LAURA SLATTERYlooks back at the week in business
THE NUMBERS
24%- The year-on-year decline in sales of menswear, according to Retail Excellence Ireland (REI). So it's not just you, your male colleagues are looking a bit shabby these days.
€46 -the average value of a sale at the chains represented by REI in the third quarter, down from €67 a year earlier.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"Facebook has fast become a worldwide name and it is a fabulous endorsement that Ireland can satisfy the needs of such highly innovative and technologically advanced companies as they make critical investments."
- Tánaiste Mary Coughlan, very much on message at the opening of Facebook's expanded Irish operation.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK 2 "You must be joking!"- What Coughlan said when asked if she had her own Facebook profile. Oh dear.
GOOD WEEK
Tesco and Virgin
With banks in such disarray, it's happy days for retailers who provide quasi-banking products like Tesco and Virgin Money. Tesco now plans a full-service bank in the UK, offering current accounts and mortgages, and has decided it can make its assault without the remnants of failed banks like Northern Rock. Lloyds and RBS may also be split in two, creating a bevy of offloaded banking goodies for new players entering the market. And it's only non-banks that can afford to go shopping for the spoils.
Bakugan Battle Pack
A smallish British toy company called Spin Master is the manufacturer of the Bakugan Brawlers brand, a TV tie-in set to become the most in-demand toy this Christmas. The battle pack costs a modest €22.99 on the Smyths website; however, the arena in which the brawls take place is a slightly pricier €34.99, while the PS3 version is €44.99. Also on the list: Go Go Pets Hamsters, GX Racers Tightrope Terror and Princess Peppa's Palace.
BAD WEEK
Versace
The Milan-based luxury goods retailer is cutting more than just its cloth these days: a quarter of its workforce will be axed after the company, founded by the late designer Gianni Versace in 1978, said it would lose €30 million this year. The global recession has slashed demand for the €150 T-shirts, €500 skinny jeans and €2,000 silk dresses on which it earns its finely tailored crust. The family-run company, whose chief designer is now Gianni's sister Donatella, is struggling more than other fashion houses: earlier this month it closed its Japanese stores.
Wii
Sales of Nintendo's Wii consoles have slumped like Mii after a strenuous hula- hooping session, forcing the Japanese company to lower its revenue forecasts. Wii's three-year reign as the best-selling console in the US and Japan was ended last month when Sony dropped the PlayStation 3 price by 25 per cent. Nintendo has blamed what it expects will be its first annual drop in shipments for Wii on a lack of strong software titles.
