Retail news

• Retail Gazette’s most read stories of 2025

  24-12-2025 15:30 via retailgazette.co.uk
  It’s been another eventful year for the UK retail sector.
  At Retail Gazette we’ve covered the highs and lows across the industry.
  From Asda to Ikea. From store closures to new openings. From recycling to rebrands.
  Here are our most read stories of 2025.Related Story Investment group acquires three long-standing grocery stores in £98m deal24/12/2025 x 9:05 AM1, Poundland kicks off closing down sale with hundreds of items from 10p
  2, Currys doubles cash-for-trash reward to e
  
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• ‘I’ll never say I’m popping to Jones’s’: shoppers yet to feel love for WH Smith’s high street replacement

  24-12-2025 13:00
  TG Jones took over stores six months ago but consumers have noticed little change or investment“It’s just the same.” Six months on from the sale of WH Smith’s high street business, the name above the door may have changed to TG Jones, but many shoppers have not noticed a splurge of investment or change.“The layout is the same and what they are selling is the same,” says Gillian Parsons as she exits TG Jones on a busy high street in the market town of Hitchin,
  
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• Sensormatic Solutions: Footfall was ‘stubbornly muted’ on 23 December

  24-12-2025 12:33 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Footfall was “stubbornly muted” yesterday (23 December), according to research from Sensormatic Solutions.
  The platform’s ShopperTrak Analytics data said store visits fell by -13.1% when compared to last year. It also revealed visits to retail parks declined -.8.6% year-on-year.
  However, the firm recorded that week-on-week shopper traffic was up 64.8% on 23 December, with shopping centres seeing a 74.3% rise in the amount of visits compared with the week before. It also showed
  
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• Feather & Black opens new standalone stores

  24-12-2025 11:52 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Feather & Black, part of Dreams, has opened two standalone stores in London’s Kingston and Tottenham Court Road.
  They are the brand’s first dedicated openings since 2020 and form part of Dreams‘ strategy to increase its growth.
  The shops will feature eleven of the brand’s bed ranges, matching furniture and mattress assortment. including collaborations with Vispring and Hypnos.Related Story Dreams completes purchase of ‘Bedquarters’ head office20/10/2025 x
  
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• Mothercare reports 25% fall in worldwide retail sales

  24-12-2025 11:32 via retailgazette.co.uk
  British parent and baby brand Mothercare has reported worldwide retail sales through franchise partners were £90.7 million, a 25% decrease from last year.
  The retailer put the figure down to store closures in its Middle Eastern markets and its planned exit from Boots.
  Mothercare has published its half-year results for the 26-week period to 27 September 2025, which highlighted that on a like-for-like basis, retail sales were down 6% on last year.
  “Mothercare is making good progress ag
  
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• Investment group acquires three long-standing grocery stores in £98m deal

  24-12-2025 10:05 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Supermarket Income Real Estate Investment Trust (SUPR) has strengthened its UK grocery portfolio with the acquisition of three well-established supermarkets for £97.6m.
  The newly acquired stores – operated by Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose – have long trading histories and have been secured at an average net initial yield of 5.5%.
  All three are let on long, inflation-linked, triple-net leases, aligning with SUPR’s strategy of targeting resilient grocery locations w
  
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• Christmas Eve is ‘busiest day’ to buy Prosecco at Co-op

  24-12-2025 09:59 via retailgazette.co.uk
  New data from supermarket chain Co-op has highlighted that bottles of Prosecco outsell pints of milk on Christmas Eve.
  According to the retailer, it is the busiest day for shoppers to ‘pop’ a bottle of Prosecco into their festive shop.
  To meet this demand, the firm has sent around 250,000 bottles to its stores, expecting sales to average to more than a bottle every second.Related Story Co-operative merger sees creation of UK’s largest independent retailer04/12/2025 x 9:18 AMReb
  
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• Boots Hearingcare brings back The Great Big Hearing Test

  24-12-2025 09:42 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Health retailer Boots Hearingcare has relaunched The Great Big Hearing Test for 2026.
  It comes as audiologists warn that millions may be withdrawing from conversations and social events due to undiagnosed hearing loss.
  According to Boots Hearingcare, the Christmas period can act as a “pressure test” for hearing loss.Related Story Boots Hearingcare launches its ‘UK-first’ World of Hearing store06/07/2021 x 2:53 PMResearch shows that 64% of those with hearing loss “fi
  
