Retail news

• Booths enjoys strong Christmas sales growth

  15-01-2020 19:24
  Upmarket north-west England grocer comfortably ahead of its major rivals
  
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• Travis Perkins names Christopher Rogers as Wickes chair designate

  15-01-2020 17:11 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Travis Perkins drafts in new chair designate
  // Christopher Rogers is currently a non-executive director at Travis Perkins
  // Travis Perkins is in the process of separating Wickes from the companyTravis Perkins has appointed Christopher Rogers as the new chair designate of Wickes as part of an ongoing process to separate it from the company.
  The home improvement retailer revealed the demerger in its interim results last July as part of its plan to focus on trade customers and simplify th
  
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• Spotlight: St Johns Wood High Street

  15-01-2020 16:49 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  St John’s Wood rise to prominence in the 19th century came about Victorian aristocrats used the suburb to house their mistresses – the most famous of which was Napoleon III’s paramour Elizabeth Ann Howard.
  These days, the area’s eponymous high street has become more known for its unique range of independent retailers, restaurants and delicatessens. And unlike many other high streets across London – St John’s Wood High Street has maintained a strong village fee
  
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• Jeff Bezos promises $1bn Amazon investment in India

  15-01-2020 13:47
  Company founder praises country days after regulator launches inquiry into its activities
  
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• Target cuts sales outlook after weak Christmas sales

  15-01-2020 13:20
  Sluggish growth for one of sector’s best recent performers sparks concern over US consumer spending
  
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• Target cuts fourth-quarter growth forecast after weak Christmas sales

  15-01-2020 13:20
  US retailer posts sluggish growth as toys and electronics disappoint over festive period
  
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• Businesses raising £2.1m weekly to transform UK high streets

  15-01-2020 13:19 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // 128,785 of pubs, shops, cinemas, cafes and offices in the UK are now part of a BID
  // Businesses are raising £2.1m every week to help improve the high streetMany high street businesses in the UK are raising £2.1 million each week to increase shoppers and visitors.
  The Canadian model of Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) has reached 300 UK towns and cities where businesses are gathering funds to re-invest back into the high street.
  Meanwhile, industry experts from British BIDs &
  
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• Beales paying £1m more in business rates than it should be

  15-01-2020 13:18 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Research has found that Beales has been paying over £1 million more in business rates than it should be
  // Colliers, who collated the figures, said the department store has been “crippled” by the rates’ transition relief
  // Beales is teetering on the brink of collapse, with 22 stores and more than 1000 jobs at riskResearch has found that Beales has been paying over £1 million more than it owes in business rates, as the department store teeters on the brink of a p
  
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• Zalando partners with Global Fashion Agenda

  15-01-2020 13:01 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Zalando has joined the Global Fashion Agenda as an Associate Partner
  // Alongside TAL Apparel & VF Corp, Zalando will help drive sustainability in fashionZalando has announced its partnership with Global Fashion Agenda, the leadership forum for industry collaboration on fashion sustainability.The online marketplace joins Global Fashion Agenda as Associate Partner together with TAL Apparel and VF Corporation.
  Formed in 2009, Global Fashion Agenda has  lead change through several initi
  
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• Dixons Carphone begins outsourcing call centres

  15-01-2020 12:46 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Dixons Carphone teams up with Webhelp to increase its customer satisfaction score
  // The retail group said it was “lagging behind” its competitors
  // No redundancies are set to be made following the decision to outsource operationsDixons Carphone will outsource its call centres as part of a new initiative to help increase its customer satisfaction score as well as improve cost efficiency.
  The retail group has teamed up with Webhelp, which specialises in customer service operations
  
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• Booths delivers Christmas cheer with 3.5% sales uptick

  15-01-2020 12:13 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Booths Christmas sales up 3.5%
  // Like-for-likes up 2.7% for the same same 3-week period ending January 5
  // Orders for its annual Christmas Book surged 6.8%Booths has enjoyed a solid Christmas period, as an increase in footfall and demand for the grocers’ own-brand products led to sales growth during the peak trading period.
  The Northern grocery retailer said its sales for the three-week period ending January 5 grew 3.5 per cent year-on-year, while retail like-for-likes increased 2.7 p
  
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• Inflation falls to three-year low on back of high street discounting

  15-01-2020 12:07
  
  CPI at 1.3% in December, putting pressure on Bank of England to cut interest ratesUK inflation has dropped to the lowest level for more than three years, fuelled by struggling retailers offering a wider range of discounts in December.Raising pressure on the Bank of England to cut interest rates, the annual rate on the consumer price index (CPI) dipped to 1.3% in December from 1.5% in November, the weakest since November 2016, according to the Office for National Statistics. City economists had f
  
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• Liverpool One celebrates Christmas success & record year

  15-01-2020 11:15 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Liverpool One saw 29 million visitors throughout 2019
  // New store openings boosted the destinations successLiverpool One closed a successful festive period, reporting a five per cent increase in sales during the period compared to 2018, bucking the retail trend.
  The positive Christmas results mark the end of a record year of performance at the destination, with sales up 2.5 per cent over the twelve months.
  Footfall figures also bucked trends in 2019, with a total of 29 million visitors to Li
  
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• John Lewis becomes first major retailer launch male-only makeup concession with War Paint

