has “a lot of work to do” after sales fell 20% to...

Patisserie Holdings, owner of the Patisserie Valerie and Philpotts brands, has said that it is hoping to raise £33 million on its flotation, valuing the business at £150 million.The group, which recorded a 21% rise in sales in its latest annual results, said that it was considering opening up to...

Electronics firm Sony has said that it will not return to profit until 2015 as it exits the PC market and continues to work on improving its electronics division.The company said that it expects to make a loss of 50 billion yen (£290 million) and flat sales for the coming...

The ticket website and phone line for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow has been closed following technical problems which left customers unable to purchase tickets.The Games’ organisers released 100,000 extra tickets on Monday for all 17 sports which makes up the Games, 55,000 of which have since been sold.The...

Easyjet has said that it reduced its half-year loss by more than anticipated, as more business passengers chose the airline thanks to a range of deals and perks.In the six months ended March 31st, the company saw its pre-tax losses fall to £53 million from £61 million the previous year.This...