Retail news

• Reiss owner weighs options for fashion brand

  20-01-2020 19:54
  Upmarket retailer controlled by Warburg Pincus has bucked high street downturn
  
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• Top retail trends to expect in the roaring 2020s

  20-01-2020 18:13 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Last year was a challenging, if not strenuous time for the UK retail industry.
  In fact, according to two separate reports from the Retail Sales Monitor and the Retail Think Tank, 2019 was the worst year on record when it came to the overall health of Britain’s retail sector.
  Not only did it present some of the toughest trading conditions in modern history – resulting in over 140,000 job losses – the catastrophe may continue into 2020. 8000 stores closed in 2019, with retai
  
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• US judge dismisses assault claim against Philip Green

  20-01-2020 17:53
  Retail billionaire had been accused of groping pilates teacher at Arizona health resort
  
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• Auction of Reiss is on the table

  20-01-2020 17:21 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Reiss could be up for auction after a successful performance
  // Insiders reveal a sale process could begin in the second quarter of the yearReiss is being groomed for a sale after a long period of impressive sales.
  Sky news reported that Warburg Pincus, which took a majority stake in the fashion retailer back in 2016 has appointed the investment bank Rothschild to conduct a review.
  Although Warburg Pincus could retain its stake for a longer period, Sky news stated that according to insiders t
  
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• Anya Hindmarch takes back half her company

  20-01-2020 16:43 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Anya Hindmarch now has equal shares in her business after regaining part ownership
  // Hindmarch returned to the helm in 2019 after stepping down in 2011British designer Anya Hindmarch has regained joint ownership of her eponymous luxury handbag company after leading a turnaround.
  Companies House filings showed Hindmarch now owns between 50pc and 75pc of the firm’s shares reported The Telegraph.
  This means that Hindmarch and the Iranian-born businessman Javad Marandi now both own 50pc s
  
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• Matalan profits & sales drop in golden quarter

  20-01-2020 16:34 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Matalan’s Q3 revenue dipped 1.2% to £311.7m in 13 weeks to Nov 30
  // EBITDA fell by more than £6 million to £33.7m in same period
  // Over the 5 weeks to Jan 4, which includes the Christmas shopping period but not Black Friday, sales increased 0.6% to £134.3mMatalan was not immune to the challenges plaguing the high street in the closing months of 2019 as revenues and profits dropped.
  Revenue hit £311.7 million for the 13 weeks ending November 30, a 1.2 per
  
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• Asda becomes first UK supermarket to launch 1-hour click & collect service

  20-01-2020 15:45 via chargedretail.co.uk
  
  Asda is set to become the first UK supermarket to launch one-hour click & collect service following successful trials.
  Express Click & Collect will be rolled out to 25 stores by the start of February, with hundreds more set to launch by the end of the month, according to The Grocer.
  The service, which has been successfully tested in Asda’s Killingbeck and Middleton stores, will include its full range of items, but will reportedly not be rolled out to stores with existing click
  
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• Sir Philip Green assault case dismissed in US

  20-01-2020 15:44
  
  Arcadia tycoon had been accused of inappropriately touching pilates instructor
  Sir Philip Green will no longer face charges of misdemeanour assault in the US, after four counts alleging he repeatedly touched a pilates instructor inappropriately were dismissed.Green had been formally charged with “knowingly touching another person with the intent to injure, insult or provoke” in May last year. Continue reading...
  
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• Christmas failed to turn the tide on deteriorating retail health, the KPMG/Ipsos Retail Think Tank says

  20-01-2020 15:41
  
  16 January 2020
  The KPMG/Ipsos Retail Think Tank (RTT) has concluded that the crucial final quarter of 2019 failed to provide retailers with any respite from the onslaught of deteriorating health in the sector. Demand over the key trading weeks prior to Christmas failed to make up for lost ground if looking at the quarter as a whole. That said, the RTT believe that some improvement in the sector’s health is likely to materialise in 2020.
  In 2019 the state of retail health deteriorated ever
  
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• New “landmark” Frasers store to open at Meadowhall Sheffield

