Retail news

• Why Link is just not into Intu

  11-02-2020 20:03
  Hong Kong investor shuns property group; Ocado’s pricey robots are left with much to prove
  
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• River Island follows in H&M’s steps with transparency pledge

  11-02-2020 17:47 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // River Island commits to being more transparent
  // It will publish the names & locations of the Tier 1 factories that manufacture its clothes by end of MarchRiver Island has pledged to being more transparent by publishing the names and locations of the Tier 1 factories that manufacture its clothes by the end of March.
  The fashion retailer aims to provide further transparency in its supply chain by signing the Human Rights Watch’s Transparency Pledge.
  It follows in the steps of H&
  
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• Ocado CEO gets £54m of £88m bonus scheme payout for bosses

  11-02-2020 16:39
  
  Tim Steiner’s 2019 pay packet, including bonuses and salary, was £58.7m Four Ocado bosses are sharing an £88m windfall after a bonus scheme pegged to the online grocer’s share price paid out.The company’s chief executive, Tim Steiner, was the biggest winner, raking in £54m, while the finance director, Duncan Tatton-Brown, and chief operating officer, Mark Richardson, both banked £14m. Luke Jensen, who runs its tech business, Ocado Solutions, got £6
  
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• Ocado bosses share £88m windfall with £54m going to CEO

  11-02-2020 16:39
  
  Tim Steiner’s 2019 pay packet, including bonuses and salary, was £58.7m Four Ocado bosses are sharing an £88m windfall after a bonus scheme pegged to the online grocer’s share price paid out.The company’s chief executive, Tim Steiner, was the biggest winner, raking in £54m while the finance director, Duncan Tatton-Brown, and chief operating officer, Mark Richardson, both banked £14m. Luke Jensen, who runs its tech business Ocado Solutions, got £6m
  
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• Can Dixons Carphone survive when mobile phone sales are declining?

  11-02-2020 15:39 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Flat sales aren’t normally a reason to jump up and down, but Dixons Carphone said it saw “encouraging results” during the Black Friday and Christmas trading period – when overall group sales at the retailer remained flat.
  The parent company of Carphone Warehouse and Currys PS also hasn’t had the best start to the year after admitting to an embarrassing error, which saw it reporting a two per cent drop in group sales – when in fact sales had risen by two per ce
  
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• Chancellor urged to grant business rates “holiday” to ease pressure

  11-02-2020 15:29 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Two business groups have called on the government to make way for investment by reviewing the business rates system
  // The Valuation Office Agency said almost 2000 appeals a week are made over business rates billsThe Institute of Directors and the CBI have called on Chancellor Sajid Javid for a business rates “holiday” to “clear the path” for investment.
  The business groups urged Javid to launch a “comprehensive review” of the business rates system as part
  
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• Blow for Lakeside owner Intu as investor shuns £1bn cash call

  11-02-2020 15:29
  
  Hong Kong-based Link pulls out of refinancing plan a day after talks were confirmedIntu Properties was dealt another blow on Tuesday after a Hong Kong-based investor pulled out of plans to take part in the shopping centre group’s emergency cash call – a day after it had confirmed talks.The debt-laten company behind centres including the Trafford Centre in Manchester and Lakeside in Essex said it had been informed by Link Real Estate Investment Trust “of its intention to no long
  
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• Ocado’s pricey robots are left with much to prove

  11-02-2020 15:28
  Cost of building global delivery business worries sceptics, but company enjoys the benefit of the doubt
  
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• Colette makes its European debut in Chelsea

  11-02-2020 15:28 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Colette opens its first European venue at 315 Fulham Road
  // The traiteur and delicatessen is headed by former Ritz Hotel chef Chris HillThe new gourmet traiteur and delicatessen Colette has made its European debut opening the doors to its 861sq ft venue at 315 Fulham Road.
  Headed by former Ritz Hotel chef Chris Hill, Colette features seasonal home-style cooking and a deli.
  It hopes to combine a modern-traditional deli with curated ingredients from the home and kitchen for a new approach to g
  
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• Intu shares plunge after major investor quits fundraising talks

  11-02-2020 14:58 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Intu shares drop 27.1% after Hong Kong-based investor pulls out of talks
  // Link Real Estate Investment Trust was understood to have been in talks with Intu, alongside Peel Group
  // Shares had climbed nearly 30% on Monday on expectations of a dealIntu has seen its shares drop after a major Hong Kong-based retail property investor pulled out of talks over an emergency cash call.
  Shares in the shopping centre owner fell by 27.1 per cent after Link Real Estate Investment Trust pulled out, a day
  
