DSG hopeful as double dip fears recede for retailers

By Etain LavelleLast updated at 10:30 PM on 2nd September 2010

DSG yesterday sounded a note of cautious optimism over the fragile state of the economy, dismissing fears of a double-dip recession.
The electricals and computers group benefited from strong sales of televisions ahead of the World Cup, and from Apple’s new iPad.
‘We don’t see any evidence for a double dip but we’re also not seeing demand you would see in a normal economy,’ said chief executive John Browett.

Currying favour: The electricals and computers group was boosted from sales of Apple’s new iPad

‘People are very savvy - they want good advice and they look around a lot before they buy.’
The football jamboree provided a fillip to DSG as customers took advantage of a World Cup promotion on televisions, and sales climbed by a hefty 40 per cent compared with the 2006 World Cup.
 

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They hike your gas bill - then tell you three months later

By
Lauren Thompson
Last updated at 11:41 AM on 14th July 2010

Energy suppliers are using dirty tricks and confusing terms to baffle consumers despite new laws to make bills simpler. Between now and December, all households will receive a new ‘annual statement’ outlining how much energy they consumed in the past 12 months, how much they can expect to pay next year, and the name of their tariff. The changes come after regulator Ofgem ordered companies to make bills clearer.

Emma Cashion has been landed with a £1,500 bill from npower, despite paying for her energy by direct debit and submitting regular meter readings. Ms Cashion and her partner Anthony Daniels were persuaded to join npower by a sales rep, who claimed they would have to pay only £44 per month for gas and electricity. However, a year later they were astonished to receive an additional bill for £1,557. ‘The bill seems extremely high as there are only two people in the house and we are at work all week,’ says Ms Cashion, a sales administrator from Maidstone, Kent. ‘We have spent hours talking to npower and the Energy Ombudsman to work out why the bill is so high, but with no success.’ A spokeswoman for npower says: ‘We have already offered to transfer her to a cheaper tariff and provide a goodwill gesture of £125, as well as adjusting the payments to spread the balance.’

However, consumer groups say suppliers are still using underhand tactics to overcharge customers. These include:
Increasing the cost of best-buy tariffs a few months after a customer has switched;
Not informing them of price rises for up to three months;
Making false claims about the link between wholesale and retail prices;
Using misleading sales pitches to lure in customers.
Adam Scorer, of watchdog Consumer Focus, says: ‘We are disappointed
at how some suppliers are implementing Ofgem’s changes and we want to
see clear English on energy bills for customers. Bills have been
confusing and a major source of frustration for too long.’
Experts say most households have no idea which tariff they are on or
how their bills are calculated. There are an astonishing 559 active
tariffs, 128 of which are still available to new customers, according
to comparison site Moneysupermarket.com.
Suppliers regularly launch a new ‘best buy’ tariff, only to increase
the cost a few months later and launch a cheaper version under a
similar name. Npower, for example, has 19 variations of its SOL tariff,
while
British Gas is on version eight types of its WebSaver tariff.
When suppliers increase prices, they only have to inform customers
three months later, when the information is normally buried on a
customer’s bill.
Joe Malinowski, of comparison site TheEnergyshop.com, says: ‘Most
tariffs will have increased after about 12 months, so consumers have to
keep switching every year in order to get the best deal.
‘There can be a big difference between, say, Click Energy 2 and
Click Energy 6, which is why it is so important to know the exact name
of your tariff. If you don’t know, it is impossible to compare deals
accurately on a comparison website.’
Experts also warn that sales reps for suppliers, who appear on
doorsteps and in shopping centres, are luring in customers with
promises of competitive direct debits that turn out to be too low  - 
meaning customers are suddenly landed with an enormous bill to make up
the difference.
It can be a nightmare for consumers to compare tariffs without
relying on a comparison site because there are so many ways of
calculating a bill.
Particularly confusing is the way in which suppliers calculate your
energy usage. This is broken down into units, known as kilowatt hours.
As a rough guide, 1 kilowatt hour of electricity will run a tumble
dryer for 24 minutes, a mobile phone charger for 1,000 hours, or an
energy-efficient light bulb for 90 hours.
But energy suppliers charge customers for administration as well as
the energy they use. Some are charged a flat fee  -  known as a
standing charge. But most are charged more for the first set of units
they use. For example, the first 300 units may be charged at 19p each,
but the rest at 11p each.
Meanwhile, if you are on a special tariff, such as Economy 7 or
Economy 10  -  whereby energy used at night is cheaper for either seven
or ten hours respectively  -  you will be charged less for the units
you use at night, for example 4p each, but more for the daytime ones.
That’s fine for electricity meters, but gas bills are even more
complex. Consumers are often faced with a baffling calculation if they
want to understand their bill.
What constitutes a kWh depends on a host of factors, including the
temperature and pressure of the gas, and its ‘calorific value’ (energy
provided when gas is burned). The average household consumes 20,500 kWh
of gas a year.
Fiona Cochrane, of consumer champion Which?, says: ‘It’s near
impossible for consumers to calculate whether or not they have been
charged the correct amount for gas. The whole pricing system is far too
opaque.’ Energy suppliers typically blame fluctuations in the wholesale
markets when bills go up or down.
Yet Dr Cochrane says all of the big six energy suppliers, except
British Gas, generate their own energy and do not need to rely on the
wholesale markets.
‘Energy suppliers are always quick to blame wholesale prices for
rising bills, yet it’s all but impossible for an ordinary consumer to
find out if such claims are true, she says. ‘Greater transparency over
how retail prices are calculated is needed if people are to believe
that they’re paying a fair price for their energy.’

