Mothercare shares plunge 30% on Christmas trading profit warning

Mother and baby retailer's estimated annual profit halved to £8m after pre-Christmas sales fall

Mothercare: weaker footfall and higher promotional activity led to lower sales and margins. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

Mothercare shares plunged by 30% on Wednesday after the mums and baby store admitted Christmas trading had been hit by heavy discounting and poor toy sales.

Mothercare was the biggest faller of all companies listed on the London Stock Exchange after the retailer revealed weak trading both at home and abroad.

After the trading figures, Numis, one of Mothercare's house brokers, more than halved its expectations for the retailer's annual pre-tax profit to £8m from an earlier forecast of £17m.

Sales in UK stores open a year or more fell 4% in the 12 weeks to 4 January and total UK sales fell 9.9% the company revealed, saying it had been forced to cut prices amid higher levels of high street discounting than the previous Christmas, on both toys and clothing.

The group's international business was also hit by weakening currencies and tricky economic conditions in Russia, Indonesia and India – three of its five biggest markets. Total group sales were down 6.1%.

Simon Calver, Mothercare's chief executive, said: "In the UK, our stores suffered similar Christmas trading pressures to those reported elsewhere. Customer service scores continue to improve year on year but weaker footfall and higher promotional activity led to lower sales and margins."

"A lot of value was coming out of the market, we needed to discount to be in there," he said.

Calver said the company's Early Learning Centre chain was particularly hard hit as the whole market was forced into earlier than usual discounting amid competition from high-tech alternatives such as tablet computers.

The chain's online sales, meanwhile, took a knock from a decision to halt free delivery on sales worth less than £50, a service that proved unprofitable the year before.

While online sales at Mothercare.com rose 15% - 20% for the quarter, total direct sales slid 1% because of the poor performance from its sister brand.

Calver admitted Mothercare's problems were not only the result of external factors. "Clearly we didn't do everything right," he said. "We are in the middle of a turnaround but we would like to be further ahead with our ranges, pricing and product in stores." He said the company could also improve its online service.

Calver has been trying to revive Mothercare by closing unprofitable stores, revamping the remaining branches, improving customer service and increasing international sales. The latest poor figures come despite the closure of about 70 poorly performing stores since Calver's revival plan began. Meanwhile, the retailer faces increasing competition on toys and clothing from growing specialists such as Kiddicare, which is now owned by supermarket Morrisons, as well as John Lewis, Amazon, Argos and the supermarkets.

"The UK baby clothing and equipment market remains very competitive with few retailers in this category making any positive retail margins, especially as high street clothing chains, internet offers and supermarkets continue to grow space and share," said Mike Dennis, an analyst at City broker Cantor.

Mothercare's experience reflected the story at Debenhams, the department store group which also blamed heavy promotional activity and cautious shoppers for its profit warning earlier this month. In contrast private clothing retailer New Look is understood to have seen a 1.5% rise in same-store sales in the seven weeks to the end of the year.

The retailer introduced price cuts of up to 50% on key seasonal product categories including knitwear and outerwear in the weeks before Christmas but discounted less overall than in the same period a year before.

Today (Thursday) market bellwether Marks & Spencer will reveal how it fared over Christmas in the face of an overall 9.9% slump in clothing prices in December, according to figures from the British Retail Consortium. While M&S is thought likely to have seen strong food sales, expectations for clothing are low after the store began offering 30% off knitwear, one of its Christmas best sellers, a week before Christmas and expanded that offer to all clothing in the weekend before December 25.

FTSE 100 'fatcats' paid average annual salary for three days' work

By mid-morning on Wednesday top bosses will have earned £27,000 average yearly wage, High Pay Centre calculates

Outgoing Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts was paid £16.9m in 2012 – making her the top earning FTSE 100 boss. Photograph: Daniel Deme/EPA

By mid-morning on Wednesday, the UK's top bosses will have earned more than the average worker will take home this year.

The High Pay Centre thinktank behind the calculation has dubbed this pay landmark "Fatcat Wednesday" to draw attention to the chasm in earnings where company leaders routinely earn 160 times more than the average employee.