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• JD Sports may have to sell Footasylum, says competition watchdog

  11-02-2020 13:31
  
  CMA inquiry concludes shoppers could lose out in merger but sportswear retailer brands findings flawedBritain’s competition watchdog has said it could force JD Sports to sell the Footasylum sportswear business it bought last year because consumers could lose out from the deal. The Competition and Markets Authority said its six-month investigation into last April’s £90m takeover found it “substantially lessens competition nationally”. It said shoppers could get fewer
  
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• Inter Ikea appoints founder’s former assistant as chief executive

  11-02-2020 13:11
  Jon Abrahamsson Ring to take top job at group that controls furniture maker’s brand
  
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• Matchesfashion poaches Amazon exec Ajay Kavan as new CEO

  11-02-2020 12:24 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Matchesfashion appoints Ajay Kavan as its new CEO
  // He is currently Amazon Vice President, International Special Projects
  // Kavan replaces former CEO Ulric Jerome, who left in August last year, from March 19Matchesfashion has raided Amazon’s senior ranks to appoint Ajay Kavan as its new chief executive.
  Effective from March 19, Kavan will replace former boss Ulric Jerome who left Matchesfashion in August last year.
  Kavan will also be moving from his current position as international s
  
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• Amazon wants President Trump to testify in court over orders to “screw Amazon” out of $10bn contract

  11-02-2020 11:08 via chargedretail.co.uk
  
  Amazon has demanded that President Donald Trump and six other individuals testify in court over orders to “screw Amazon” out of a $10 billion defense contract.
  According to court documents filed yesterday, Amazon is seeking to depose Trump, US defense secretary Mark Esper, former defese secretary James Mattis and four other “individuals who were instrumental” in ensuring the lucrative contract was awarded to Microsoft and not Amazon.
  In October it was announced that Micro
  
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• Harrods security guards to strike for 5 days over pay dispute

  11-02-2020 10:55 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Harrods security guards agree to strike for 5 days
  // This came after guards claimed they were being underpaid
  // The first strike will take place on February 22Harrods’ security guards have agreed to take five days of strike action starting later this month in a dispute over pay.
  Workers at the luxury department store in Knightsbridge voted by 97 per cent last month to walk out, after stating that they are being underpaid.
  The dispute arose after workers were being made to attend a sep
  
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• Lidl expands warehouse operations in Wales

  11-02-2020 10:42 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Lidl to expand its warehouse operations in Wales
  // Grocer confirms purchase of land adjacent to its warehouse in Bridgend
  // Lidl now plans to extend its distribution centre to over 387,500sq ft, providing new jobs once completedLidl has announced plans to expand its warehouse operations in Wales to further support its growing network of stores in the home country.
  The British arm of the German discount grocer confirmed the purchase of land adjacent to its warehouse in Bridgend.
  The land wil
  
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• China’s food delivery drivers hailed as heroes

  11-02-2020 10:40
  Couriers provide temperature readings when supplying millions quarantined at home
  
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• Retail sales largely flat in January

  11-02-2020 10:08 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Total retail sales increased by 0.4% in January, compared to 2.2% uplift last year, says BRC-KPMG
  // On a like-for-like basis, sales were flat with 0% change year-on-year
  // Meanwhile, 42% of people now upbeat about the UK’s economic prospects, according to BarclaycardThrifty shopping habits and environmental consciousness are driving people towards being more selective about their purchases, according to two retail sector reports for January.
  Total retail sales increased by 0.4 per cen
  
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• Inter Ikea appoints former assistant to founder as chief executive

  11-02-2020 10:03
  Jon Abrahamsson Ring to take top job at group that controls furniture maker’s brand
  
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• New Look Q3 losses shrink as management reshuffle pays off

  11-02-2020 10:02 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // New Look cuts quarterly losses thanks to its investment in stores and leadership
  // The retailer aims to “transform” its business with recent appointments
  // It made a statutory loss before tax improved to £1.2m on total revenue of £830.1m, compared with a £63.2m loss in the same period the year beforeNew Look has seen its losses narrow during the third quarter, which included Black Friday and Christmas, thanks to cost control and lower markdown.
  In the 39 weeks
  
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• CMA says JD Sports/Footasylum merger may leave shoppers worse off

