Retail news

• Asos raises £240m in share placing to deal with coronavirus

  07-04-2020 21:38
  Online retailer adds to credit facility and applies to access BoE’s Covid-19 finance facility
  
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• Asos plans £200m share placing and extends debt

  07-04-2020 20:07
  Online retailer takes steps to shore up finances as coronavirus weighs on consumer spending
  
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• Retail from home: Why lockdown isn’t the real reason retailers aren’t reaching customers

  07-04-2020 19:00 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Strict measures were implemented across the UK on March 23 as Prime Minister Boris Johnson issued the official stay-at-home order. All non-essential retailers had no other choice but to close their doors for the time being as the country entered into full lockdown to mitigate the spread of Covid-19.
  Over the past few weeks, we have witnessed large-scale furloughs putting thousands out of work, property giants cracking down on late rental payments and retailers cancelling orders from suppliers to
  
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• Tesco urged to pay dividend despite coronavirus

  07-04-2020 18:55
  Some investors suggest supermarket chain should defer payout to avoid potential backlash
  
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• Costcutter launches 20 pop-up stores in NHS hospitals

  07-04-2020 18:07 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Costcutter builds 20 pop-ups in NHS hospitals
  // The retailer aims to serve key workers who cannot leave the hospital to buy essentialsCostcutter has installed 20 pop-up stores in NHS hospitals to serve doctors and nurses who are unable to travel to stores amid the coronavirus crisis.
  The retailer said it has worked in partnership with food service giant Compass to launch the stores.
  It added that the new shops will fill units left by the temporary closure of some non-essential retail spaces
  
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• Brompton Bicycle launches new direct-to-home service

  07-04-2020 17:50 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Brompton Bicycle introduces direct-to-home service
  // The trial enables shoppers to purchase bikes directly from its factoryBrompton Bicycle has launched a new direct-to-home service as part of a trial to enable customers to buy bikes direct from its factory.
  The trial has been launched due to increased demand for home delivery during the coronavirus crisis.
  The Brompton To You service will allow customers to purchase a wide range of Brompton’s stock bikes from its website.READ MORE:Cor
  
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• WH Smith raises £166m to shore up finances during Covid-19 crisis

  07-04-2020 14:25
  
  Retailer places 15.8m shares at 1050p per share – equivalent to 13.7% of share capitalCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageWH Smith has successfully raised almost £166m from investors after launching an emergency cash call to shore up its balance sheet while the majority of its shops remain closed during the coronavirus crisis.The retailer managed to place 15.8m shares at 1050p per share, representing a discount of 4p on the previous day’s closing s
  
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• Retail footfall dives 81% in 2nd week of lockdown

  07-04-2020 13:24 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Footfall rose 9.5% on Saturday & 21.3% on Sunday against the same weekend a week earlier
  // However, footfall for last week dived 81.4% against the same period last year
  // Springboard warned that the Easter long weekend would be “unrecognisable”Footfall in high streets and shopping destinations jumped last weekend as warmer weather brought more people out of their homes, according to new data.
  Figures from retail experts Springboard showed that footfall rose 9.5 per cent on S
  
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• Sainsbury’s pledges Comic Relief donations amid coronavirus pandemic

  07-04-2020 13:05 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Sainsbury’s to support Comic Relief & Children In Need fundraising appeal to protect the most vulnerable
  // Big 4 grocer pledges to match customer donations as part of partnership with Comic Relief
  // Sainsbury’s also became the first major retailer to stock The Big Issue magazine online and in storesSainsbury’s has pledged its support to a new joint appeal to raise money for people who are likely to be severely affected as a result of Covid-19.
  The Big 4 grocer pledged
  
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• Levi’s & Tiffany donate millions to coronavirus relief efforts

  07-04-2020 12:03 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Levi’s & Tiffany donate millions towards Covid-19 related causes
  // Levi’s donates £2.4m, while Tiffany donates £800,000Levi’s and Tiffany have donated millions towards Covid-19 related causes as the pandemic continues to affect businesses worldwide.
  Denim retailer Levi’s has donated $3 million (£2.4 million) to relief efforts, while Tiffany donated a sum of $1 million (£800,000).
  Levi’s chief executive Chris Bergh said the firm donate
  
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• Coronavirus: Levi’s and Tiffany donate millions to relief efforts

  07-04-2020 12:03 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Levi’s and Tiffany donate towards Covid-19 related causes
  // Levi’s donates £2.4m while Tiffany donates £800,000Levi’s and Tiffany have both donated towards Covid-19 related causes as the pandemic continues to affect business.
  Denim retailer Levi’s has donated $3 million (£2.4 million) to relief efforts, while Tiffany donated a sum of $1 million (£800,000).
  Levi’s chief executive Chris Bergh said the company has donated 10,000 medical-grad
  
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• Coronavirus pandemic contributes to 29.8% drop in retail job applications

  07-04-2020 12:01 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Coronavirus pandemic & lockdowns contribute to 14% drop in retail jobs year-on-year
  // Retail job applications also take a hit, plunging 29.8% year-on-yearNew research has laid bare the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdown on the retail jobs market, with applications and vacancies plummeting in March.
  According to CV-Library, the number retail job vacancies dropped by 14 per cent year-on-year in March, and a decline of 2.8 per cent when compared to February.
  The stud
  
