Langton Capital – 2023-02-07 – Honest Burger, card spend, Carlsberg, SBUX, Gousto, Activision etc.:
Honest Burger, card spend, Carlsberg, SBUX, Gousto, Activision etc.:A DAY IN THE LIFE: I visited a shopping centre over the weekend and, you know what, as I’m utterly unaware of the etiquette when it comes to shopping, shopping centres and shoppers, I felt rather out of place. Indeed, it was a bit disturbing. And I say that as a pub goer, a football match attendee, a regular user of LNER, the M62, the London tube system and, from time to time, the M1, the M25, the Channel Tunnel, airports and the rest, so it wasn’t the crowd that I found a bit unsettling, it was more the people that made it up. Because I’m generally on a mission when I’m in a crowd but, what with all those dead-eyed shoppers swinging bags, the kids wielding ice-creams, the aggressive mobility scooters and the rest, I think that the shoppers around me were already doing what they had come to do just by being there. I was told that practise could make perfect but the heck with that, I’ll be down the pub. On to the news: LANGTON EMAIL: The Free Email is now written in short form. Extended versions of many stories (after the ellipses) are in the Premium Email. Reply to this email if you would like to upgrade. Prices for the Premium at time of writing are £345 for one subscription, £595 for multiple, both plus VAT. Or sign up for easy in, easy out monthly option HERE https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=87YUG2Z5W7PSN BARCLAYCARD CONSUMER SPENDING DATA: Summary: Barclaycard reports that ‘New Year sales, film releases and holiday bookings boost retail, entertainment and travel spend in January.’ It says consumer spending grew by 9.7% in January, broadly in line with inflation. Barclaycard points out this is ahead of the 4.4% reported in December. Spending on utilities was up by 44.7% with spending on various non-essential categories coming in at a variety of lower numbers. Other takeaways: Barclaycard says that ‘supermarkets performed well, primarily due to inflation, as well as Brits opting to cook more from scratch and cut-down on takeaways.’ Consumer confidence was up on the prior month to stand at a 6mth high. Causes & Caveats: Barclaycard reports ‘New Year sales, blockbuster film releases and a surge in holiday bookings led to strong performances across retail, entertainment, and travel.’ It adds, however, that ‘growth rates were also increased… • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. Limited time offer: PayPal monthly £25 + VAT. Easy in, easy out. PUBS & RESTAURANTS: Footfall: Springboard reports footfall up 10.4% YoY for the week ended 4 February, but still -15.3% compared to the same week pre-pandemic… The Oxford Partnership has reported that the Six Nations rugby championship has proved to be a boost to pubs’ footfall… Other news: A group of drinks industry companies including AB-InBev, Diageo, Pernod Ricard and C&C Group have signed a letter to ministers pleading not to ‘destroy Scotland’s drinks industry’ in relation to a total ban on all outdoor advertising of alcohol… The Drinks Trust is to undertake a survey in order to, as CEO Ross Carter comments, to develop an understanding of ‘the needs of the people within our industry, and as a result, provide the support and services that make a difference….’ Budget lobbying: UKHospitality claims that the Chancellor can drive a significant reduction in inflation by helping the hospitality industry with energy, recruitment and taxes. Measures could include a new, lower business rates multiplier for hospitality, short-term immigration reforms and a temporary, reduced rate of VAT. Delivery overreach? Amazon is set to sublet some of its extra UK warehouse capacity after demand from shoppers for online orders has taken a hit in recent months… COMPANY NEWS: Carlsberg A/S has reported Q4 and full year numbers saying that it turned in ‘strong results in a challenging environment.’ The company says organic volume growth for the full year was 5.7%, split as to Western Europe +5.4%, Asia +10.3% and Central & Eastern Europe -0.1% (excluding Ukraine +4.9%). Carlsberg says that, re brands, it saw Carlsberg +14%, Tuborg 9%, Grimbergen +11% and Somersby +1%.’ It adds that 1664 Blanc was down 4% ‘impacted by lower volumes in Ukraine and China.’ It says ‘alcohol-free brews in Western Europe +7%; total alcohol-free brews excluding Ukraine +1%….’ • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. Limited time offer: PayPal monthly £25 + VAT. Easy in, easy out. Sainsbury’s and Starbucks have opened their 60th in-store café, located in Sainsbury’s Bicester… Sky News reports that meal-kit delivery service Gousto has cut its valuation after raising tens of millions of pounds in additional funding… Joe & The Juice saw revenue increase by 30-40% YoY to £27.3m after opening 8 new stores in the last year. The brand has grown its UK estate to around 62 stores. The UK business reported profit after tax of £1.5m in 2021, up from a loss of £4.8m the year prior. Amazon has warned that its operating profit could fall to zero in the current quarter despite better-than-expected sales. Amazon full-year profits more than halved to $12.2bn as international sales, including the UK, fell 8%. The tech giant has enacted extensive cost-cutting, axing 18,000 jobs, and has ‘decided to exit certain stores with low-growth potential’. Airship has launched its new tool Airship Teams, enabling businesses to communicate more effectively with internal teams. The platform has been designed to integrate with people management software to give a live database of all employees. HOLIDAYS & LEISURE TRAVEL: Abta chief Mark Tanzer has warned that ‘there is a going to be a squeeze on income’ for the consumer, but hailed that so far ‘it has been an incredible start to the year’… The third wave of strikes in France over pension reforms has led to Ryanair having to cancel a “small number” of its daily flights. EasyJet also warned that flights to and from France, as well as those flying in French airspace, could be affected. OTHER LEISURE: Activision Blizzard has reported earnings for the three months ending December 31, saying that numbers were strong due to the launch of Overwatch 2 and the ongoing success of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2… Dell Technologies Inc has announced that it is cutting 5% of its global workforce, around 6,650 jobs, as the company suffers from a fall in demand for its computers. Co-Chief Operating Officer Jeff Clarke said that the company is experiencing market conditions that ‘continue to erode with an uncertain future’. FINANCE & MARKETS: Lending trends. The EY Item Club has forecast that business lending will contract sharply this year… • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. Limited time offer: PayPal monthly £25 + VAT. Easy in, easy out. The Item Club goes on to say UK mortgage lending may rise by just 0.4% this year, the slowest rate since 2011. Unless inflation collapses later in the year, this would represent a real-terms drop… • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. Limited time offer: PayPal monthly £25 + VAT. Easy in, easy out. S&P Markit has reported the January PMI for the UK Construction Industry saying that it ‘reported another downturn in business activity during January, largely reflecting weaker client demand and fewer new projects starts in recent months.’ The reading came in at 48.4 in January, down from 48.8 in December… • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £345, multiple £595. Limited time offer: PayPal monthly £25 + VAT. Easy in, easy out. The SMMT has reported that UK car sales numbers improved in January… Sterling mixed at $1.2047 and €1.1214. Oil higher at $82.04. UK 10yr gilt yield up 17bps at 3.24%. World markets lower yesterday but Far East mixed in Tuesday trade and London set to open up around 9pts as at 6.30am. RETAIL WITH NICK BUBB: • See premium. 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