Retail news

• Patisserie Valerie ex-chair says he was tricked by false picture of company's health

  09-06-2019 16:32 via theguardian.com
  Luke Johnson says collapse of chain shattered his self-beliefLuke Johnson, the business guru whose reputation crumbled after the implosion of Patisserie Valerie, the cafe chain he chaired, has broken his long silence over an incident he said had left feeling him physically ill.In a self-penned account of the events leading up to the chain’s collapse Johnson said he had been tricked by a fake picture of its financial health and pointed the finger at auditor Grant Thornton. Continue reading.
  
  Read more

• Philip Green chucking money around? Has to be part of a cunning plan

  09-06-2019 08:00 via theguardian.com
  The £9.5m deal with Arcadia landlords will work in the Green family’s favour if it allows them to put a lid on pensions liabilitySir Philip Green does blink, after all. Last Friday, he reached into his wallet – or, rather Lady Green’s – and agreed to give Arcadia’s revolting landlords another £9.5m a year in rent. The sum is not a hand-out, obviously. The Greens still want lower rents on 194 of their shops. The £9.5m merely represents the differenc
  
  Read more

• Old wines, new label: is Majestic about to disappear from the high street?

  09-06-2019 08:00 via theguardian.com
  The near-40-year-old wine chain is due to be sold off and will be rebranded as Naked WinesIs it closing time at Majestic Wine? The company wants to jettison the UK chain beloved of middle-class wine aficionados and recast itself as Naked Wines, the fashionable online sister brand, which delivers to your front door.The radical surgery is being proposed by chief executive Rowan Gormley, who took charge four years ago when Majestic bought Naked, the company he founded, for £70m. The company i
  
  Read more

Follow @retailuknws on Twitter!