Retail news

• Walmart in talks to sell majority stake in Asda

  26-02-2020 19:53
  
  US retailer also considers flotation after failure of attempted Sainsbury’s merger
  Walmart is in talks to sell a majority stake in Asda, the UK’s third-largest supermarket chain.The US retailer said it was talking to a “small number of interested parties” about a possible investment in Asda. It is understood to be looking to retain a minority stake in the business, two decades after it moved into the British market by acquiring the grocer. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Shoppers shell out on 6bn eggs as flexitarians help drive UK revival

  26-02-2020 19:43
  
  Rise of low-meat diets thought to have contributed to 13th straight year of sales growthEggs are making a comeback in the UK, with retail sales enjoying their 13th consecutive year of growth, as consumers recognise the affordability and versatility of a once-vilified staple food.Supermarkets are reporting healthy sales thanks to the popularity of vegetarian and flexitarian diets, while new industry figures from the market research company Kantar reveal British shoppers bought 6bn eggs last year.
  
  Read more

• Tesco opens cashless store in central London

  26-02-2020 19:10
  
  Retailer champions digital revolution with permanent outlet in High HolbornTesco has joined the growing cash-free revolution in the UK after opening its first cashless store in central London.The outlet offers shoppers a range of electronic payment methods via self-service tills but does not accept notes or coins. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Walmart in talks over sale of Asda stake

  26-02-2020 18:30
  Private equity firms approached US retail group but IPO remains preferred option for UK chain
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Debenhams to give local councils ultimatum over store closures

  26-02-2020 18:29 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Debenhams to give local authorities ultimatum
  // The company will negotiate business rates cuts
  // A refusal to lower business rates will threaten local Debenhams storesDebenhams has reportedly said it will give the local authorities an ultimatum aimed at securing business rates cuts as it pushes ahead with its shop closure plans.
  The department store chain is due to hold talks with councils in an effort to inform them that a refusal to lower rates bills could pose a threat to their local Deb
  
  Read more

• Debt-hit shopping centre firm Intu extends overdraft

  26-02-2020 17:23
  
  Lakeside owner thrown £440m lifeline but deal rests upon £1.3bn rights issueIntu Properties, the debt-laden owner of shopping centres, including the Trafford Centre in Manchester and Lakeside in Essex, has won some breathing space by agreeing an extension to its overdraft facility.The seven banks providing Intu with its revolving credit facility have agreed to a new four-year £440m overdraft, conditional upon the firm raising at least £1.3bn in a rights issue. Continue re
  
  Read more

• Spotlight: Centre:MK

  26-02-2020 16:39 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  The year 1979 was a different world. The first female Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher had just moved into Downing Street, Queen Elizabeth had been on the throne 27 years, and Michael Jackson’s Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough was a top 5 hit.
  It was also the year that saw the opening of Centre:MK, a 1.2m sq ft single-storey shopping centre in Milton Keynes – itself a fledgling town that had been founded 12 years prior as part of the wave of “new towns” in the wake of
  
  Read more

• Ted Baker to cut 160 roles after 'very challenging year'

  26-02-2020 13:49
  
  Move forms part of restructuring to secure long-term success of fashion retailerTed Baker is to axe 160 roles as the fashion retailer grapples with declining sales, profits and a £58m accounting error.It announced the cuts – 102 staff redundancies and a decision not to replace 58 vacant roles – in the first stage of a restructuring designed to put the business back on track. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Waterstones increases staff wage by 6.2%

  26-02-2020 13:13 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Waterstones to increase bookseller wage from £8.21 to £8.72
  // Waterstones posted a 39% rise in pretax profits for its full year
  // The rise comes after a 4.85 per cent rise in April 2019Waterstones has reportedly said it will increase its colleagues’ pay by 6.2 per cent from April 1.
  The rise accompanies the government’s national living wage increase due in April, which will result in the wages of those over the age of 25 increasing by 6.2 per cent from £8.21 to
  
  Read more

• Wolf & Badger smashes £10m sales milestone as it marks 10th anniversary

  26-02-2020 13:12 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Wolf Badger smashes the £10m sales benchmark as it celebrates 10th birthday
  // In 2019, the fashion retailer’s online sales skyrocketed 59% year-on-year to £10.5m
  // It also attracted a record 9 million visitors to its website during the yearWolf & Badger has smashed the £10 million milestone and hinted at plans for a third store in LA as the fashion retailer celebrates 10 years since it was established.
  The retailer said its online sales skyrocketed 59 per cent fr
  
