This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/sep/23/sports-direct-hiring-polish-up-cv-transline

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Polish up your CV – Sports Direct is hiring Polish up your CV – Sports Direct is hiring
(3 days later)
It’s the big split that’s hit the headlines. No, not Brangelina, nor even Mary Berry and Bake Off. This one involves Sports Direct and Dave Forsey, who quit as chief executive of Mike Ashley’s retail group after unrelenting criticism of the working conditions for its staff. Unpopular chairman Keith Hellawell remains in place.It’s the big split that’s hit the headlines. No, not Brangelina, nor even Mary Berry and Bake Off. This one involves Sports Direct and Dave Forsey, who quit as chief executive of Mike Ashley’s retail group after unrelenting criticism of the working conditions for its staff. Unpopular chairman Keith Hellawell remains in place.
Meanwhile, Forsey is replaced by … Mike Ashley (who most people assumed ran the business anyway). This at least might help appease shareholders who wanted Ashley to become more accountable. Meanwhile, Forsey is replaced by … Mike Ashley (who most people assumed ran the business anyway). This at least might help appease shareholders who wanted Ashley to become more accountable.
But the company still needs to find a permanent finance director, as well as more external directors to challenge the existing team, so the search to beef up the board should continue this week. But the company still needs to find a permanent finance director, as well as more external directors to challenge the existing team, so the search to beef up the board should continue this week.
Perhaps it could call on Transline, the employment agency which supplies workers for the retailer’s Shirebrook warehouse, to help find the right people. After all, Transline’s Jenni Hardy was named as Yorkshire’s Rising Star at the Barclays Celebrating Women in Business Awards at the end of June. She had certainly risen into a position of prominence by then: earlier that month, she was one of the Transline executives at a select committee whose performance led chair Iain Wright to accuse the company of deliberately misleading MPs, a charge it denies.Perhaps it could call on Transline, the employment agency which supplies workers for the retailer’s Shirebrook warehouse, to help find the right people. After all, Transline’s Jenni Hardy was named as Yorkshire’s Rising Star at the Barclays Celebrating Women in Business Awards at the end of June. She had certainly risen into a position of prominence by then: earlier that month, she was one of the Transline executives at a select committee whose performance led chair Iain Wright to accuse the company of deliberately misleading MPs, a charge it denies.
Brexit dampens foreign holidaymaking spirit
The pound’s weakness since the Brexit vote clearly put a few British holidaymakers off travelling abroad, according to official figures last week.
UK visitors going overseas spent £3.55bn, down 1% on a year earlier, said the Office for National Statistics. But by the same token spending by foreign visitors to the UK rose by 2%. Whether this trend continues will be one of the questions asked of travel companies reporting results this week.
Cruise company Carnival reported strong trading at June’s half-year figures, and said bookings for the rest of the year were ahead of 2015. Another sign of confidence before this week’s third-quarter update came with news it had ordered two new liners, both bigger than any in its existing fleet.
Of course, it is not just Brexit which has caused uncertainty for travel companies – terrorist attacks and concerns about consumer spending are also factors. Even so, Tui is expected to report a 10% rise in full-year earnings, with investors keen to hear how it plans to use the €1.1bn from the sale of its Hotelbeds business earlier this year, as well as any updates on partnerships for its Tuifly airline. Also reporting this week is Thomas Cook.
Argos: as mindblowing as coconut flakes
“Gently blow their minds,” says a Sainsbury’s advert suggesting adding coconut flakes to chicken stir-fry.
More minds were probably blown by the idea of the supermarket splashing out £1.4bn to buy Home Retail Group, owner of Argos and home furnishings business Habitat. Now the deal is done, Sainsbury’s wants to double the number of Argos outlets in its supermarkets by Christmas, and introduce Habitat into its stores at the end of the month for the first time.
On Wednesday chief executive Mike Coupe will have a chance to update investors on how these plans are progressing as he unveils the company’s second quarter figures.
Analysts at Deutsche Bank predict a 0.8% fall in Argos like-for-like sales before the takeover, saying: “While consumer spend does not appear to have been impacted by Brexit, it’s likely that employee engagement and hence business performance suffered in the period of uncertainty pre-completion of the acquisition.”
Of course, the supermarket sector continues to face intense competition and cut-throat pricing, with the discounters Aldi and Lidl still gaining market share. So Deutsche expects a 1.9% fall in Sainsbury’s like-for-like sales for the quarter or a 0.9% fall including new space.