  20-01-2020 14:32 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // New 65,000sq ft Frasers store has been confirmed for Meadowhall shopping centre, Sheffield
  // It’s the first major site signed since Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group announced plans for Frasers
  // First phase to open early winter 2020, with the project expected to be complete by spring 2021Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group is to open a new Frasers store in Sheffield next year, marking the first major signing since plans for the department store fascia were recently unveiled.
  The new &l
  
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• Department store Beales falls into administration

  20-01-2020 13:58
  Disappointing festive sales claim first big victim as UK chain collapses
  
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• Dixons Carphone hires new chief supply chain officer

  20-01-2020 13:28 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Dixons Carphone appoints former Kingfisher logistics director Lindsay Haselhurst as new chief supply chain officer
  // Her role will focus on building exceptional supply chain and end-to-end customer experience
  // Haselhurst’s appointment is the latest in a series of senior hires from leading consumer businessesDixons Carphone has appointed former Kingfisher logistics director Lindsay Haselhurst to the new leadership role of chief supply chain officer.
  Reporting directly to chief executi
  
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• Beales goes into administration with 22 stores and 1,300 jobs at risk

  20-01-2020 13:06
  
  Department store chain collapses - see the full list of stores belowThe department store chain Beales has gone into administration, threatening 1,300 jobs in the latest blow to the UK high street.Accountancy firm KPMG has been appointed as administrator to the 22-shop chain and will field any last-ditch offers for the company or any of its assets.BecclesBedfordBournemouthChipping NortonDissFarehamHexhamKeighleyKendalLowestoftMansfieldPerthPeterboroughPooleSkegnessSouthportSpaldingSt NeotsTonbrid
  
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• 1300 jobs at risk as Beales collapses into administration

  20-01-2020 12:42 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Beales has officially collapsed into administration
  // The department store appointed KPMG as administrators after failing to find a new owner
  // 1300 employees are at risk, although none of the 22 Beales stores are to shut down immediatelyBeales has officially fallen into administration after failing to secure a sale to a new owner.
  The department store appointed KPMG as administrators following a board meeting this morning.
  While the retailer’s 1300-plus employees are now at risk of l
  
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• Retailers who don’t accept Alipay or WeChat payments missing out on billions

  20-01-2020 11:17 via chargedretail.co.uk
  
  UK retailers are missing out on billions in Chinese tourism spend as 80 per cent of non-luxury retailers fail to accept Alipay or WeChat.
  Ninety per cent of Chinese city dwellers use either Alipay or WeChat as their main payment method, according to new research from payments specialist JGOO.
  Despite this less than a quarter of non-luxury stores in the UK accept these payment methods, meaning they’re counting themselves out of the £1 billion Chinese tourists are set to spend in the U
  
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• Shopping centre owner Intu's shares fall as it aims to raise up to £1bn

  20-01-2020 10:52
  
  Owner of Manchester’s Trafford Centre and Lakeside in Essex has debts worth £5bnShares in Intu fell sharply after the indebted shopping centre owner confirmed it would push ahead with a cash call thought to be worth as much as £1bn.Intu, which owns shopping centres including the Trafford Centre in Manchester and Lakeside in Essex, said that it attempt to tap investors for funds alongside its full-year results at the end of the February, confirming reports. Continue reading...
  
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• Debenhams appoints ex-Claire’s Accessories CEO to board

  20-01-2020 10:34 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Debenhams hires Beatrice Lafon as a non-executive director
  // Lafon joins Celine Jersey Topco Limited, the parent company of the Debenhams Group
  // She has held CEO roles at various companiesDebenhams has appointed Beatrice Lafon as a non-executive director of Celine Jersey Topco Limited, the parent company of the Debenhams Group.
  Lafon has held chief executive roles at various companies, including European fashion retailer Pimkie and The Business Intelligence Network.
  She was also the chief
  
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• Sosandar Christmas revenues skyrocketed 136%

  20-01-2020 10:09 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Sosandar to beat full-year sales expectations after strong Christmas performance
  // Christmas revenues rose by 136%
  // Order numbers increased by 140% to 84,304 in the periodSosandar has said it will beat full-year sales expectations after its Christmas revenues rose by 136 per cent.
  The online womenswear retailer generated the 136 per cent revenue rise to £3.8 million in the three months to December 31 – more than it achieved in the entire first half of its financial year.
  Founde
  
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• Sainsbury’s is the cheapest supermarket in the UK, according to Which?