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• Conversation with… People in Retail Awards Judge Faye Ryder-Humphries

  24-12-2025 09:17 via theretailbulletin.com
  TRB is delighted to announce that Faye Ryder-Humphries, people director at Wingstop UK&I, will be a judge for next year’s People in Retail Awards. Here we... View Article
  
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• R.M. Williams to open first store in Scotland

  24-12-2025 09:03 via theretailbulletin.com
  Australian bootmaker R.M. Williams is to open its first store in Scotland in Edinburgh next month. Due to launch on 22 January, the shop will be... View Article
  
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• Mothercare looks to ‘rebuild’ at scale after first half sales decline

  24-12-2025 08:27 via theretailbulletin.com
  Mothercare has reported a drop in first half sales as it looks ahead to “rebuilding at scale” in the UK and globally. In the six months... View Article
  
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• ‘A gamechanger’: 200,000 UK small businesses sign up to TikTok Shop

  24-12-2025 08:00
  Big brands such as Sainsbury’s and M&S also selling directly in app through links in videos and livestreamsIt is better known for its viral dances and for making hits out of forgotten songs, but the social media site TikTok is becoming a force to be reckoned with as a shopping platform.Major retailers such as Marks & Spencer, Samsung, QVC, Clarks, and Sainsbury’s are now selling their wares on the site’s e-commerce service, TikTok Shop, alongside more than 200,000 UK sm
  
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• Wednesday briefing: What your Christmas cranberries reveal about the climate crisis

  24-12-2025 07:45
  In today’s newsletter: Extreme weather and fragile supply chains are pushing up food costs – and raising fears of instabilityGood morning. Have you done your Christmas food shop yet? If so, you probably felt the sting before you reached the checkout. From turkeys to trees, much of what makes Christmas feel like, well, Christmas, now comes with a noticeably higher price tag.The prices of ingredients for a traditional Christmas meal and festive treats have risen sharply this year, pili
  
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• Ikea muscles in on the last-minute stocking-stuffer trade

  24-12-2025 06:00 via ft.com
  City stores in prominent locations double up as billboards to drive online sales
  
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• To give or not to give presents at Christmas, that is the question | Letters

  23-12-2025 18:48
  Becky Kennedy thinks many people see no need for the performative gift buying for a person who needs very little. Laura Matthews says no one should feel obliged to buyYour anonymous correspondent (Letters, 19 December) implies that those who say “Shall we just not do presents [for Christmas] this year?” are ungrateful or unappreciative for the things they already have. They have the economic wherewithal to buy what they want, when they want, so the sense of special occasion, and grat
  
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• Usdaw calls for shops to be closed on Boxing Day

  23-12-2025 16:19 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Retail trade union Usdaw has today (23 December) published a poll of over 7,000 of its members, which shows 97% are calling for large stores to be closed on Boxing Day.
  “This would give staff a decent break over the festive period after a busy run-up to Christmas,” said the organisation.
  Usdaw is now calling on retailers to close early on Christmas Eve and to keep stores shut until 27 December.Related Story Usdaw calls for retail staff to be offered free jabs amid flu ‘tidal wa
  
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• CDs return to Christmas shopping lists as gen Z embrace ‘retro renaissance’

  23-12-2025 15:25
  Demand for CD players rises 74% this year amid deluxe releases from artists such as Taylor Swift and Pink FloydForget the vinyl revival. CD players and compact discs are back on Christmas lists this year amid a wave of 90s nostalgia and coveted “deluxe” releases from big acts such as Taylor Swift and Pink Floyd.Demand for compact discs peaked in the mid-00s and many households ditched their systems and libraries as digital music took off. But the distinctive whirr is returning to bed
  
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• M&S tops UK retail trust rankings despite cyberattack, GlobalData finds

  23-12-2025 11:43 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Marks & Spencer has been named the UK’s most trusted retailer in 2025, retaining consumer confidence despite the reputational damage posed by a major cyber-attack earlier in the year, according to new research from GlobalData.
  The ranking is underpinned by the strength of M&S’ distinctive own-brand ranges, which consumers struggled to replace during service disruption caused by the attack.
  GlobalData said the lack of comparable alternatives reinforced perceptions that M&S
  
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• Lidl to donate 100 tonnes of surplus food on Christmas Eve