Chief executives at FTSE 100 companies were paid an average of £4.3m – an hourly rate of £1,100 an hour. This means they only have to put in 24 hours of work, on returning from their Christmas break, before they surpass the UK average wage of about £27,000.

While ordinary workers have seen their incomes squeezed, the business world's best paid have seen their salaries rise by around 75% over the past decade.

Hrithik Roshan and Suzanne Khan split: Get your nose out of my business!

Were any of us their marriage counsellor, a close friend or did we go to their house to see what was present between them as a couple? No, right! Then with what authority were we questioning their split?

Remember the last argument that you had with your husband? The one in which you were both on the way to a party and you had to hurriedly blink back your tears and wipe away the mascara streaks running down your face?

You had almost reached the venue and you had both been arguing the entire way. But what happened as you made your way into your friend’s house? Your husband put his arm around your waist, you both donned your ‘we-are-so-happy smiles’ and you made the rounds as if there was not a wrinkle in your seemingly perfect married life.

This is not simply your reaction. This is what most couples do, and would do, in the same situation.

Why?

Simply because we all think that matters like marriage, relationships, divorces and so forth are no one else’s business but our own. However, as much as we like to keep our lives as private as possible and as picture-perfect as possible, very few of us allow this basic right to those around us.

All of us have friends, relatives and people in our social circle who have a personal story that is different from what we believe is an acceptable one in the society. Someone may have an unhappy relationship, someone may be seeking a divorce from an abusive marriage, someone may be re-marrying after widowhood or someone may be in a situation that is completely unconceivable for us.

Most of the time, it does not affect us, at least not directly, but we do end up changing our attitude towards that particular person based on that one aspect of their life.

We become the self-appointed moral police.

And this is not limited to those in our immediate circle only. A few days ago when the news of Hrithik Roshan’s separation from his wife of 17 years, Suzanne Khan, became public knowledge people went berserk in their reactions, claiming that this break-up broke their hearts.

We assumed that they were happy together and hence, we declared that they should not have split up.

Are we their marriage counsellors? Are we their close friends? Did we know what was actually happening between them as a couple?

No, right?

Then, what authority do we have to question or lament their separation?

Let me take you back in time. Remember when Saif Ali Khan got married to Amrita Singh?

People could not stop talking about how he – a young, dashing 21-year-old went and married Amrita Singh – a woman 13 years his senior. How are we to know what motivated him to get married to her? Who are we to judge whether it was the right decision or the wrong one?

It was their life.

The same people lamented their break-up when it happened (of course, punctuated by the expected ‘I-told-you-so’).

And more recently, when Saif Ali Khan married Kareena Kapoor, people were up in arms again because he had ‘dared’ to marry a girl 10 years his junior this time!

My question is: how does it affect us who the poor guy marries and who he doesn’t?

At least Hrithik Roshan and Saif Ali Khan are both, public figures, accustomed to the intrusion of paparazzi and fans. But unfortunately, we do not even spare the common individuals around us from our daily dose of judgement and interference.

Why are we so inept at letting people lead their own lives and minding our own business? Especially when we expect and want the same from them?

I have always found it ironic, not to mention mirthlessly humorous when people claim to be disgusted when their acquaintances share issues from their personal life and yet, the same people are often willing to bribe domestic servants for information, hack each other’s computers and engage in endless gossip about matters that do not concern them.

After all, we are familiar with that nosy neighbour who keeps an eye on the comings and goings of everyone in the neighbourhood.

I often fail to understand why we do this?

Do we have too much time on our hands? Are we so unhappy with our own lives that we need to find and dissect the ‘wrongs’ in the lives of others? Is it simply a vicious cycle of being criticised mercilessly and hence, turning our criticism on others?

Perhaps, it is a mix of everything.

But personally, I feel that it has more to do with the vicious cycle of criticism that makes us so intolerant towards others. We do not accept people who are even remotely different from us. We condemn homosexuals, transgenders and unfortunately, even disabled people around us, simply because they happen to be different from us.

We call ourselves progressive because we have resorted to a 21^st century lifestyle where girls and boys can study together and be friends. We have become adept in the use of technology and gadgets. But let’s face it – our mind-sets have hardly evolved from the conformist-thought processes which lead us to question and condemn divorce, extramarital relations, widowhood and homosexuality.