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Apple iPad tops one million sales in 28 days

Sales of Apple’s iPad tablet computer have topped the one million mark in 28
days, the company has said.

The release last Friday of a new 3G model, to supplement the wi-fi version,
helped to boost sales and means that the iPad is selling more than twice as
fast as the iPhone, which took 74 days to reach the one million sales
milestone.

Steve Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, warned that the shortage of iPads was
likely to continue for some time.

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First Best Buy electrical megastore opens in UK as hundreds queue for U.S-style discounts

By
Sean Poulter
Last updated at 4:13 PM on 30th April 2010

Hundreds of people queued up early today to snap up bargains at the opening of the UK’s first Best Buy superstore.The American discount electricals giant is slashing prices by up to 50 per cent to compete on the highly competitive British high street.The company’s first outlet is in Thurrock, Essex and it plans to open 200 more, selling electric cars alongside 3D televisions and lap-tops. Its British website will go live in the autumn.
The crowds gather early in the morning for the opening day of Britain’s first Best Buy in Thurrock, Essex
The company says it is prepared to suffer losses of £45million in its first year of trading in Britain in order to grab market share from rivals.Historically, British consumers have paid far more for their technology, from the latest Apple iPods to Sony PlayStations, than their US counterparts.International electronic firms have treated Britain as a Treasure Island where they have been able to get away with charging more.Best Buy says it will match the cheapest shop prices from rivals within a 15 mile radius. It will then sweeten the deal with an added discount of 10per cent of the difference.Tempting offers include 45per cent off a Toshiba 32in HD ready LCD TV bringing it down to just £179.99 and similar reductions on other sets.Anyone who pays more than £499 for a TV will get their money back if England win the World Cup.
Best Buy will sell TVs and computers as well as energy-saving products such as electric cars, motorcycles, scooters and bicycles
BEST BUY: Facts and FiguresBest Buy was founded in 1966 as The Sound of Music store. It changed its name in 1983.Today it is the largest electronics retailer in the U.S and Canada and operates around 1,300 stores. The company bought half of The Carphone Warehouse’s retail business in 2008 for £1.1billion. It has used the phone company’s 2,400 retail
stores to help it break into the European market.The Best Buy family of brands and partnerships collectively generates more than £27 billion in annual revenue.
There is a 44 per cent saving on a Nintendo Wii black console with wireless remote, nunchuk, Wii sports and Wii sports resort, bringing the price down to £99.99.There are also half-price deals on
mobile phones and Blackberry handsets plus savings on digital cameras.
The price of integrated kitchen appliances will be 25 per cent off.The company has enormous financial muscle and some 20 per cent of the north American electricals market.It
paid more than £1billion for 50per cent of Carphone Warehouse to gain a
foothold in the UK and will be a direct rival to specialists
Currysdigital and Comet.However,
it will also be locked in a fierce price battle with Tesco, Asda,
Sainsburys and Marks & Spencer, which have their own growing
electrical departments.Best Buy will also pose a challenge to John Lewis, which has its own price promise of ‘Never Knowing Undersold’.The store will feature a ‘GreenTech’ area, which will showcase energy-saving products such as electric cars, motorcycles, scooters and bicycles.
Customers were soon snaking around the building eager to get their hands on electricals with up to 50% discount
The retailer will exclusively stock
the Brammo Enertia electric motorcycle, which will be available to buy
from August. It will also sell electric scooters such as the Xero Tech,
with prices starting at £1,499.99.Best
Buy will showcase the £86,950 Tesla Roadster, with a 244-mile range,
understood to be the fastest electric vehicle in production. It
will also offer the Citroën C1 ev’ie four-seater city car, which will
be available in all Best Buy stores for customers to test drive and
order. The cars,
which are converted to run on electricity in the UK and have a starting
price of £16,850, are exempt from congestion charges and road tax.Best Buy staff will also offer consumers advice on how to save energy and money.Customers
who want a new 3D TV will be able to buy the LG 47″ LCD version for
just under £2,500. A Panasonic 50″ plasma 3D TV will be on offer for
£2,300 from June.Chief executive of Best Buy Branded
Operations, Paul Antoniadis, said: ‘We are confident that we can
deliver a whole new experience in consumer electronics retailing. ‘We
look forward to welcoming our first customers to our store where
they’ll find lots of amazing deals, great prices and entertainment.’Best
Buy operates a ‘Walk out working’ system. Customers who buy any laptop,
camera or mobile phone can have it set up so its ready to use by store
staff.This will include transferring old contacts onto your
new mobile phone or installing software and parental controls on your
new laptop.The store is also offering a trade-in service
where customers can return old televisions, laptops and mobile phones,
to receive discounts towards a purchase.The next Best Buy
stores will open in Hedge End, Southampton, and Merry Hill, the West
Midlands, in June. Others will follow in Liverpool, Croydon, and Cribbs
Causeway, Bristol.U.S giant Best Buy’s opening shots in high street price war