  23-12-2025 10:52 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Lidl GB will donate around 100 tonnes of surplus food from its UK stores tomorrow (24 December), as the discounter continues what is set to be its largest food donation year to date.
  The Christmas Eve redistribution forms part of Lidl GB’s Feed it Back programme, delivered in partnership with community platform Neighbourly, and will see surplus food from across the retailer’s estate donated to local charities nationwide.
  The donation is expected to help create more than 238,000 Chris
  
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• ‘We’ve seen it decimate areas’: Somerset town’s traders oppose parking charges

  23-12-2025 10:00
  Traders on Clevedon’s Hill Road say they fear the proposals could hasten the decline of independent retail as councils across Britain look to raise income by forcing shoppers to pay to parkThe shop windows are decked out in their festive finery, there are carols on the stereos and the tills are ringing. The independent stores, cafes and restaurants lining Hill Road in the Somerset seaside town of Clevedon are hoping to take advantage of the crucial pre-Christmas period.The street’s c
  
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• Data: UK festive retail spend rises but online growth outpaces stores

  23-12-2025 09:35 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Christmas retail spending has risen 3.6% year on year, according to new analysis from Visa, with e-commerce continuing to outperform physical retail despite stores accounting for the majority of spending.
  Preliminary findings from Visa Consulting & Analytics’ (VCA) annual Retail Spend Monitor show that in-store sales represented 57.4% of total holiday payment volume, rising 2.1% compared with last year.
  Online spending grew faster, increasing 5.8% year on year, supported by early promo
  
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• Cheese, gift sets and matching pyjamas: Asda data highlights festive spending

  23-12-2025 09:18 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Asda has shared a snapshot of customer shopping behaviour this festive season, revealing strong demand across food, gifting, clothing and pet categories as shoppers prepare for Christmas and New Year celebrations.
  Search data from Asda.com shows significant year-on-year increases in seasonal products, with searches for Christmas cheese up 339%, said the retailer.
  Gift-led grocery and personal care items are also performing strongly, including a 922% increase in searches for Lynx gift sets and a
  
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• Tesco Winter Food Collection delivers 1.48m meals thanks to ‘generous’ shoppers

  23-12-2025 09:07 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Tesco customers have donated the equivalent of 1.48 million meals during the retailer’s Winter Food Collection.
  The scheme, which ran from 24 to 29 November across Tesco’s large-format and Express stores, saw customers donate long-life food items for redistribution through food charities FareShare and Trussell.
  More than 2,000 volunteers supported Tesco store colleagues during the campaign.Related Story Tesco launches tie-up with Mistral AI18/12/2025 x 8:46 AMAlongside food donations
  
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• The hill I will die on: Ignore the haters, TK Maxx is actually quite good | Hannah J Davies

  23-12-2025 09:00
  The chaos is undeniable, but where else are you going to get a pair of jeans and a pistachio-cream panettone cake for such a reasonable price?‘Oh it’s a mess!” my mum says, shaking her head. “It’s like a jumble sale.” I’m fresh from a trip to TK Maxx, and all I’m getting is negativity. A couple of days later I’m watching Educating Yorkshire when it happens again: one of the teachers tells his pupils to tidy up, lest their classroom look like
  
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• Pets at Home appoints new CEO

  23-12-2025 08:50 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Pets at Home Group has announced the appointment of James Bailey as Chief Executive Officer, with effect from 30 March 2026.
  He was most recently managing director of Waitrose, a position he held for over five years from April 2020.
  “During his tenure, he led Waitrose to strong sales and profit growth, steering the business through the challenging Covid period and its immediate aftermath of high inflation. He also relaunched Waitrose.com after the company moved off the Ocado platform,&rdqu
  
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• Pets at Home appoints former Waitrose managing director as chief executive

  23-12-2025 08:23 via theretailbulletin.com
  Pets at Home Group has appointed former Waitrose managing director James Bailey as its new chief executive, with effect from 30 March. He led Waitrose for... View Article
  
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• Zofa to open first London store

  23-12-2025 06:44 via theretailbulletin.com
  Online sofa brand Zofa has selected Fulham Road for the opening of its first physical store in London. The retailer has signed for a new two-floor... View Article
  
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• Greggs opens 600th franchise store

  23-12-2025 06:19 via theretailbulletin.com
  Greggs has opened a milestone 600th franchise shop in Stonecross Services in Bexwell in a partnership with Motor Fuel Group. The move forms part of the... View Article
  
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• Iceland brings festive cheer to local communities

  23-12-2025 06:03 via theretailbulletin.com
  Iceland Foods and The Food Warehouse has donated thousands of Christmas items to charities and groups that support families and individuals in their local communities through... View Article
  
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• Is Christmas as good for the UK economy as it used to be?

