Retail news

• Sports Direct fights order to hand documents to watchdog

  29-01-2020 19:49
  Retailer hopes to overturn 2018 ruling on information it provided to Grant Thornton and Deloitte
  
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• J.Crew appoints former Victoria’s Secret exec as new CEO

  29-01-2020 16:16 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // J Crew appoints ex-Victoria’s Secret boss as its new chief executive
  // Singer previously held positions at Spanx and NikeJ.Crew Group has appointed the former Victoria’s Secret executive Jan Singer as its new chief executive.
  Singer, who resigned as CEO of Victoria’s Secret in November 2018 will join the company’s board of directors and assume responsibility for all aspects of the J.Crew and J.Crew Factory brands and businesses.
  “Over the past year, we have made
  
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• LVMH boasts “record year” as revenue tops £45bn

  29-01-2020 15:28 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // LVMH revenue reached £45.4bn in 2019
  // Profit for the group reached £9.7bnLVMH has recorded a double-digit increase in revenue during the fourth-quarter, despite the Hong Kong protests dragging sales across stores in the region.
  Revenue for the full year grew by 15 per cent to €53.7 billion (£45.4 billion), while fourth quarter revenue increased 12 per cent compared to the same period in 2018.
  Profit for the parent company of luxury retailers like Louis Vuitton reached
  
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• N Brown Group names Rachel Izzard as new CFO

  29-01-2020 13:54 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // N Brown Group announces the appointment of Rachel Izzard as group chief financial officer
  // She replaces Craig Lovelace who is leaving to take up a new position
  // A departure date for Lovelace and Izzard’s start date to be confirmed in due courseN Brown Group has announced the appointment of Rachel Izzard as its new group chief financial officer, replacing Craig Lovelace to is leaving to take up a new position.
  A start date for Izzard and departure date for Lovelace have not been conf
  
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• Christmas shopping begins in August data reveals

  29-01-2020 13:28 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // New data suggests UK shoppers begin Christmas search as early as August
  // Wowcher saw a year-on-year increase of 194% in the search term ‘Christmas gifts’ in AugustNew data has revealed that UK consumers are beginning their Christmas shopping as early as August.
  The data was released by e-commerce platform Wowcher which reviewed its 2019 search data and found a year-on-year increase of 194 per cent in the search term “Christmas gifts” during the month of August a
  
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• 83% of shoppers mislead by green and sustainable advertising

  29-01-2020 12:59 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // 83% of consumers feel mislead by green and sustainable buzzwords in advertising.
  // Organic, eco-friendly and green among most discouraging buzzwords
  // Phrases such as “powered by nature” discourage 67% of shoppersMany retailers have been accused of “greenwashing”, when a company spends more on marketing themselves as environmentally friendly than minimising their environmental impact.
  OnBuy.com conducted a survey of 3,446 participants to find out what consumers think
  
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• 83% of shoppers mislead by green & sustainable advertising

  29-01-2020 12:59 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // 83% of consumers feel mislead by green & sustainable buzzwords in advertising, research finds
  // Organic, eco-friendly and green among most discouraging buzzwords
  // Phrases such as “powered by nature” discourage 67% of shoppersNew research has placed retailers at the centre of “greenwashing”, whereby a company spends more on marketing themselves as environmentally friendly than actually minimising their environmental impact.
  Online retailer OnBuy conducted a surve
  
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• Debenhams appoints ex-New Look boss to the board

  29-01-2020 12:58 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Stephen Sunnucks appointed non-executive director on Debenhams’ parent company board
  // He is a former Gap global president and New Look CEO
  // The appointment completes the new board and follows string of appointments, such as of chairman Mark GiffordDebenhams has appointed former New Look chief executive Stephen Sunnucks as a non-executive director on the board of parent company Celine Jersey Topco.
  The department store chain said Sunnucks’ appointment completes the new board of
  
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• Ticket reseller StubHub faces legal threat from regulators

  29-01-2020 12:54
  Competition watchdog alleges customers ‘misled’ and demands changes to resale site
  
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• 350 Amazon employees publicly slam its climate policies despite threat of termination

  29-01-2020 11:05 via chargedretail.co.uk
  
  Amazon employees in their hundreds have publicly criticised the company’s climate policies despite threats of termination for doing so.
  Over 350 employees have launched a co-ordinated effort to publicly criticise the online retail giant and call for it to drop controversial cloud-computing contracts with clients in the oil and gas industry.
  “Amazon Employees Share Our Views on Company Business”, a blog post published on Medium, listed the names of all the employees supporting t
  
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• Co-op prepares to offload £2bn pension liabilities

  29-01-2020 11:02 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Co-op Group close to striking deals to offload around £2bn of its pension liabilities
  // It is close to deals with Aviva & PIC to take on about a quarter of its £8bn PACE pension schemeThe Co-op Group is reportedly close to deals with Aviva and PIC to take on about a quarter of its £8 billion PACE pension scheme.
  The group has said it is close to striking deals to offload around £2 billion of its pension liabilities to insurance companies, Sky News reported.
  T
  
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• N Brown hires Sarah Welsh to newly created role of retail CEO

  29-01-2020 10:38 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // N Brown hires Sarah Welsh as retail CEO
  // She will report directly to group CEO Steve Johnson
  // Welsh was previously the MD for OasisN Brown has appointed Sarah Welsh to the newly created role of retail chief executive.
  Welsh will join office on March 30 and will report directly to group chief executive Steve Johnson.
  She will be responsible for all aspects of product including buying, merchandising, design, fit, trading, sourcing and partnerships.READ MORE: N Brown Group issues profit warn
  
