onths ers & ers
1. Berlusconi
There is a sense of remorse in Itlay that it was not the voters that drove, Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi from office, but anonymous market forces. After years of corruption and sex scandals that have dogged and undermined the country such has been Berlusconi’s domination of Italian public life over the past two decades that early celebrations at the news of his departure were muted by apprehension they have not seen the end of him.
First elected nearly 18 years ago, Berlusconi has eked out a formidable political record as Italy’s longest serving post-war prime minister. But as he packs his finest Italian leather bags over the weekend his legacy lies in tatters, a demoralised and debt-crippled country on the brink of needing a European if not international bail- out.
2. Comet
The loss-making electricals chain Comet, once a high street favourite has avoided going the same way as Woolworths and Zavvi, being sold to a turnaround specialists group, OpCapita, for just £2, the latest sign of the declining health of the UK consumer electronics spending.
Parent company Kesa Electricals has given the new owners a £50m dowry, after the UK retailer’s sales slipped almost 20% for the first six months of its financial year.
The new owners, an investment firm which specialises in turnaround situations, said it had “no intention to make redundancies” or to implement a significant closure programme for Comet’s 248 stores for “at least 18 months”. The deal is expected to be completed in February of next year with OpCapita adopting existing cost-cutting plans.
3. Best Buy
Consumer electronics giant Best Buy’s attempt to cross the Atlantic and deliver US-style retailing to British consumers has ended in a miserable failure, with the troubled retailer planning to close all of its gaudy oversized and overhyped stores in the UK. Its retreat from the UK market shows that even the most successful retail formats can fail if they do not adapt to changes in their target markets.
11 entrepreneurcountry
227m
for Coming!
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