  23-12-2025 06:00 via ft.com
  It used to be the most wonderful time of year for the retail and hospitality sectors, but consumer behaviour is shifting
  
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• HMV to open second store in the Netherlands

  22-12-2025 18:53 via theretailbulletin.com
  HMV is to open a second store in the Netherlands next year. Spanning 4,500 square feet, the new shop on Kalverstraat in Amsterdam will offer customers... View Article
  
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• The Entertainer delivers year of ‘significant’ growth

  22-12-2025 17:24 via theretailbulletin.com
  The Entertainer has delivered a year of “significant” growth both in the UK and internationally. The toy retailer opened new ‘Gen5’ stores in Bluewater, Cambridge, Rushden... View Article
  
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• The Entertainer delivers further growth as stores, concessions and digital expansion accelerate

  22-12-2025 17:13 via retailgazette.co.uk
  The Entertainer has reported another year of significant growth across the UK and international markets, underpinned by continued investment in its store estate, online innovation and the rapid expansion of its ‘Toy-Box’ commercial partnerships.
  The year marked a major milestone for the toy shop as it transitioned to an Employee-Owned Trust, becoming the UK’s second largest employee-owned retailer.
  Alongside this structural change, the business strengthened its physical retail
  
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• HMV plans second Netherlands store

  22-12-2025 13:02 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Music and pop culture chain HMV will open a new shop in Amsterdam next year, following the launch of The Hague store in November.
  The new 4,500 sq ft shop will be located on Kalverstraat and offers consumers a range of music, film, TV and literature products. It will also offer a more extensive collection of Vinyls and CDs than The Hague store, with a dedicated section for K-Pop.
  The chain is a familiar sight on UK high streets and was bought in 2019 by Canadian firm Sunrise Records after it fel
  
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• Lord Rose’s blunt verdict on Labour’s pro-business claims

  22-12-2025 12:44 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Former M&S boss Lord Stuart Rose has questioned Labour’s delivery against its pre-election promise to be the most pro-business government.
  Speaking on LBC’s Nick Ferrari at Christmas programme, Lord Rose expressed deep disappointment with the Government’s current approach to growth and business confidence.
  Describing himself as “a Conservative with a small ‘c’”, Lord Rose said he had welcomed the change of government and expected Labour to arrive wit
  
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• Hiscox unveils ‘Elf and Safety’ guidelines for retailers

  22-12-2025 10:23 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Insurance company Hiscox has issued a checklist for small businesses to keep their staff safe this Christmas.
  It comes as data from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) showed that 680,000 workers experienced a non-fatal workplace injury in 2024/25, with retail, hospitality, trade and delivery services reporting higher injury rates.
  Titled ‘Elf and Safety, the checklist is made up of six steps: Prioritise rapid training for temporary staff
  Review rotas for fatigue risk
  Reassess the p
  
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• Greggs opens 600th franchise location

  22-12-2025 10:03 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Food-to-go retailer Greggs has announced the opening of its 600th franchise shop in Stonecross Services, Bexwell, Norfolk,
  The opening, which is just off the A10, is the latest collaboration with long-term franchise partner Motor Fuel Group (MFG).
  Greggs said its franchise partnerships “play a central role in unlocking high-traffic and otherwise restricted locations”, including motorway service areas, petrol filling stations, train stations and smaller convenience destinations.Relate
  
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• ‘Super Saturday’ footfall disappoints as last-minute shopping looms

  22-12-2025 09:45 via retailgazette.co.uk
  UK retailers saw a muted performance on Super Saturday this year, with in-store visits falling 6.9% year-on-year as shoppers delayed spending and held out for late promotions, according to new data from Sensormatic Solutions.
  ShopperTrak Analytics figures show that footfall on Saturday 20 December 2025 failed to match 2024 levels, underlining the ongoing caution shaping this year’s festive trading period. High streets proved the most resilient location type, posting a smaller decline of 3.
  