  15-01-2020 11:03 via chargedretail.co.uk
  
  John Lewis has become the first major retailer to launch a makeup counter just for men which has reportedly seen “amazing sales”.
  War Paint For Men, a British makeup brand which rose to fame after appearing on Dragons Den, is the first all-male makeup brand to win a concession at the department store.The pop-up launched on January 2 in the department store’s Oxford Street flagship, and is set to run until the end of the month.
  “Male skincare has significantly develop
  
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• Baroness Karren Brady reveals why she left Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia

  15-01-2020 10:53 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Baroness Karren Brady reveals why she left Taveta Investments, owner of Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia Group
  // Brady left 2 weeks after Green was accused of alleged racist, physical & sexual abuse early last year
  // Since her departure, Arcadia has lodged 7 CVAs to close 50 of its 2765 storesBaroness Karren Brady has revealed the reason behind her resignation as non-executive chairman of Taveta Investments, the parent company of Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia Group last year.
  Brady,
  
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• Baroness Karren Brady on why she left Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia

  15-01-2020 10:53 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Baroness Karren Brady reveals why she left Taveta Investments, owner of Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia
  // Brady left 2 weeks after Green was accused of racial, physical & sexual abuse early last year
  // Since her departure, Arcadia has used 7 CVAs to close 50 of its 2765 storesBaroness Karren Brady has revealed the reasoning behind why stepped down as non-executive chairman of Taveta Investments, the parent company of Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia Group retail empire early last year.
  
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• Very bucks retail trend as Christmas sales rise 6.1%

  15-01-2020 09:58 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Very Christmas sales rise 6.1% year-on-year
  // Total revenue up 3.2% year-on-year
  // Parent company The Very Group recorded overall flat revenueVery has seen its Christmas sales rise despite its sister brand Littlewoods hindering the group’s overall festive trading.
  In the seven weeks to December 27, the multi-category online retailer recorded a year-on-year sales rise of 6.1 per cent thanks to increased revenue across all of its product categories.
  Total revenue increased by 3.2 p
  
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• Quiz Christmas sales plunge 9.3% amid online decline

  15-01-2020 09:34 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Quiz’s overall Christmas declines 9.3%, thanks to tough high street conditions & sliding online sales
  // Group online revenues slumped by 14.8%, after it cut ties with unprofitable 3rd party websites
  // Quiz’s physical stores and concessions saw sales decline 7%Quiz has reported plummeting sales over the crucial Christmas trading period as it struggled to cope with “challenging” high street conditions.
  The fashion retailer said group sales dived 9.3 per cent over t
  
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• Retailers dominate in soaring number of businesses under stress

  15-01-2020 09:21 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Retail topped the rankings in terms of businesses under the most stress/distress, according to KPMG
  // Overall, 1/5 of UK businesses are financially stressed, with more than 1000 companies in situations of acute distress
  // This pertains to businesses with revenues under £10mRetailers form the lion’s share of the total number of businesses that have been under the most stress or distress in recent years, new research as shown.
  KPMG’s restructuring practice found that overall
  
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• Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group urges business rates reform in letter to PM

  15-01-2020 08:59 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group writes to the PM, urging him to reform business rates
  // It called on Boris Johnson to make changes to the transitional relief aspect
  // Frasers Group is the new official name of Sports Direct InternationalMike Ashley’s retail group has written to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, urging his government to reform the business rates system to ease current high street turmoil.
  Frasers Group, which was renamed from Sports Direct International last month, called
  
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• After the sleep economy, what's next to be monetised? Breathing? | Arwa Mahdawi

  15-01-2020 08:00
  
  Here’s a wakeup call: the latest hip startup selling new-fangled mattresses and performance pyjamas won’t fix people’s sleep problems
  For a moment, I thought 2019 might have been the year the startup bubble finally burst. Lyft and Uber both had disappointing initial public offerings (IPOs). Then WeWork, the office-space startup whose CEO once proudly proclaimed that the company’s multibillion-dollar valuation was “more based on our energy and spirituality than it is
  
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• Zomato and Swiggy’s battle for Indian food delivery heats up

  15-01-2020 06:00
  After muscling out their competitors, the start-ups face a new fight for profitability
  
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• Silicon Valley investor backs Turkish grocery start-up

  15-01-2020 05:00
  Michael Moritz leads $40m funding into ultrafast delivery company Getir
  
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• Michael Moritz backs Turkish grocery start-up

  15-01-2020 05:00
  Silicon Valley investor eads $40m funding into ultrafast delivery company Getir
  
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• Quiz sales drop after strong Black Friday

  15-01-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Fashion brand Quiz has said its sales have softened since Black Friday and dropped by 9.3% in the seven weeks to 4 January. Online revenues through... View Article
  
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• Lovett + Judge opens Birmingham store

  15-01-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Lovett + Judge has opened a new flagship store at Birmingham’s Mailbox. Spanning 3,000 square feet, the shop showcases the brand’s range of furniture and accessories.... View Article
  
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• Hudson’s Bay Company appoints president

  15-01-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Hudson’s Bay Company has appointed former Kikki.K chief executive Iain Nairn as president. Reporting directly to HBC chief executive Helena Foulkes, he will be responsible for driving growth and transformational... View Article
  
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• DFS first half sales down 6%

  15-01-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  DFS has posted a 6% decline in gross sales in the six months to 29 December after the upholstered furniture retailer experienced “subdued” trading in August... View Article
  
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• Booths celebrates ‘solid’ Christmas sales

  15-01-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Booths has reported “solid” Christmas trading with a 3.5% increase in sales in the three week period to 5 January. The family owned food and drink... View Article
  
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