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• Hudson Yards scrutinises finances of rental refuseniks

  07-04-2020 12:00
  Three-quarters of Manhattan site’s retailers fail to pay amid rising tenant-landlord tensions
  
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• Ocado apologises to customers stating it “simply does not have the capacity” to meet demand

  07-04-2020 11:39 via chargedretail.co.uk
  
  Ocado has told customers it was “sorry” that it was not able to provide grocery delivery to as many customers as it would like.
  Mel Smith, the online grocer’s chief executive, told customers in a blog over the weekend that she was aware customers were struggling to secure delivery slots while in lockdown.
  “No matter how hard we work, we simply do not have the capacity right now to meet all the demand we are seeing from existing customers, let alone new ones,” she sa
  
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• Coronavirus: UK councils issue grants to eligible retailers

  07-04-2020 10:41 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Councils in Sunderland, Devon and Cornwall have began making grant payments to eligible business
  // The grants are in response to the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemicUK councils have begun issuing grant payments to eligible retailers, businesses and organisations during the coronavirus pandemic.
  The councils in Sunderland, Devon and Cornwall, have this week started making grant payments in response to the economic impact of the outbreak.
  Just recently, the UK government announced b
  
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• Coronavirus: LVMH & Kering take u-turn on gov’t assistance plan

  07-04-2020 10:09 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // LVMH & Kering told staff they’d be placed on an emergency government assistance scheme but has since backtracked
  // The decision was reversed after smaller rivals said they would cope without gov’t supportLVMH and Kering have reportedly backtracked on telling employees they would be placed on an emergency government assistance scheme amid the Covid-19 crisis, after witnessing smaller rivals Hermes and Chanel pledge to cope without state support.
  Soon after France went in lockd
  
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• Waitrose u-turns on “time bank” system for self-isolating staff

  07-04-2020 09:57 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Waitrose reverses “time bank” policy
  // Self-isolating staff were expected to recover the time they took off to care for family for no extra pay
  // “We’re really sorry that we got it wrong,” Waitrose said in a statementWaitrose has done a u-turn on a pay policy where workers self-isolating because of their family would have to make up the hours they owed at a later date.
  Originally, Waitrose was to pay its staff in full while they self-isolated amid the coronavir
  
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• Tesco eyes pop-up stores at NHS Nightingale sites

  07-04-2020 09:28 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Tesco to open pop-up store at NHS Nightingale in Birmingham’s NEC
  // It is due to complete construction by the end of this week
  // Other sites that could soon have Tesco pop-ups include the NHS Nightingales in London, Manchester & HarrogateTesco has revealed plans to open pop-up convenience stores at NHS Nightingale sites nationwide to provide frontline health care workers easy access to essential items and food.
  The Big 4 grocer has selected the NEC in Birmingham as its first dedic
  
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• WHSmith manages to raise £166m to beat coronavirus crisis

  07-04-2020 09:09 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // WHSmith raises approximately £165.9m through a share placing
  // Investors subscribed to 15.8 million new shares at 1050p per share
  // WHSmith CEO Carl Cowling subscribed to more than 7000 of those sharesWHSmith has raised almost £166 million through a share placing in a bid to shore up its balance sheet to help it overcome the financial impacts of the coronavirus lockdown.
  The books and stationery retailer placed 15.8 million new shares at 1050p per share, and investors have subsc
  
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• Primark announces wage fund for garment workers

  07-04-2020 09:00
  
  Pledge comes in response to claims that order cancellations to minimise Covid-19 losses have hurt millions of workers in the developing world
  Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coveragePrimark, one of the UK’s most popular retailers, has announced it will create a fund to help pay the wages of the millions of garment workers affected by its decision to cancel tens of millions of pounds worth of clothing orders from factories in developing countries across the world.T
  
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• Serenata Flowers launches customisable subscription service

  07-04-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Online florist Serenata Flowers is launching a new customisable bouquet subscription service. When signing up, customers can choose from a Classic, Deluxe or Grande subscription. In... View Article
  
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• ScS suspends payment of dividend

  07-04-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  ScS has suspended the payment of the interim dividend which was due to be paid to shareholders in May. In a statement, the upholstered furniture retailer... View Article
  
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• Sainsbury’s to support Comic Relief fundraising appeal

  07-04-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Sainsbury’s is supporting a new Comic Relief and BBC Children in Need fundraising appeal that will raise money for people in need due to the coronavirus... View Article
  
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• Eve Sleep appoints new chief executive

  07-04-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Eve Sleep has promoted Cheryl Calverley to the position of chief executive following James Sturrock’s decision to take up a new external role. Sturrock will leave... View Article
  
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• Brompton Bicycle trials direct-to-home service

  07-04-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Cycle manufacturer Brompton Bicycle is piloting a new direct-to-home service to enable customers to buy bikes direct from its factory. Introduced to meet increased demand for... View Article
  
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• Brands taking a positive approach to the Covid-19 pandemic  

  07-04-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Self-isolation. Social distancing. Quarantine. All words that barely existed in our vocabulary a few months ago, now ruling our everyday lives. We’re in the biggest crisis of our... View Article
  
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