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• Interview: Reimagining the furniture experience

  22-12-2025 09:30 via theretailbulletin.com
  Having decided the antiquated furniture industry needed a bit of a shake-up Keiran Hewkin found the only way to ultimately bring about change was by striking... View Article
  
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• M&S hails success of own-label fragrance offering

  22-12-2025 09:27 via theretailbulletin.com
  M&S has hailed the success of its own-label fragrance offering over the past year. The retailer has grown its share of the own-label fragrance market from... View Article
  
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• Skechers joins line-up at Westwood Cross

  22-12-2025 08:20 via theretailbulletin.com
  Skechers has opened a new store at Westwood Cross shopping centre in Broadstairs. Situated next to River Island in the Terrace area of the centre, the... View Article
  
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• Look Fantastic offers same day delivery via Uber Eats

  22-12-2025 07:45 via theretailbulletin.com
  Look Fantastic has teamed up with Uber Eats to offer same-day delivery across some London postcodes this month.   The move means that customers will be able... View Article
  
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• Birkenstock posts strong growth

  22-12-2025 07:30 via theretailbulletin.com
  Birkenstock has reported full year revenue growth of 16% to €2.1 billion, or 18% on a constant currency basis, after seeing strong consumer demand across all... View Article
  
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• The Cotswold Company opens first retail park showroom

  22-12-2025 07:19 via theretailbulletin.com
  The Cotswold Company has opened its first showroom in a retail park at Portfield Retail Park in Chichester. The premium furniture and homeware brand said the... View Article
  
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• ‘Squat’ cans and rented clothes: cash-strapped younger Australians drive demand for ‘little luxuries’

  21-12-2025 15:00
  Experiences, ethical purchases and sale items also top list of spending even as some find they are plunging deeper in debtGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastCash-strapped younger Australians are driving a new market trend by turning to “little luxuries”, such as downsized bottles of alcohol and cosmetics, and rented wardrobes, as high living costs persist.Industry analysts say this novel behaviour, not witnessed in past generations, contrasts with the historic
  
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• UK supermarkets turn to European turkeys as avian flu hits supply

  21-12-2025 12:00
  Asda, Lidl and Morrisons understood to be stocking imported branded turkeys to meet Christmas demandSeveral of the UK’s big supermarkets have been forced to source turkeys from elsewhere in Europe to keep shelves stocked this Christmas, after avian flu curtailed UK production.Asda, Lidl and Morrisons are understood to be stocking branded turkey imported from mainland Europe – a move industry sources described as “unprecedented” – to “protect availability&rdquo
  
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• Christmas ads put on a diet as UK ban on TV junk food advertising bites

  20-12-2025 13:00
  Gone are shots of puddings and sweets as advertisers try to market other foods to stay within rules coming into force on 5 JanuaryThe festive season is traditionally a time of national culinary overindulgence but eagle-eyed viewers may have noticed that this year’s crop of big-budget Christmas TV ads have been decidedly lean and sugar-free.From Tesco and Waitrose to Marks & Spencer and Asda, the UK’s biggest exponents of extravagant festive food marketing have put their Christmas
  
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• Retailers hope ‘panic weekend’ will bring Christmas cheer to UK sales

  20-12-2025 08:30
  Experts forecast spending will be more than 12% up on same period in 2024 after lucklustre figures so farRetailers are hoping for a last-minute dash for the shops this weekend after a lacklustre run-up to Christmas, with UK households forecast to spend £3.4bn, up more than 12% on the same weekend in 2024.Almost 50m shopping trips will be made by last-minute Father Christmases over the weekend, according to research by analysts GlobalData for Vouchercodes.co.uk, the vast majority of which w
  
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• Was 2025 the year that business retreated from net zero?

  20-12-2025 06:00
  From retailers to banks, carmakers to councils, the bold pledges for carbon-neutral economies are being watered down or scrappedAlmost a year since Donald Trump returned to the White House with a rallying cry to the fossil fuel industry to “drill baby, drill”, a backlash against net zero appears to be gathering momentum.More companies have retreated from, or watered down, their pledges to cut carbon emissions, instead prioritising shareholder returns over climate action. Continue rea
  
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• Elliott’s bookshop gamble is turning into a page-turner

  20-12-2025 06:00 via ft.com
  A private equity bet on physical books and bricks-and-mortar stores looks like the happier kind of plot twist
  
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