Retail news

• High street crisis deepens as 3,150 staff lose jobs in a week

  07-01-2020 20:16
  
  Fifteen Links of London units join all 79 Mothercare stores, plus three HMV and six Debenhams outlets
  Which big names closed last year?The Mothercare and Links of London names will disappear from the high street this week as 94 stores close their doors for good, resulting in 3,150 job losses.All 79 Mothercare stores and 15 Links of London shops will have shut by Sunday night, after both companies collapsed into administration before Christmas. High street closures in 2019 Related: High street cr
  
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• Clearance sales boost John Lewis Partnership’s weekly performance

  07-01-2020 17:39 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // John Lewis Partnership’s overall sales grows 1.8% in week ending January 4
  // Waitrose weekly sales edges up 0.5%
  // John Lewis weekly sales increases 3.3%John Lewis Partnership has kicked off the new year on a positive note, with the company posting weekly sales growth on the back of a Clearance sales campaign.
  For the week ending January 4, overall sales for the parent company of John Lewis and Waitrose grew 1.8 year-on-year, from £242.04 million to £237.81 million.
  F
  
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• ProCook posts record Christmas sales figures

  07-01-2020 16:40 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // ProCook’s Christmas sales grew 20% year-on-year to £10m
  // Boosted by 13% growth in in-store sales and 28% surge onlineProCook has posted record sales for its peak Christmas trading period, driven by double-digit surges in both in-store and online sales.
  For the eight week period ending January 5, which incorporates both Christmas and Black Friday, the kitchen and diningware retailer said it raked in almost £10 million in sales.
  This represented a 20 per cent increase on las
  
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• Asda starts 2020 with slew of new board appointments

  07-01-2020 16:19 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Anna-Maree Shaw named as Asda’s new chief customer officer, replacing Andy Murray
  // Helen Selby will join Asda as general counsel and company secretary, replacing Alex Simpson
  // SVP operations Anthony Hemmerdinger promoted to chief operating officer
  // Mark Simpson appointed to the board as chief supply chain officerAsda has kicked off the new year with the announcement of new appointments to its executive board, including a new chief customer officer and chief operating officer.
  In a
  
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• Go green by shopping on the high street

  07-01-2020 16:11
  Buying online might be tempting but we cannot be sustainable without some inconvenience
  
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• High street crisis: which big names closed stores in the past year?

  07-01-2020 15:42
  
  Several chains collapsed and thousands of jobs were lost, including at Debenhams and MothercareIt has been another torrid year for Britain’s retail industry. Thousands of high street jobs were lost in 2019 as a number of major retailers or restaurant groups have collapsed into administration, including Karen Millen, Mothercare’s UK business and Jamie Oliver’s UK restaurant empire. Some firms have been rescued out of administration but have resorted to shop closures to survive.R
  
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• Poundland inches closer to stock market listing

  07-01-2020 14:19 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Poundland’s owner on the verge of appointing advisers to assist with IPO
  // The listing could value Pepco Group at about £3.4bnPoundland’s parent company is reportedly on the verge of drafting in advisers to help plan for a stock market listing later this year.
  According to Sky News, Steinhoff International – which owns Pepco Group, the company that operates Poundland and other discount retailers across Europe – is expected to appoint a investment banks in the co
  
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• Big four supermarkets lose Christmas sales as 'Boris bounce' fails to appear

  07-01-2020 12:25
  
  Morrisons blames ‘unusually challenging’ market with shoppers worried about BrexitSupermarkets recorded the slowest Christmas sales growth in at least four years as the big four chains lost sales, according to industry analysts.While grocers took a record £29.3bn in the so-called golden quarter, the 0.2% rise in sales across the sector was the lowest rate of growth since 2015, said research firm Kantar. Rival analysts at Nielsen said the growth was the worst in five years as fa
  
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• Selfridges partners with Highsnobiety to launch “first of its kind” pop-up store The Co.Lab

  07-01-2020 11:42 via chargedretail.co.uk
  
  Selfridges is partnering with Highsnobiety to launch a “first curation of its kind” pop-up store to showcase new products, art, film and digital and social elements.
  The Co.Lab has now launched in Selfridges’ Corner Shop space and will showcase a range of curated product drops and exclusive collaborations, rotating every week using the space’s modular design.
  Forming part of the luxury department store’s “Happy New Decade” campaign which is set to run fo
  
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• UK grocers endure slowest Christmas growth since 2015

  07-01-2020 10:24 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // While grocers enjoyed record Christmas sales, 2019 saw the slowest growth rate over the period since 2015, according to Kantar
  // Separate data from Nielsen showed that UK grocers experienced lowest growth over Christmas since 2014
  // Year-on-year, Kantar said the Big 4 lost market share, Aldi, Lidl, the Co-op & Iceland gained, while Waitrose was unchangedUK grocers have endured the lowest rate of sales growth over the crucial Christmas period since 2015, according to new market share dat
  
