Retail news

• Merkel speech, US retail earnings reports

  11-11-2018 19:08
  Your FT guide to this week’s big events
  
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• What future for Britain’s high streets? | Letters

  11-11-2018 18:50
  Readers respond to news that the number of UK shops, pubs and restaurants lying empty has soared by more than 4,400 in the first six months of this yearThe plight of retailers dominates debate about the high street (Decline of the high street gathers pace as thousands of stores close, 9 November), although I can’t imagine what “decisive action … to support the battered high street” the government is expected to provide. Certainly there’s no reverse gear to address
  
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• Should you have already started your Christmas shopping?

  11-11-2018 16:00
  Guardian readers reveal their top tips for not leaving it all to the last minute – and the joy in having a month’s anticipation of your loved ones opening their giftsYou know that cliche of the disorganised and dishevelled husband or dad, rushing around a department store on Christmas Eve, grabbing random items that he somehow hopes are going to look carefully and artfully chosen the following morning when they appear under the Christmas tree? Well, welcome to my Christmas.Yet, appar
  
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• US fast-food chains face tough retail landscape

  11-11-2018 14:42
  Saturation of outlets and demand for healthier options compound operators’ woes
  
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• Retailers to pay up to £1bn for recycling under waste strategy

  11-11-2018 13:53
  Exclusive: ministers seeking to make firms pay more towards recycling their own wasteSupermarkets, retailers and major drinks brands are set to pay tens of millions of pounds more towards recycling their used packaging under the government’s new waste strategy expected to be published this month, the Guardian understands.Supermarkets and other major producers of packaging waste currently pay a small fraction of the cost of collecting and recycling the 11m tonnes of packaging waste produced
  
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• Black Friday: stay out of the red with our smart shopping guide

  11-11-2018 09:00
  Research prices in advance on comparison sites and beware deals that come through on social mediaThe tills on the high street did not ring as frequently last Christmas, as consumers opted to buy their presents earlier, on Black Friday, the annual US-inspired event where shops slash prices to boost sales.This year it will take place on 23 November and will be followed three days later by Cyber Monday, another import from across the Atlantic aimed at people spending online. So popular have these d
  
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• This Christmas, the Advent surprise is ... you made the calendar yourself

  11-11-2018 07:00
  Handcrafted yuletide trappings enjoy a sales boom as pricier versions lose outIn simpler times, the thrill of Advent calendars involved finding a picture of a Christmas tree or holly sprig hidden behind the cardboard door. But then the tradition was hijacked by upmarket retailers, and you came to expect a craft gin miniature, artisan cheese or mindfulness tips. This year, though, traditionalists are fighting back.Craft store Hobbycraft reports bumper sales of calendar-making kit, while Scandinav
  
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• 85,000 jobs lost from Britain’s high streets as retailers feel the pinch

  11-11-2018 07:00
  New figures reveal surge in the number of businesses going into administration or closing stores as costs rise and shoppers move onlineUp to 85,000 retail jobs disappeared from Britain’s high streets in the first nine months of this year after a surge in the number of businesses going bust and closing stores.Nearly 1,000 retail businesses – from big employers such as House of Fraser, Evans Cycles and Poundworld to independent traders – went into administration between January a
  
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• Merkel speech, UK inflation, Walmart results

  11-11-2018 05:59
  The FT's Vanessa Kortekaas looks at the main stories making the news this week
  
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• ‘Purple Tuesday’ puts disabled shoppers at the fore

  11-11-2018 05:00
  Initiative includes schemes to improve shopping for those with hidden disabilities
  
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