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Mortgage rates fall but lending remains muted

The cost of home loans has fallen to the cheapest level in more than a year as
competition amongst mortgage lenders continues to put pressure on interest
rates. However, the latest lending figures show the mortgage approvals
remain subdued.

The average cost of a two-year fixed-rate mortgage has fallen to 4.63 per
cent, compared to a peak of 5.21 per cent in August last year, according to
Moneyfacts.co.uk, the financial website. The fall reduces the cost of
mortgage repayments on £150,000 capital repayment loan by £600 a year.

The average cost of a longer-term five-year fix has also steadily fallen to
5.85 per cent, compared to 6.24 per cent in the middle of last year.
However, the average figures conceal wide disparities between the
competitiveness of deals across the market. The current best-buy five-year
deal is from the Co-Operative Bank, with a rate of 4.49 per cent, available
up to 75 per cent of a property’s value.

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Minnesota man out to change UK retail

By Louise Armitstead






Published: 11:26PM BST 24 Apr 2010

But just days away from leading his attack, Brian J Dunn, chief executive,
doesn’t appear to represent an insurmountable challenge.

In photos, the stocky mid-Westerner sports a bushy handlebar moustache and
goofy teeth. On Twitter his mantra is “People. Technology. And the
Pursuit of Happiness.”. On Facebook he lists the Best Buy store in
Saginaw, Michigan as one of his children.

Mr Dunn, 49, started his career as a teenager when he took a full-time job at
a local grocery store and, although his rise has been meteoric, he’s been
chief executive of Best Buy for just 10 months.

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The best and the worst cash Isas

Published: 10:50PM BST 19 Apr 2010

Savers are being warned to check what rate they are earning on their cash Isas
as many of these tax-free accounts pay virtually no interest.

Financial researcher Defaqto has highlighted eight accounts that pay a meagre
0.1 per cent interest to savers looking to shelter their money from the
taxman.

These include Santander, its sister bank Alliance & Leicester and Halifax.

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Twitter launches first paid-for advert tweets that promotes them to top of search lists

By
Sean Poulter
Last updated at 3:57 PM on 13th April 2010

Twitter has bowed to pressure to allow advertising in a bid to turn the global communications phenomenon into a commercial cash cow.Since its launch two and half years ago, the service that allows people to blog their lives in a stream of 140 character messages has never been able to make money.Now, advertisers will be able to reach Twitter’s 25million regular users around the globe through so-called ‘promoted tweets’.
Revenue stream: Twitter users will soon start seeing ‘promoted tweets’ at the top of their search pagesPeople who search for a particular keyword will find the advertisement at the top of the list of relevant tweets posted by other users.Some members of the service have already expressed concern that the purity of the communications system will be corrupted by commercial influences. One complained: ‘I would pay a flat yrly [sic] subscription NOT to have adverts on.’Another said: ‘This isn’t good. Twitter announces adverts as its revenue stream.’