  11-02-2020 09:49 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // The CMA has revealed its provisional findings on the proposed £90m takeover of Footasylum by JD Sports
  // The CMA said shoppers would be worse off, and the deadline for its final report has been extended to May 11
  // JD Sports criticised the CMA’s provisional findings, and refuted the claim that the merger could lead to less competition & less choice for consumersThe CMA has JD Sports’ proposed £90 million takeover of Footasylum could leave shoppers worse off, and
  
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• JD Sports could be told to sell Footasylum over competition concerns

  11-02-2020 09:27
  
  Watchdog says shoppers could lose out from merger through fewer discounts and less choiceBritain’s competition watchdog has said it could force JD Sports to sell the Footasylum sportswear business it bought last year because consumers could lose out as a result of the deal. The Competition and Markets Authority said its six-month investigation into last April’s £90m takeover found it “substantially lessens competition nationally”. It said shoppers could get fewer di
  
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• M&S appoints new CFO

  11-02-2020 09:05 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // M&S reveals that its new finance chief will be Eoin Tonge
  // He is the current CFO of sandwich supplier Greencore Group, where has been since 2006
  // His base salary of £600,000 is slightly down from the £612,000 his predecessor Humphrey Singer receivedMarks & Spencer has hired Eoin Tonge as its new chief financial officer, replacing Humphrey Singer who quit shortly after the retailer was demoted from the FTSE 100 last September.
  Tonge is due to join in June with a basic s
  
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• Ocado posts £214m loss as it ramps up spending on logistics

  11-02-2020 08:56
  Capital spending to more than double as group opens first overseas robotic warehouses
  
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• JD Sports may have to sell Footasylum after CMA probe

  11-02-2020 08:56
  Watchdog says blocking £90m takeover might be only way to address competition concerns
  
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• JD Sports may be forced to sell Footasylum after CMA probe

  11-02-2020 08:56
  Competition watchdog finds £90m takeover ‘substantially lessens competition’
  
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• Shoppers spend as post-election confidence returns

  11-02-2020 01:01
  Groceries drive 0.4% rise in the value of January retail sales
  
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• Minimum wage breaches face ‘naming and shaming’ again

  11-02-2020 01:01
  Technical or inadvertent flouting of law will be less harshly punished
  
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• British retailers yet to benefit from 'Boris bounce', says BRC

  11-02-2020 01:01
  
  Health check of sector seems to show thrifty approach still ingrained in shoppersBritain’s retailers have yet to benefit from any post-election pickup in the economy amid signs that thrifty and environmentally aware consumers are reluctant to part with their money.While business surveys have detected a “Boris bounce” after the decisive Conservative victory in December’s vote, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said there had been only the faintest evidence that spending
  
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• The Future of CX 2020

  11-02-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Five European trends that are shaping the customer experience for 2020 and beyond:  Customers don’t stand still; they have ever-changing tastes, preferences, and expectations. The best... View Article
  
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• Retail 2021 Report – The top trends shaping retail today and tomorrow

  11-02-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  10 priceless trends that are shaping the retail landscape of today and tomorrow. Retail 2021 is a unique in-depth review of the new technologies, disruptive upstarts and shifting patterns... View Article
  
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• OCF review: stores play role beyond simply housing stuff

  11-02-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Despite the torrent of horrific news stories that have been sounding the death knell for retail as we know it, this can be avoided if retailers... View Article
  
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• New Look reduces losses in third quarter

  11-02-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  New Look saw its losses narrow in its third quarter despite “tough” market conditions. The fashion retailer made a pre-tax loss of £1.2 million compared to... View Article
  
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• Marks & Spencer hires Eoin Tonge as chief financial officer

  11-02-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Marks & Spencer has announced that it has appointed Eoin Tonge as its new chief financial officer. Due to join the business in June, he will... View Article
  
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• Kingfisher completes executive team with new appointments

  11-02-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Kingfisher, the owner of B&Q and Screwfix, has completed its group executive team by appointing Kate Seljeflot as chief people officer. Seljeflot will join the company... View Article
  
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• Ampersand: Multichannel retail report 2020

  11-02-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Report analysing multichannel retailers in the UK, based on the core tenets of multichannel retailing. During the last decade, changing consumer attitudes and technology have transformed... View Article
  
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• Allbirds adds to its board of directors

  11-02-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Sustainable footwear brand Allbirds has appointed Nancy Green to its board of directors. Green is the president and chief creative officer of Old Navy and was... View Article
  
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