News
Department store group Fenwick has appointed the first non-Fenwick family member to the position of chief executive. Robbie Feather, currently commercial director at Argos, will join the business in February.
Feather’s appointment comes after former Co-op chief Richard Pennycook joined the historic retailer as chairman last year (again as the first non-family member to take the role). Pennycook’s arrival was precipitated by the decision of Mark Fenwick to step down from the role of chairman, after which group trading director Hugo Fenwick and managing director Adam Fenwick both stepped down from their roles. The Fenwick family has headed up the business since 1882.
To read more, click here.
More VC money sloshing around Europe: In what was probably one of the worst kept secrets in European VC, London-based Balderton Capital is announcing a new $375 million fund. I understand that it actually closed earlier this year, however, and I’m told has already been used to make ten investments.
To read more, click here.
Bitcoin. Blockchain. Cryptocurrencies. Initial coin offerings.
Everyone’s talking about them, but what do these terms really mean?
As of this writing in mid-November 2017, the total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies hovers around $220B (with a single bitcoin trading for upwards of $8,000). Initial coin offerings (ICOs) have exploded in popularity, closing on $3B+ in funding in 2017 alone. Huge corporations — like Walmart and Pfizer — have completed successful blockchain pilots.
To read more, click here.
The UK government is looking to introduce a draft bill to regulate the use of drones.
As a result, individuals flying the devices will have to pass a series of safety tests and comply with a mandatory register.
The new rules could also ban drones from being flown near airports and above 400 feet.
To read more, click here.
SaleCycle’s remarketing report has revealed that the global cart abandonment rate for Q3 2017 is 78.4%, which is a 1.5% increase on the previous quarter.
Fashion sites are doing the best job at converting visitors, with the lowest abandonment rate at 68.1%. In contrast, finance and travel brands generate the highest, with travel consumers typically abandoning bookings to continue their research and compare prices.
To read more stats, click here.
Steve Jobs liked to describe computers as “bicycles for the mind”—tools that let humans do things faster and more efficiently than their bodies would allow. The internet-connected bikes flooding the streets of urban China could be called “computers for the road”. Networked, trackable and data-generating, they are ones and zeros in aluminium form.
The cycles belong to Ofo and Mobike, two startups that, taken together, have raised $2.2bn of capital and are valued at more than $4bn. Each has between 7m and 10m bikes in China, averages 30m-35m rides a day and, having entered more than 100 Chinese cities, is expanding abroad
To read more, click here.
Victoria Beckham has secured £30m investment from Neo Investment Partners in a move which is said to value her band at £100m.
Neo Investment Partners specialises in luxury businesses and its investment will help Beckham to expand her brand’s retail presence and also boost growth in its core product categories of ready-to-wear, accessories and footwear, as well as collaborations.
To read more, click here.
trends seem to rule everything. Whether it’s the cut of your trousers, how you take your coffee, or what makes up your stock portfolio, crazes, fads, and trends are strong motivating factors behind how all of us behave.
Many venture investors fancy themselves as both trendspotters and trendsetters. But are VCs really that good at getting out ahead of the curve?
To find out more, click here.
Since its HBR debut in 1995, the concept of disruptive innovation—the process by which a smaller company with limited resources is able to launch a product or service that displaces established competitors—has been extensively incorporated into startup vernacular. Entrepreneurs often use a version of the phrase when launching products, raising funds, unveiling strategies, hiring teams, and engaging partners.
To read more, click here.
Today Revolut revealed it now has a million customers across Europe, more than double its closest rivals N26 and Monzo (both with just 500,000 customers), and is adding between 3,000 and 3,500 new users every day.
Incredibly, the entire business is only two years old and was built with just £60m in funding.
To read more, click here.