  20-01-2020 10:06 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Which? crowns Sainsbury’s as UK’s cheapest supermarket of 2019
  // Result was based on survey of branded grocery items across 6 major supermarkets: Tesco, Waitrose, Morrisons, Asda, Ocado & Sainsbury’s
  // Aldi & Lidl not included as they do not offer an online platform for branded itemsSainsbury’s has been crowned as the UK’s cheapest supermarket of 2019, according to a Which? study.
  The consumer group tracked thousands of branded grocery prices across six
  
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• Restructuring firm cashes £1m on Links of London collapse

  20-01-2020 09:53 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Restructuring firm Gordon Brothers is expected £1m after helping to shut Links of London’s 28 UK stores and 7 concessions following its collapse
  // Gordon Brothers was tasked with selling leftover earrings, bracelets and necklaces
  // The estimated fee for doing so is £890,000 plus tax, according to an administrators’ reportLinks of London’s collapse in October last year has meant that a restructuring firm is in line for almost £1 million payday after i
  
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• Beales heads towards administration

  20-01-2020 09:24 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Beales lurches towards collapse
  // The department store chain is set to hold a board meeting that will make way for the appointment of KPMG as administrator
  // 1300 full-time jobs will be put at riskBeales is reportedly set to file for administration today amid ongoing efforts to find a buyer.
  The department store retailer is expected to hold a board meeting that will make way for the appointment of KPMG as administrator, Sky News reported.
  The administration would put 1300 full-time jobs at
  
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• Fevertree shares fall 25% as UK sales shrink

  20-01-2020 09:07
  Premium tonic maker joins list of companies under pressure from weak Christmas trade
  
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• Fevertree shares fall 20% after sales outlook cut again

  20-01-2020 09:07
  Premium tonic maker joins list of companies under pressure from weak Christmas trade
  
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• Fevertree cuts sales outlook again as UK spending slows

  20-01-2020 09:07
  Premium tonic maker adds to list of retailers under pressure from weak Christmas trade
  
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• Intu seeks £1bn to fix balance sheet

  20-01-2020 09:05 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Intu seeking £1 billion cash to raise new equity
  // The fundraising would accompany its full-year results at the end of February
  // Total footfall in 2019 was 0.3% ahead of 2018, but remained flat in the UKIntu has reportedly confirmed plans to ask investors for £1 billion next month to raise new equity as it seeks to fix its balance sheet.
  The shopping centre owner which owns Manchester’s Trafford Centre and Lakeside in Essex, said the fundraising would accompany its full-y
  
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• Shopping centre owner Intu in talks to raise fresh funds

  20-01-2020 08:57
  UK group has sustained heavy blow from retail troubles
  
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• Very.co.uk adds 50 new beauty brands to its portfolio

  20-01-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Very.co.uk has added 50 new beauty and fragrance brands to its portfolio as part of plans to expand its premium beauty offering for its three million... View Article
  
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• Sigma Sports to open second multisports store

  20-01-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Sigma Sports, the road cycling and triathlon retailer, has chosen Rutland’s Oakham for the opening of its second multisports store. Due to launch this spring, the... View Article
  
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• Ribble Cycles launches Live-In-Store online customer experience

  20-01-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Ribble Cycles has launched a new in-store digital retail experience called Ribble Live In-Store. It enables Ribble customers from across the globe to interact and view... View Article
  
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• Retailers enjoying the fruits of technology

  20-01-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Retailers and technology providers gathered in New York City for Retail’s Big Show, organised by the National Retail Federation (NRF), the annual event showcasing the latest... View Article
  
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• Burberry to take its autumn/winter runway show to Shanghai

  20-01-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Luxury fashion brand Burberry has announced plans to take its autumn/winter 2020 runway show to Shanghai. Due to take place on 23 April, the show will... View Article
  
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• Beales department store enters administration

  20-01-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  The Beales department store chain has entered administration after “disappointing” Christmas trading. Founded in 1881, Beales operates 23 department stores and employs around 1,052 staff. The news follows... View Article
  
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