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• Wickes Christmas sales rise as owner Travis Perkins preps demerger

  29-01-2020 10:20 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Wickes like-for-like sales rose 4.5% over Christmas
  // Total group sales also increased by 7.7%
  // Owner Travis Perkins is preparing to demerge Wickes from the groupWickes has said it achieved “a strong sales performance” during the fourth quarter of 2019.
  The home improvement retailer saw a like-for-like sales growth of 4.5 per cent, while for the full year, like-for-like sales increased by 8.7 per cent and total sales rose by 7.7 per cent.
  The figures were released by parent com
  
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• Shop price deflation eases in January

  29-01-2020 09:52 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // January shop prices fell 0.3% compared to a 0.4% decrease in December, according to the latest BRC-Nielsen Shop Price Index
  // This is below the 12-month average of 0% and above the 6-month average price decrease of 0.5%
  // Non-food prices fell 1.5% in January, the same rate as December, while food inflation accelerated to 1.6% in January, up from 1.4% in DecemberThe rate of deflation in overall shop prices eased in January after it was tempered by the growth in food prices, according to fres
  
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• ScS CEO David Knight to step down following successful Christmas

  29-01-2020 09:47 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // ScS Christmas orders increased 1.2%
  // CEO David Knight will retire next year after 32 years with the business
  // ScS said it traded in line with expectations during the periodScS Christmas orders increased over the period thanks to its “excellent customer service” as chief executive David Knight announced plans to retire after 32 years.
  For the for the 26 weeks to January 25, ScS experienced a like-for-like order intake growth of 1.2 per cent – an improvement on tradin
  
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• ScS CEO David Knight to retire following successful Christmas

  29-01-2020 09:47 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // ScS Christmas orders increased 1.2%
  // CEO David Knight will retire next year after 32 years with the business
  // ScS said it traded in line with expectations during the periodScS Christmas orders increased over the period thanks to its “excellent customer service” as chief executive David Knight announced plans to retire after 32 years.
  For the for the 26 weeks to January 25, ScS experienced a like-for-like order intake growth of 1.2 per cent – an improvement on tradin
  
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• Ted Baker appoints chief customer officer as search for CEO & chair continues

  29-01-2020 09:23 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Ted Baker appoints Jennifer Roebuck to the newly-created role of chief customer officer
  // She will develop a customer & digital strategy and explore new digital partnership opportunities
  // Ted Baker says its search for a new CEO and chair continues and is progressing wellTed Baker has appointed Jennifer Roebuck to the newly-created role of chief customer officer, as the search for a new chief executive and chair continues.
  The fashion retailer said Roebuck was selected after a “th
  
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• Retail sales flatline in January

  29-01-2020 09:02 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Retail sales fell flat in January, according to the CBI
  // Britain’s high street will brace itself for “another tough year for the sector”
  // Sales predicted to remain below seasonal norms for the year to FebruaryRetail sales fell flat in January as high street retailers suffered a bruising start to 2019, according to new figures.
  The CBI’s monthly distributive trends survey showed that retailers saw sales volumes flatline for the third month in a row.
  It said Britain&
  
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• UK supermarkets move to cut antibiotic use in farming

  29-01-2020 07:00
  
  Iceland, Asda and Aldi lag behind but other major retailers make good progress
  Most of the UK’s leading supermarket chains are making “significant progress” in reducing antibiotics in farming, but Iceland, Asda and Aldi have been named as falling behind in a new study.Iceland was found to be the only major chain to have no publicly available policies on antibiotic use in its supply chain and no strategy in place to reduce the use of the vital medicines. Continue reading...
  
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• eBay warns US internet sales taxes will slow growth

  29-01-2020 01:50
  New state levies compound problems for company falling behind ecommerce rivals
  
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• Ted Baker appoints Jennifer Roebuck as chief customer officer

  29-01-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Ted Baker has appointed Jennifer Roebuck to the newly created role of chief customer officer. Currently a non-executive director of Ted Baker, Roebuck will be stepping... View Article
  
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• ScS first half trading in line with expectations

  29-01-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Upholstered furniture retailer ScS has said trading in the first half of its financial year has been in line with expectations. In the 26 weeks to... View Article
  
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• Sacred Gold to open West End store

  29-01-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Shaftesbury has announced that Sacred Gold will open a store on London’s Berwick Street this March. The shop will be the company’s first stand-alone store and... View Article
  
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• John Lewis & Partners sales down 2.5% last week

  29-01-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  The John Lewis department store saw its total sales decline by 2.5% year-on-year last week as the retailer’s clearance sale came to an end and sales... View Article
  
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• J. Crew hires Jan Singer as new chief executive

  29-01-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  J.Crew Group has appointed former Victoria’s Secret boss Jan Singer as its new chief executive. Due to take up her position on 2 February, Singer will join the company’s... View Article
  
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• IKEA expands Task Rabbit service to more locations

  29-01-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Furniture retailer IKEA is expanding its Task Rabbit home assembly service to six new areas. Launching in Leeds, Sheffield, Nottingham, Gateshead, Southampton and Exeter at the... View Article
  
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• Free whitepaper: Pushing the limits of luxury store performance

  29-01-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Luxury retail is undergoing a transformation. The physical store is shifting from transactional to experiential. In luxury retail, customers demand personalised experiences and outstanding service. High-spending... View Article
  
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