  Read more

• Waterstones increases colleague pay by 6.2%

  26-02-2020 13:09 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Waterstones to increase bookseller wage from £8.21 to £8.72
  // Waterstones posted a 39% rise in pretax profits for its full year
  // The rise comes after a 4.85 per cent rise in April 2019Waterstones has reportedly said it will increase its colleagues’ pay by 6.2 per cent from April 1.
  The rise accompanies the government’s national living wage increase due in April, which will result in the wages of those over the age of 25 increasing by 6.2 per cent from £8.21 to
  
  Read more

• Tesco launches first ever mainstream cashless store in London

  26-02-2020 12:15 via chargedretail.co.uk
  
  Tesco has opened its first ever mainstream cashless store in London’s High Holborn amid the latest major move towards a cash-free economy.
  The UK’s largest grocer Tesco opened the cashless Tesco Express on Monday allowing users to pay with a range of digital payment options including contactless cards and digital wallets like Apple Pay.
  While staff will be on hand to help customers, the store will only contain self-service checkouts in a bid to streamline the entire payment process.
  
  Read more

• Up to 160 jobs at risk as Ted Baker announces shake-up

  26-02-2020 11:54 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Ted Baker puts around 160 roles at risk after announcing new plans to cut costs
  // Acting CEO Rachel Osborne has called for series of reviews to deliver transformation programmeTed Baker has reportedly revealed that between 100 to 160 jobs are at risk of redundancy as it shakes up the company after a “challenging year”.
  Following a review, the embattled fashion retailer said it plans to cut costs on its office functions, which will see staff lose their jobs.
  According to various r
  
  Read more

• Houseology rescued from administration by Olivia’s

  26-02-2020 11:54 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Olivia’s completes a deal to buy Houseology, which went into administration last month
  // The online furniture retailer acquired all IP and assets, including Houseology’s suppliers and stock, for an undisclosed amount
  // Olivia’s will continue to run Houseology as a standalone brand under The Moot Group umbrellaOnline furniture retailer Houseology has been rescued from administration after Olivia’s, another furniture ecommerce business, acquired it for an undisclosed s
  
  Read more

• Amazon accused of racially profiling prospective employees by former manager

  26-02-2020 11:36 via chargedretail.co.uk
  
  Amazon has been accused of racially profiling prospective employees by an employee who alleges she was fired after speaking out.
  Lisa McCarrick, a former regional loss prevent manager at Amazon, has filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the online retailer according to a Bloomberg report.
  McCarrick has accused Amazon of asking her to scan social media profiles of prospective employees to determine their race and gender, then sacking her after she complained about the practice.
  R
  
  Read more

• Sainsbury’s opens 300th “milestone” Argos concession

  26-02-2020 11:23 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // 300th Argos store opens in Sainsbury’s
  // The Big 4 grocer said it has reached an “important milestone” with this openingSainsbury’s has reached an “important milestone” after opening the 300th Argos store in its supermarket.
  The store which offers customers Argos’s extensive range of toys, tech and home products, has opened in Sainsbury’s Salford store in Manchester.
  Sainsbury’s first installed Argos concessions within stores in 2016, aft
  
  Read more

• Amazon’s one-day-delivery will makes all other options “seem too slow before we know it”

  26-02-2020 10:54 via chargedretail.co.uk
  
  Amazon’s increasing one-day delivery capability will soon cause customers to see any longer delivery option “seem too slow before we know it”.
  Morgan Stanley’s analyst Brian Nowak has warned that Amazon’s one-day delivery programme, which it launched across the US for Prime members in June 2019, will extend the retailer’s dominance over the online ecommerce market.
  Its rapid delivery capabilities, which Amazon said it was piling a whopping $1 billion (£7
  
  Read more

• Superdrug and Savers gear up for UK expansion

  26-02-2020 10:39 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Superdrug & Savers to open 80 new stores between them this year
  // 50 new stores planned for Savers and 30 for SuperdrugSuperdrug and Savers have reportedly announced expansion plans across the UK this year in a bid to “support” the high street.
  The sister health & beauty retailers have planned for 80 new stores between them this year, The Grocer reported.
  The proposal includes around 50 new stores for Savers and 30 for Superdrug, which is 25 more stores than parent compan
  