Twitter says that it has already signed up a number of well-known organisations, including the coffee chain Starbucks, film company  Sony Pictures, Red Bull, TV channel Bravo, the Virgin America airline and the US retailer Best Buy.While the initial commercial tie-ups are with US businesses, it is understood the same model will be spread to the UK and other countries in the coming months.The tweets from advertisers will be labelled as ‘Promoted’ to distinguish them from other normal ones.In future, adverts will also appear on the site’s home page when users visit it. These will be tailored to the user’s interests, which are determined by the messages they send and receive. This notion of effectively spying on Twitter users to target them with relevant advertising may well alienate some.Unlike most other social network sites, Twitter’s usage is dominated by older adults rather than teenagers. Just 11 per cent of Twitter’s users are aged 12 to 17.However, this has been changing as a result of Twitter being captured by the culture of celebrity with people like Britney Spears,  Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore and, in this country, Stephen Fry , joining the ranks of the Twitterati.Twitter’s founder, Biz Stone, revealed details of the new adverts in a blog post. He insisted the advertiser’s tweets will have to ‘meet a higher bar’ than normal ones.He said that if people do not interact with them – by passing them on around the network – they will be removed. Mr Stone said: ‘Although our services extend beyond the Web, Twitter ranks as one of the most popular sites on the Internet. ‘Over the years, we’ve resisted introducing a traditional Web advertising model because we wanted to optimise for value before profit.’For years, the company has struggled to find an acceptable way to turn its popularity into a commercial, money-making success.However, it now appears to be taking a much more hard-headed approach. For example, it is charging Google and Microsoft’s Bing search engine around £7million a year for access to its content so they can offer it in search results.Twitter, a privately held company, does not report earnings, but its
website says: ‘While our business model is in a research phase, we
spend more money than we make.’ The rival social network service Facebook is predicted by some analysts to make around £650million in revenue from advertisers this year.
It already targets users with advertising based on their profile.

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Mortgage rates fall as new fixed-rate deals launched

Published: 5:31PM GMT 03 Mar 2010

Co-operative Financial Services is offering a two-year fixed-rate mortgage at
3.19pc, taking it straight to the top of the best buy tables. The loan,
which is available through both The Co-operative Bank and Britannia, is for
people with at least a 25pc deposit who pay a £999 fee.

It is also offering a rate of 4.49pc for people borrowing up to 85pc of their
home’s value, the lowest two-year fixed rate available for people with only
a 15pc deposit.

Spanish banking giant Santander also reduced rates on a number of its
mortgages by 0.74pc for people borrowing up to 80pc of their home’s value.
The move leaves the group’s two-year tracker rate for people buying a home
with a 20pc deposit at 3.25pc with a £995 fee, while it has a two-year fixed
rate deal of 4.95pc with the same conditions.

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Mortgage costs leap as Skipton Building Society lifts rate

Tens of thousands of borrowers face a shock jump in mortgage payments after Skipton Building Society, Britain’s fifth-largest building society, confirmed plans to raise its standard variable rate from 3.5 per cent to 4.95 per cent.
The move, to take effect from March 1, will raise mortgage repayments by up to 40 per cent for some borrowers, adding almost £200 a month to repayments on a £150,000 interest-only loan.
Skipton, with 100,000 borrowers, previously had guaranteed that its variable rate would not rise while Bank of England base rate stayed at 0.5 per cent, but it has cited a clause in its loans’ small print allowing it to ignore the promise in “exceptional circumstances”.
Skipton has blamed its decision on “unprecedented” competition in the savings market from National Savings & Investments (NS&I), the Treasury-backed savings provider, and state- controlled banks. Building societies have come to rely on funding from retail deposits for new mortgage lending as wholesale money markets stay frozen, but competition to attract savers has forced up the interest rates on offer, shrinking profit margins.

David Cutton, Skipton’s chief executive, said: “We are witnessing an extremely high cost of retail funding relative to the base rate, which has impacted our interest-rate margin over the last year. There is only a finite savings pot and building societies have faced tough competition over the last year from NS&I and banks, who continue to reduce their use of wholesale markets to fund new lending. This has driven up the cost of retail funding to an unprecedented level relative to mortgage rates.” Last year NS&I frequently appeared at the top of the best-buy tables for savings accounts. At present it is promising a 2.5 per cent return on its Direct cash Isa, compared with a promise of 2.25 per cent from Skipton on its online Isa account.
Experts say that other building societies are likely to follow suit and raise interest rates for homeowners on an SVR, the “revert” rate that borrowers switch to when a mortgage deal ends. David Hollingworth, of London & Country Mortgages, said the move was a “body blow” for Skipton borrowers.

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