Retail news

• St Albans firms in group appeal against soaring business rates

  10-03-2020 19:52 via theguardian.com
  
  More than 20 retailers, pubs and restaurants are expected to take part in the initiativeBusinesses in St Albans in Hertfordshire are putting together what is thought to be the first group appeal against “astronomical” business rates as calls grow for a temporary amnesty as companies grapple with coronavirus-related disruption.More than 20 retailers, pubs and restaurants are expected to take part in the initiative instigated by the city’s local business improvement district. Man
  
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• 5 minutes with Jason Ashby, CEO, UK Flooring Direct

  10-03-2020 17:52 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Tell me a bit about UK Flooring Direct’s story.
  I founded the company in 2005 with £500. We had our first website built for £299 – it was a little website, on a little computer and we started everything from a drop shipping operation.
  We grew rapidly. By the first full year we turned over £750,000 and by year five we reached £9 million in sales. We have been growing rapidly ever since.
  Much of what we did was built on Google organic rankings which delivered ex
  
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• Frozen food sales jump as coronavirus fears grows: Iceland boss

  10-03-2020 17:14 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Iceland’s frozen food sales “definitely ahead of forecasts for the past week”, says MD Richard Walker
  // Walker says shoppers are turning to frozen food in a bid to stockpile in case of self-isolation
  // He also said there was no need to panic buyShoppers are turning to frozen food as the coronavirus outbreak spreads, Iceland managing director Richard Walker has said.
  Walker told PA Wires that there was no need for shoppers to panic buy, with the frozen food grocer reporting
  
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• Harrods partnerships director Guy Cheston resigns

  10-03-2020 16:38 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Harrods partnerships director Guy Cheston will leave at the end of March
  // He has spent 16 years at the luxury department store
  // He will be replaced by Alex Unitt. who joins from Condé Nast on April 8Harrods has revealed that its partnerships director Guy Cheston will be leaving his role at the end of March.
  Cheston first joined the luxury department store over 16 years ago to establish Harrods’ first media sales division.
  In 2011, he was promoted to media sales director befor
  
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• CHARGED: Amazon taps Tesco veteran for Alexa Shopping

  10-03-2020 16:25 via chargedretail.co.uk
  
  Tesco technology veteran Paul Wilkinson has moved to Amazon’s Alexa Shopping business into the position of senior product manager.
  The tech expert spent nearly 10 years at Tesco, where he most recently held the position of head of product for space, range and merchandising.
  READ MORE: Amazon partners with Lamborghini to bring Alexa to yet more cars
  Prior to that, Wilkinson was head of technology research and open innovation at Tesco Labs.
  Wilkinson started his new role at Amazon&rsquo
  
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• AO.com co-founder Alan Latchford dies

  10-03-2020 16:04 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // AO.com co-founder Alan Latchford has died at the age of 61.
  // Latchford left the online retailer due to poor health in 2006AO.com co-founder Alan Latchford has passed away at the age of 61.
  Latchford left the online appliances and electricals retailer due to poor health in 2006.
  The company, originally named Appliances Online was started as a bet.
  Latchford famously made a £1 bet with chief executive John Roberts who said “Like all the best businesses, it started in the pub,&rdq
  
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• Extinction Rebellion protesters target Boohoo head office

  10-03-2020 15:40 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // XR Manchester members protested outside Boohoo’s Manchester head office on Monday
  // XR are highlighting Boohoo’s lack of policy on where their materials are sourced & its reGain app.Members from XR Manchester staged a protest outside of Boohoo’s head office in Manchester on Monday to “highlight their continued use of unsustainable and unethically sourced materials”.
  The demonstration deliberately coincided with a launch event for Digital City Festival Week w
  
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• UK shoppers rush to buy frozen food and freezers amid coronavirus outbreak

  10-03-2020 15:02 via theguardian.com
  
  Freezer sales at AO.com and John Lewis soar as Iceland reports surge in frozen food purchasesCoronavirus – latest updatesSales of both freezers and frozen food have surged in the UK amid panic buying by Britons worried about the spread of coronavirus.The online appliance retailer AO.com said freezer sales jumped more than 200% last week as worried shoppers sought to increase their ability to store food. Related: Food banks run out of milk and other staples as shoppers panic-buyContinue rea
  
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• Iceland boasts 29% reduction in plastic usage

  10-03-2020 14:17 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Iceland announces 29% reduction in plastic usage
  // Retailer says 3794 tonnes has been removed to date, the equivalent weight of 36 blue whales
  // Two years ago Iceland made a UK-first pledge to remove plastic entirely from own-label products by the end of 2023Iceland has announced a reduction of 29 per cent in its overall plastics packaging usage, two years on from the retailer’s industry-leading pledge to remove plastics from all own-label product packaging by the end of 2023.
  The fro
  
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• Coach CEO Joshua Schulman to depart

  10-03-2020 11:26 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Coach CEO Joshua Schulman will step down
  // Tapestry CEO & chairman Jide Zeitlin will fill his shoes for the next 3 years
  // Schulman joined Coach as brand president in 2017Tapestry has announced that the Coach chief executive and brand president, Joshua Schulman will step down from his role, as Tapestry chairman and chief executive Jide Zeitlin commits to leading the group for the next three years.
  Schulman had joined Coach in his newly-created role of brand president back in 2017.
  At th
  
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• Oasis & Warehouse makes two promotions to strengthen team

  10-03-2020 10:20 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Oasis and Warehouse makes two new promotions
  // Warehouse MD Paula Stewart promoted to chief product officer of the fashion group
  // Group finance director Matt Robinson promoted to chief financial officerOasis and Warehouse has reportedly made two promotions as it seeks to strengthen its management team.
  The fashion group promoted Warehouse managing director Paula Stewart to the newly created role of group chief product officer, Drapers reported.
  Stewart will be responsible for the buying, m
  