None of these may be the most preferable option or even the most praiseworthy. But unless we understand the context of the situation that forces people to make these decisions, unless we know for sure that we would not take the same actions if faced with the same circumstances, we cannot and should not intrude in other people’s personal matters.

Simply put: we should not judge.

Ad leak hints T-Mobile will pay full family's early termination fees

The US carrier has been making noise about getting whole families to dump subscriptions from rivals. An ad, apparently published prematurely, offers details about one offer.

Droid Life spotted this T-Mobile ad suggesting the US carrier will pay early termination fees that otherwise would discourage customers from breaking their contracts to sign up with T-Mobile.

(Credit: Droid Life)

T-Mobile, trying to snatch customers away from other US carriers, appears likely to announce an offer Wednesday to pay a whole family's early termination fees they'd otherwise have to pay themselves to cancel mobile phone contracts.

Droid Life spotted a T-Mobile ad on tech sites that promises: "We'll pay your family's termination fees when you trade in your devices." Such a move would counter AT&T's new offer to pay up to $450 to attract T-Mobile customers.

As part of its "UnCarrier" effort, T-Mobile already promised to "unshackle the family from those other guys" in 2014.

Expect details during T-Mobile CEO John Legere's keynote at CES later Wednesday. Legere has been provoking rivals of late, for example, crashing AT&T's party at CES and saying T-Mobile's competitors are "toast."

That's a big difference compared to a few months ago when AT&T had agreed to acquire T-Mobile USA from its German parent company, Deutsche Telekom. That deal fell apart when antitrust regulators objected. Now there is a possibility that Sprint owner Softbank could be interested in buying T-Mobile.

T-Mobile declined to comment beyond a suggestion to watch the T-Mobile event at CES.

Early termination fees, which customers have to pay if they exit subscriptions before their two-year term finishes, have historically been a way that carriers can reduce customer churn. If carriers start offering to pay those fees widely, though, it means customers are better able to shop for the best plan of the moment, not just the best plan that happens to be around when their subscriptions end.

There are still other barriers to being able to easily change network operators, though. Phones, even if unlocked, often don't work on rivals' networks because they use different wireless frequencies. Note that T-Mobile's apparent ad requires people "device purchase with port-in from AT&T, Verizon, or Sprint" -- in other words, a handset trade-in. That's a lot of hassle, though not so bad if you happen to be ready to upgrade.

T-Mobile has been offering customer-friendly services of late, but its network is often rated as weaker than rivals, most recently in its slower transition to fast 4G LTE networks. It's working to shore up that weakness, though, for example by buying a lot of spectrum from Verizon Wireless.

Sprint, too, has been angling for family business. On Tuesday, the company announced the Sprint Family Plan, under which per-subscriber charges decrease as more phone numbers are added to an account.

Game of Thrones is the greatest show of all time

Game Of Thrones is not just a show, it parallels real life as we know it. Source: IMDb

“Unsullied! Forward march!”

My shout reverberated off the walls, sounding even louder in the quiet environs of my workplace. My colleagues gave mixed reactions. Some were shocked while one intern asked,

“March where?”

‘Unsullied’ – while not an offensive word – was not really in my usual repertoire of phrases and hence, their reactions can be excused. Some sniggered into their keyboards while other ‘potential CEOs’, gave me a knowing look and nodded sagely. One particularly wise one walked up to me and called me the ‘father of dragons’ in a conspiratorial whisper.

I felt proud, my work here was done.

Khaleesi epic moment leading the unsullied army. Source: IMDb

My booming cry was, of course, a reference to that wildly successful HBO TV show, Game Of Thrones (GOT). For those living in caves or under rocks, GOT is based on fantasy writer George R R Martin’s series of novels A Song of Ice and Fire.

Series of novels by George R R Martin. Photo: Reuters

The show finished its third season this summer and has received both critical and commercial acclaim.

Is it the greatest TV show of all time?

