Retail news

• Sports Direct hits out at Debenhams for rejecting £40m loan

  11-01-2019 19:23
  Board accused of ‘dereliction of duty’ for turning down interest-free offerSports Direct, which dramatically ousted the chairman of Debenhams on Thursday, has accused the department store’s directors of “dereliction of duty” for turning down a £40m interest-free loan offered by the sports chain before Christmas.In a letter to the chair of the housing, communities and local government select committee of MPs, published on Friday, Sports Direct said: “If D
  
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• Mike Ashley’s Debenhams coup sets up battle

  11-01-2019 18:47 via ft.com
  Sports Direct founder has succeeded in unseating department store’s top directors
  
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• The Entertainer retailer stockpiles summer toys as Brexit fears mount

  11-01-2019 18:41
  Founder Gary Grant says ‘no shortage of toys’ likely because company had shipped own-label items earlyThe UK’s biggest independent toy retailer has stockpiled 100 container loads of paddling pools, slides, wheelbarrows and other toys to try to ensure there are no shortages this summer in the event of a no-deal Brexit.Gary Grant, the managing director and founder of The Entertainer chain, said it had doubled the amount of containers it usually brought into the UK at this time of
  
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• The Entertainer retailer stockpiles summer toys amid Brexit fears

  11-01-2019 14:49
  Founder Gary Grant says ‘no shortage of toys’ likely because company had shipped own-label items earlyThe UK’s biggest independent toy retailer has stockpiled 100 container loads of paddling pools, slides, wheelbarrows and other toys to try and ensure there are no shortages this summer in the event of a no-deal Brexit.Gary Grant, managing director and founder of The Entertainer chain, said it had doubled the amount of containers it usually brought into the UK at this time of ye
  
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• Macy’s profit warning raises concerns over US retailers

  11-01-2019 13:49 via ft.com
  Biggest sell-off since 1992 IPO as rest of sector put on notice over further discounts
  
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• UK GDP growth slows to 0.3% as manufacturing stalls

  11-01-2019 12:58
  New emission tests, Brexit fears and weak demand apply brakes to wider economyThe British economy slowed in the three months to November as car manufacturing went into reverse amid the broadest drop in industrial production since 2012.In a sign of mounting weakness in the economy, with fewer than 80 days to go before Brexit, the Office for National Statistics said that GDP growth cooled to 0.3%, down from a rate of 0.4% in the three months to October.Gross domestic product (GDP) is a key governm
  
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• Sir Ian Cheshire voted off Debenhams' board

  11-01-2019 12:30 via theretailbulletin.com
  Debenhams chairman Sir Ian Cheshire has stepped down from the department store’s board after two major shareholders voted against his re-election at its AGM.
  
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• Sir Ian Cheshire steps down from Debenhams' board

  11-01-2019 12:30 via theretailbulletin.com
  Debenhams chairman Sir Ian Cheshire has stepped down from the department store’s board after two major shareholders voted against his re-election at its AGM.
  
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• Fashion chain Quiz issues profit warning after slow Christmas

  11-01-2019 11:42
  Womenswear retailer blames discounting for second profit downgrade in three monthsQuiz has issued its second profit warning in just over three months, as the womenswear retailer’s woes continue following a weaker than expected Christmas.The company said heavy discounting meant its main measure of profits for the 2019 financial year would be £8.2m, 29% lower than the £11.5m it expected when it cut its forecasts in October. Continue reading...
  
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• Quiz issues profit warning after weak Christmas sales

  11-01-2019 10:31
  Womenswear retailer blames discounting for second profit downgrade in three monthsQuiz has issued its second profit warning in just over three months, as the womenswear retailer’s woes continue following a weaker than expected Christmas.The company said heavy discounting meant its main measure of profits for the 2019 financial year would be £8.2m, 29% lower than the £11.5m it expected when it cut its forecasts in October. Continue reading...
  
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• Moss Bros sales improve in fourth quarter

  11-01-2019 09:33 via theretailbulletin.com
  Men’s formalwear retailer Moss Bros has reported improved trading in the first ten weeks of its fourth quarter with total sales up 3.8% year-on year.
  
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• Lidl Christmas sales boosted by popularity of premium product range

  11-01-2019 09:33 via theretailbulletin.com
  Lidl UK has seen an 8% year-on-year increase in Christmas sales after trade was boosted by customers buying more items from its Deluxe premium product range.
  
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• Quiz Christmas sales below expectations

  11-01-2019 09:04 via theretailbulletin.com
  Quiz has posted an 8.4% uplift in Christmas sales although the fashion retailer said the increase was below expectations.
  
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• Card Factory posts flat like-for-like sales following 'challenging' Christmas

  11-01-2019 08:06 via theretailbulletin.com
  Greeting cards retailer Card Factory has said it experienced a challenging Christmas trading period due to weaker high street footfall.
  
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• Lands' End promotes Chieh Tsai to chief product officer role

  11-01-2019 08:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  Lands’ End has promoted Chieh Tsai to the newly-created position of chief product officer.
  
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• Ikea in New Zealand: build-up falls flat with news of a shop in a few years' time

  11-01-2019 04:53
  Swedish furniture company’s long-awaited announcement revealed ... a long wait for a storeThe stage was set, a tentative announcement had been made, and the foreign minister was already claiming credit for it. Breaking news alerts had been sent by the major media outlets and liveblogs prepared to transmit Ikea’s vision for New Zealand to the people. Even Sweden’s ambassador, Par Ahlberger, told those assembled that he was an ambassador for Ikea, according to Stuff.But on Friday
  
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