  Read more

• US retailer accused of “stealing” profits of Caroline Flack t-shirts

  26-02-2020 10:17 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Online retailer accused of “stealing” designs of Caroline Flack t-shirts to make profit
  // PrettyLittleThing & In The Style said last week 100% of profits would go to charities
  // TV presenter Keith Lemon accused Teespring of allegedly copying his designsAn online US retailer has been accused of selling “stolen” designs of late television presenter Caroline Flack charity t-shirts, with profits going straight to its pocket instead of charity.
  Following Flack’s
  
  Read more

• Forever 21 hires former H&M US exec Daniel Kulle as new CEO

  26-02-2020 09:56 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Forever 21 names former H&M US executive Daniel Kulle as new CEO
  // Forever 21 was recently bought out of bankruptcy for $80m (£62m) by Authentic Brands Group
  // When Forever 21 collapsed late last year, it said it would close down its three stores in the UKAuthentic Brands Group has appointed H&M’s former US executive Daniel Kulle as the chief executive of Forever 21.
  The move comes after Forever 21 was bought out of bankruptcy for $80 million (£62 million) by two o
  
  Read more

• McColl’s full year sales & profits down amid “softer market conditions”

  26-02-2020 09:30 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // McColl’s total revenue down 1.8% to £1.22bn for the full year ending November 24
  // Total like-for-likes flat, while adjusted pre-tax profit for the year fell from £10.5m to £7.3m
  // McColl’s attributed results to store closures and divestments as part of store optimisation programme, and softer market conditions
  // McColl’s also confirmed it is in discussion with lending banks about a new debt facilityMcColl’s has posted declining profits and sales i
  
  Read more

• Shop prices drop further amid weak consumer demand

  26-02-2020 08:52 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Latest BRC-Nielsen Shop Price Index shows that prices have fallen 0.6% this month
  // This compares to a 0.3% decline in January
  // Non-food prices declined 1.9% compared with a 1.5% decline in January, but food prices steady at 1.6%Shop prices have fallen faster this month after weak consumer demand drove more promotions and offers by retailers, according to figures.
  The latest BRC-Nielsen Shop Price Index revealed that prices have fallen 0.6 per cent this month, compared with a 0.3 per cent
  
  Read more

• Currys says calls aren’t a scam … its staff say they are!

  26-02-2020 08:00
  
  I looked up the number online and it is rated ‘dangerous’ but it was made by the storeWithin three hours of buying a TV online from Currys I found a missed call from a Loughborough number, 01509 437111. A message stated it was about my Currys purchase and that they would try again. I checked the number online and it appears to be a scam. Other people have received calls after making a purchase from Currys and have been asked to confirm their financial details.Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Tesco could cut over 1,800 jobs as part of in-store bakery overhaul

  26-02-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Tesco has announced plans to cut the number of staff working in its in-store bakeries as it looks to adapt following a shift in customer tastes... View Article
  
  Read more

• McColl’s posts drop in sales and profits as it begins to implement change programme

  26-02-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  McColl’s has reported a drop in full year sales and profits as it begins to implement a strategic change programme to build the foundations for future... View Article
  
  Read more

• IHL Order Management Guide – available to download

  26-02-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Retailers looking to invest in an Order Management System (OMS) will find a wealth of information in this analytical report from IHL Group, published in July... View Article
  
  Read more

• Evans Cycles sponsors London e-Bike Festival

  26-02-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Evans Cycles has become a headline sponsor of the first London e-Bike Festival. The news means that the event will now be known as the Evans... View Article
  
  Read more

• Cegid: IHL Order Management Guide – available to download

  26-02-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Cegid is delighted to share IHL’s Order Management Guide with you. Retailers looking to invest in an Order Management System (OMS) will find a wealth of information... View Article
  
  Read more

• Castore to join line-up at Liverpool ONE

  26-02-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Sportswear brand Castore has chosen Liverpool ONE as the location for its second store and its first outside of London. The brand has taken a 1,579... View Article
  
  Read more

• Authentic Brands hires new chief executive for Forever 21

  26-02-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Authentic Brands has appointed Daniel Kulle as the chief executive of Forever 21. The move follows the recent acquisition of the fashion retailer by Authentic Brands,... View Article
  
  Read more

• Authentic Brands appoints new chief executive for Forever 21

  26-02-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Authentic Brands has appointed Daniel Kulle as the chief executive of Forever 21. The move follows the recent acquisition of the fashion retailer by Authentic Brands,... View Article
  
  Read more

Follow @retailuknws on Twitter!