This scribe can agree but there are naysayers aplenty. In just the comedy section many swear by Simpsons or Friends while the older and truly ancient enthuse about Seinfeld and Happy Days. In the drama genre Sopranos’ fans give stiletto glares if you mention GOT being ‘GOAT’ (yes, Roger Federer has another challenger) while my father’s generation would mention Kojak and give GOT the same withering look that the Dowager Countess of Grantham from Downtown Abbey would give to the prospect of watching an IPL match in Mumbai.

‘The House that puts family first will always win over the house that puts the whims of sons and daughters first’

No, the show has its detractors but for millions it is an instant classic.

Eminently watchable, the show has one thing most TV programs, including our own Urdu serials, lack – great dialogue. There has been an overall decline in script-writing globally and one simply does not hear the same scintillating phrases anymore. Try watching an old MGM classic or PTV drama up till the 80s or anything by Guru Dutt and you will understand what I am saying.

For this reason, it falls right into my other passion – quoting movie lines and bringing them into regular conversations. Conversations have gotten duller since the advent of talk shows and my need for pithy one-liners has only grown. In this conversational wasteland, lines fromGOT works wonders.

The bombastic words and swashbuckling phrases can be drenched in hyperbole and do not even need to be pertinent. A general sprinkling of them over mundane conversations provides a ready, albeit false, sense of accomplishment to the speaker and bemused befuddlement for the listener.

‘I am going to make him an offer he can’t refuse’

The show is also an example of how popular TV programs or movies become first a part of pop-culture and then permeate language in an almost imperceptible manner. Remember when we first loved and then soon cringed at ‘Hasta la Vista’? Or the excitement when you uttered ‘I am going to make him an offer he can’t refuse’ in a hokey Italian accent?

Of course, there is also the Indian film dialogue which has been a mainstay of several conversations. Which one of us has not tried to impersonate Amitabh Bachan in his suburban cool when he drawls to a bunch of dockyard bullies in Deewar?

“Tum mujhay wahan dhoond rahay thay aur main tumhara yahan intezar kar raha tha.”

(You were looking for me over there and I was waiting for you here.)

Or rolled up our jacket sleeves and grown a five-o-clock stubble in an effort to get on the Miami Vice bandwagon?

The Godfather. Source: Pinterest

‘Winter is coming’

GOT is a part of the same pedigree and has added a whole new lexicon to my vocabulary.

Many of the scripted words make far greater sense than conventional ones. Instead of using the odious and misleading ‘elite’ for the moneyed classes I use ‘high-born’ which plays well into my ‘ovarian lottery’ theory.

The word ‘elite’ has positive connotations and conveys a sense of virtues for the ‘cream’ of society but the ‘cream’ as we all know, is rich and dense and thus, my increasing usage of ‘high-born’.

Then there is politics and politicians. I am tempted to create analogies with local politicians and now call the finance minister ‘Master of Coin’ which is quite apt since it seems that our minister is only good for counting coins of small denominations.

I talk of secret whisperings of the birds and when someone refers to a famous journalist-cum-sports official, I dismiss them by saying that I was referring to Lord Varys – the spy master in the show.

‘Thwarting you has never been my ambition, although who doesn’t like to see his friends fail now and then’

When a friend told me about how well Saeed Ajmal bowled I replied,

“The old wolf had to, winter is coming.”

He was left somewhat confused but I walked away buoyant. When another complained about me spoiling his dinner plan by showing up late I told him,

“Thwarting you has never been my ambition, although who doesn’t like to see his friends fail now and then?”

He was non-plussed, a barbeque session gone wrong is hardly a rank failure but what did I care? At a family breakfast there was the usual discussion about relatives and I seized the opportunity to throw in a little gem and intoned,

“The House that puts family first will always win over the house that puts the whims of sons and daughters first.”

There was a pattern building and when a wag at an art exhibition harangued on about chaos my riposte was,

“Chaos isn’t a pit, it’s a ladder; the rest are illusions, only the ladder is real.”

Ah, bliss.

‘A Lannister always pays his debts’

GOT is not just a show, it parallels real life as we know it – a kingdom with many kings, each vying for power with double crosses galore, a capital with Byzantium politics and wildlings from beyond the Wall who threaten to plunge everything into disarray.

Sounds familiar?

“Every time we eliminate an enemy we create two more.”