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• French Connection plunges into the red as coronavirus fears escalate

  10-03-2020 09:52 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // French Connection posts £2.9m loss for the year ending January 31
  // The fashion retailer’s loss goes against a profit of £0.8m in the previous yearFrench Connection has reported a £2.9 million loss for the year ending January 31, and has remained uncertain about the current market condition due to the onslaught of the coronavirus outbreak.
  The fashion retailer’s loss goes against a profit of £0.8 million in the previous year.
  Group revenues dropped 11.4 pe
  
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• Coronavirus: Supermarkets to extend supply chain delivery hours

  10-03-2020 09:41 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Government plans to temporarily extend hours for grocers to do supply chain deliveries
  // This means grocers can increase deliveries from warehouses to their stores to replenish shelves
  // Current rules mean deliveries are prohibited overnightThe government plans to extend the hours that supply chain deliveries can be made to supermarkets to help the food industry respond to the coronavirus.
  Environment Secretary George Eustice said allowing night-time deliveries will allow stocks to be moved
  
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• DFS warns over coronavirus outbreak as half-year is rocked by “challenging market”

  10-03-2020 09:19 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // DFS posts falling half-year sales & profits on back of “challenging market conditions” & lower footfall
  // Sales slipped 5.7% to £488m for the period as the impact of “political uncertainty” & weaker consumer confidence offset online growth
  // Underlying pre-tax profits for the past half year fell to £20.5m compared to £38m a year earlierDFS has said that “challenging market conditions” hit its half-year trading and warned that
  
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• February retail sales creeps up 0.1% amid storms & coronavirus fears

  10-03-2020 09:03 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  // Total retail sales increased 0.1% in February, according to the BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor
  // On a like-for-like basis, retail sales decreased 0.4% from February 2019
  // Non-food sales increased 0.6%, but in-store non-food sales declined 1.8%. Food sales grew 0.3%Shoppers’ spending on food and healthcare products increased towards the end of February amid concerns about coronavirus, according to an index.
  However, spending on clothing was held down last month by the winter storms, th
  
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• Coronavirus: supermarket home delivery services hit capacity as shopping rush moves online

  10-03-2020 08:27 via theguardian.com
  
  Coles and Woolworths inundated with delivery requests and available slots quickly selling outAustralia’s major supermarkets are grappling with further challenges as the coronavirus crisis continues and panic buyers shift to online shopping.Supermarkets rapidly sold out last week of essentials such as toilet paper, soap, flour, sugar, pasta and other kinds of long-life goods, prompting public outcry and censure from politicians – especially after two people were caught on camera in an
  
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• Ikea links with Alibaba to lure Chinese consumers

  10-03-2020 04:11 via ft.com
  Furniture retailer ‘tests’ selling to consumers on ecommerce group’s consumer platform Tmall
  
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• Storms and Covid-19 worries hurt high street retailers

  10-03-2020 01:04 via ft.com
  Stores and restaurants suffer most but online sales boost overall spending
  
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• Delivery and digital services thrive on coronavirus outbreak

  10-03-2020 01:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Storms also keep consumers at home, with high street shops reporting slide in salesFood delivery and digital subscription services are witnessing a surge in sales while department stores, fashion chains and restaurants are taking a hit, as consumers opt to stay in with a takeaway to avoid the recent storms and the coronavirus outbreak.In the latest blow to retailers already suffering from the shift to online shopping, more than a quarter of shoppers said they were avoiding high streets and other
  
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• Very launches new feature to help customers choose right size and fit

  10-03-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Very.co.uk has launched a new feature on its website to help customers find the right size and fit. The feature allows shoppers to view over 80... View Article
  
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• UK retail sales impacted by February storms

  10-03-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Retail sales in February were affected by three major storms that led like-for-like sales to edge down 0.4% year-on-year. According to figures from the British Retail... View Article
  
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• TRB Event: Online Conversion Summit 2020 partnered by IMRG

  10-03-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Our Online Conversion Summit, partnered with IMRG, gives you the perfect opportunity to network with key retail decision makers in a one-day, one-topic setting. 30 APR... View Article
  
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• Top tips for improving online conversion

  10-03-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Every retailer has room for improvement when it comes to online conversion. With competition from rivals increasing all the time, a continually impressive online experience can... View Article
  
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• Rethinking Retail: How to put customers at the heart of your strategy

  10-03-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  How do your customers experience your brand? Did you know that 70% of buying experiences are based on how the customer feels they are being treated? And... View Article
  
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• Hugo Boss hires new chief operating officer

  10-03-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Hugo Boss has appointed Heiko Schäfer as chief operating officer. Due to take up his new position on 16 March,  Schäfer will be responsible for the... View Article
  
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• Heavenly Desserts accelerates expansion plans

  10-03-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Heavenly Desserts is to accelerate its rate of expansion across London and the south of England. Founded in 2008, the luxury dessert brand currently has 25... View Article
  
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• French Connection swings to full year loss

  10-03-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  French Connection has swung to a full year loss after trading was impacted by planned store closures and difficult trading conditions in the UK. The fashion... View Article
  
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• Event: Online Conversion Summit 2020 partnered by IMRG

  10-03-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Solution providers: Our Online Conversion Summit, partnered with IMRG, gives you the perfect opportunity to network with key retail decision makers in a one-day, one-topic setting.... View Article
  
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• DFS reports drop in half year sales and profits

  10-03-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Group revenue at DFS declined by 5.7% to £488 million in the retailer’s first half as “challenging” market conditions and political uncertainty impacted footfall in its... View Article
  
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