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• Watches of Switzerland COO Tony Broderick resigns as new exec joins

  07-01-2020 10:07 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Watches of Switzerland COO Tony Broderick will stand down in April
  // Craig Bolton joins the company as new UK executive director with immediate effectWatches of Switzerland has announced its chief operating officer Tony Broderick will be stepping down in April.
  The watch and jewellery retailer has appointed a new executive director amid Broderick’s resignation.
  Craig Bolton will be joining the company as its new UK executive director with immediate effect.READ MORE: Watches of Switzerl
  
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• Belstaff reliant on billionaire owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe after £48m loss

  07-01-2020 09:46 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Belstaff losses mount to £48m
  // The retailer now depending on parent company Ineos to surviveBelstaff is reportedly dependent on its billionaire owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe to survive after posting a £48 million loss.
  The fashion retailer said it could struggle to operate without the financial support of parent company Ineos, according to its auditor KPMG, The Telegraph reported.
  Accounts filed this month with Companies House show Belstaff’s losses narrowed to £48 million
  
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• M&G offloads Ravenside Retail Park for £51.4m

  07-01-2020 09:25 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // M&G sells Ravenside Retail Park for £51.4m to warehouse firm Prologis
  // The 128,000sq ft retail park will be converted into warehouses for online retailersM&G has sold Ravenside Retail Park in Edmonton, north London, to warehouse company Prologis for £51.4 million.
  The 128,000sq ft retail park has been bought to be converted into warehouses for online retailers.
  The deal was finalised shortly before Christmas.READ MORE: M&G extends ban on withdrawals from £2.5bn
  
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• Morrisons sales drop 1.7% in “challenging” market

  07-01-2020 09:09 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Morrisons sales drop 1.7% for the 22 weeks to January 5
  // The drop was down to “challenging” trading conditions and uncertainty
  // Group like-for-like sales including fuel drop 2.8%Morrisons has reported a drop in group like-for-like sales after trading conditions remained “challenging” amid consumer uncertainty.
  For the 22 weeks to January 5, sales excluding fuel, dropped 1.7 per cent.
  The Big 4 grocer said the fuel market was “highly competitive”, with g
  
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• Morrisons supermarket chain hit by drop in group sales

  07-01-2020 08:54
  UK group maintains profit forecast despite difficult festive trading period for food retailers
  
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• Morrisons sales suffer over ‘unusually challenging’ Christmas period

  07-01-2020 08:54
  Supermarket group maintains profit forecast despite drop off in revenue
  
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• Majestic Wine Christmas sales rise 4.3%

  07-01-2020 08:40 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Majestic Wine sales rise 4.3% between October 1 and December 30, 2019
  // There were increased sales in English wine, Cremant and spiced rumsMajestic Wine has recorded a sales rise during the festive period thanks to increased sales in English wine, Cremant and spiced rums.
  In the period between October 1 and December 30 2019, the wine retailer’s like-for-like sales rose 4.3 per cent in the UK.
  It also recorded its largest ever trading day in its 40-year history to be on December 23
  
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• Majestic Wine bottles 4.3% sales rise during Christmas

  07-01-2020 08:40 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Majestic Wine sales rise 4.3% between October 1 and December 30, 2019
  // There were increased sales in English wine, Cremant and spiced rumsMajestic Wine has recorded a sales rise during the festive period thanks to increased sales in English wine, Cremant and spiced rums.
  In the period between October 1 and December 30 2019, the wine retailer’s like-for-like sales rose 4.3 per cent in the UK.
  It also recorded its largest ever trading day in its 40-year history to be on December 23
  
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• US shopping mall vacancies hit two-decade high

  07-01-2020 08:34
  Proportion of empty units surpasses post-crisis peak as online shopping bites
  
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• B&Q’s customer service panned over toilet seats

  07-01-2020 07:59
  
  Cooke & Lewis toilet seats have failed after two years use in a four-toilet houseI bought four San Remo toilet seats from B&Q’S Luton branch at the end of 2016. A year later they began to come loose – they are still operational but very noisy.Slowly they started to come away from the hinges, so they would slam down and need tapping back in. Continue reading...
  
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• Morrisons’ sales hit by challenging trading conditions

  07-01-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Morrisons has reported that like-for-like sales excluding fuel dropped by 1.7% in the 22 weeks to 5 January following “unusually challenging” trading conditions. Total sales declined... View Article
  
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• Carrefour acquires Dejbox lunch delivery service

  07-01-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Carrefour has acquired Dejbox, the lunch delivery service for business employees working in suburban areas. The supermarket said the move will help it to expand its... View Article
  
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