These words could have been uttered by John Kerry but instead, it is Tyrion Lannister – one of the main characters and an unlikely hero who says them. Given the right setting, these statements have a sublime effect.

Tyrion Lannister. Source: IMDb

Either that or I end up being branded a moron and live with the shame of being daft but that is a risk we mavericks have to take. But those who mock and malign, beware…

League Cup: Moyes laments referees’ decisions

Moyes praised Januzaj for tormenting Sunderland throughout the game with his direct running and his efforts in trying to snatch a late equaliser. PHOTO: AFP

SUNDERLAND: Manchester United manager David Moyes claimed that his side were being unfairly treated by referees after they slumped to defeat at Sunderland in their League Cup semi-final first leg.

A second-half penalty from on-loan Liverpool forward Fabio Borini gave the home side a 2-1 victory at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday and condemned United to three consecutive defeats for the first time in 13 years.

Moyes had previously seen his team lose by the same score-line at home to Tottenham Hotspur and Swansea City in the past week, leaving United 11 points off the pace in the Premier League and out of the FA Cup.

The Scot was angry with referee Andre Marriner for awarding a free-kick against Jonny Evans in the build-up to Sunderland’s opener, which saw Ryan Giggs turn the ball into his own net in first-half stoppage time.

“We defended a terrible free-kick, but how the referee has given a free-kick for that is way beyond me,” said Moyes. “I just cannot see how that is a free-kick.”

Nemanja Vidic equalised for United early in the second-half, only for Marriner to award Sunderland a penalty after Tom Cleverley was adjudged to have impeded home substitute Adam Johnson.

Again, Moyes was unimpressed by the decision.

“We are all just laughing at them at the minute,” he said.

“It looks as though we are having to play them [officials] as well as the opposition at the moment.”

‘We’ll fight to try and get it right’

With their league title defence on the rocks, the return leg on January 22 may represent United’s only chance of salvaging a domestic trophy this season.

As if to illustrate the heights from which the club have slipped this season, Moyes’s predecessor Alex Ferguson was present at the Stadium of Light, along with club greats Bobby Charlton and Bryan Robson.

However, when asked if he felt under pressure to reach the final, Moyes replied: “None whatsoever.

“This is a two-legged game and I’m actually really looking forward to this second leg now.”

Moyes drew encouragement from the performance of winger Adnan Januzaj, who tormented Sunderland throughout with his direct running and came close to snatching a late equaliser on three occasions.

“We’ll do everything we can to try and get it right.

“The players put in a strong performance tonight [Tuesday], it just didn’t quite come off. But it’s not far away and it’s coming, I can sense it.

“You just need to look at the performance of Adnan Januzaj tonight. He was terrific. He put in a great job and played really well

Andy Flower rubbishes issuing ‘ultimatum’

Pietersen has reiterated his desire to reach 10,000 Test runs — he currently has 8,181. PHOTO: AFP

SYDNEY: Coach Andy Flower on Wednesday dismissed reports that he issued an ultimatum to England cricket chiefs over misfiring star batsman Kevin Pietersen as ‘totally inaccurate’.

English media said Flower was ready to quit unless he was given guarantees that the polarising batsman would not be selected to play under him in the fallout following the 5-0 Ashes humiliation in Australia.

Pietersen said he wants to stay and help England win back the Ashes next year on home soil.

“I wish to repeat my strong desire to continue playing for my country, and to help us regain the Ashes in 2015,” said Pietersen.

Flower said in a statement that no snap decisions would be made despite the humbling by England’s oldest rivals.

“I repeat that neither I nor the wider leadership group have made any decisions as to the future involvement of any individuals in the playing group or in the support staff.

“The reports that I have issued an ultimatum of some description to the ECB are totally inaccurate.”

Prior sorts out stranger’s priorities

England cricketers Matt Prior and Stuart Broad helped rescue a man preparing to jump off a bridge near the team hotel in Sydney.

Britain’s Daily Telegraph reported Wednesday that wicket-keeper Prior helped pull the man away from the edge of the bridge in Darling Harbour and chatted to him along with fast-bowler Broad for almost an hour before New South Wales police arrived on the scene.

“We just did what anybody would do in that situation,” said Prior.