Retail news

• US shopping mall owners face financial reckoning

  09-04-2020 23:27
  Investors bet debt will have to be restructured as retailers withhold rent
  
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• Manager at major UK food supplier says staff who stay at home may be sacked

  09-04-2020 19:02
  
  Video at Bakkavor site shows boss threatening staff who are also seated less than 2m apartCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageA boss at one of the largest suppliers of fresh food to UK supermarkets threatened to sack staff who stayed at home during the Covid-19 pandemic, in a move that may have pressured vulnerable workers into shifts at a factory where social distancing has not been observed.Workers at a north London plant run by the giant food group Bakkavor, whic
  
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• Coronavirus: 700 workers furloughed at Fortnum & Mason

  09-04-2020 16:55 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // F&M will place 80% staff on the gov’t emergency wage subsidy programme
  // The retailer has become the latest to furlough staffFortnum & Mason has reportedly placed 700 staff onto the government’s emergency wage subsidy programme to subsidise the wages of 80 per cent of its staff.
  The decision which was made on Wednesday, comes as the retailer faces a prolonged shutdown of its famous London Piccadilly store.
  The 313-year old retailer has become the latest to utilise th
  
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• Debenhams appoints administrators and liquidates Irish chain

  09-04-2020 16:53
  
  Department store’s move axes 1,400 jobs in Ireland but buys time to save UK businessDebenhams has fallen into administration, casting fresh doubt over the future of the struggling chain which also said it would not reopen its Irish stores, resulting in 1,400 job losses.The company, which has around 20,000 employees and 142 stores, confirmed the appointment of restructuring firm FRP Advisory as administrators and said its first move would be to place its Irish chain into liquidation. Debenh
  
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• Big Interview: David Butler, CEO, Crew Clothing

  09-04-2020 16:38 via retailgazette.co.uk
  “We’re not a yachting brand by any stretch of imagination but you can tell Crew Clothing was created by somebody who was pretty keen on it.”
  Crew Clothing chief executive David Butler may have cracked a joke when explaining the fashion retailer’s history, but he’s not far from the truth.  After all, the 83-stores strong chain is known for its nautical-inspired fashion, and a big chunk of its sales derive from coastal towns across the UK.
  Since he took the helm
  
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• Retailers urged to continue trading online amid Covid-19 chaos

  09-04-2020 16:18 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Retailers have been urged by the business secretary to continue trading online
  // The online offering is a “vital lifeline” for the nation during the coronavirus crisisBusiness secretary Alok Sharma has urged UK retailers to continue trading online “as a vital lifeline” for the nation amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
  Sharma wrote in an open letter yesterday to those working in the retail sector to state that goods supplied by online retailers “make a real di
  
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• Debenhams officially files for administration

  09-04-2020 15:36 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Debenhams officially files for administration
  // It comes 12 months after Debenhams last fell into administration and less than a year after it launched its ongoing CVA
  // Debenhams said FRP Advisory would adopt what’s described as a “light touch” administrationDebenhams has officially filed for administration, making it the second time within a year that it has taken this kind of insolvency process as it struggles amid the coronavirus crisis.
  Following its notice of intent
  
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• Retail Gazette Loves: Go Outdoors rebrands to Go Indoors

  09-04-2020 15:10 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Go Outdoors has temporarily rebranded itself as Go Indoors as part of a campaign to help keep people safe during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
  In a video posted to their Twitter channel, Go Outdoors thanked shoppers for staying home and protecting the NHS.
  “We understand that this is a challenging time for everyone, as we temporarily adapt to a completely new way of living,” chief executive Lee Bagnall said in a statement.
  “However, our message to our customers is simple
  
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• High street hardest hit as coronavirus takes toll on UK businesses

  09-04-2020 14:00
  
  More than a million jobs are on the line and several already-struggling firms have collapsedCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe coronavirus pandemic has put millions of UK jobs at risk as companies struggle to cope with the financial strain created by the shutdown. A recent British Chambers of Commerce survey found a majority of firms had just three months of cash or less left in their coffers. The hardest-hit sectors have been high-street businesses such as ret
  
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• Co-op pulls Easter eggs TV ad to support charities instead

  09-04-2020 12:28 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // The Co-op pulls Easter egg TV advertising campaign, worth £2.5m
  // It is redirecting the funds and airtime to a new charity TV ad paying tribute to shop floor staff on the frontline
  // The new ad is in partnership with food bank charity FareShareThe Co-op has pulled its Easter TV advertising campaign and has donated the airtime to help fight hunger during the current crisis.
  The original plan was to advertise its chocolate eggs, but £2.5 million worth of advertising will now promo
  
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• Morrisons ramps up lockdown food box production tenfold to 100,000 and adds 2 new boxes

  09-04-2020 12:17 via chargedretail.co.uk
  
  Morrisons has launched the next wave of its food boxes increasing producing more than tenfold to meet skyrocketing demand.
  The grocer said it was “dramatically” ramping up production of its food boxes, which it launched two weeks ago, from 10,000 a week to 100,000 per week.
  Its food boxes, which contain enough chilled, fresh and tinned food items to feed a couple for up to a week, will be produced at three new sites from next week.
  Despite the huge increase in production, Morrisons s
  
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• Boots closes 60 stores temporarily to move pharmacists to busier sites

  09-04-2020 11:47 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Boots to close 60 stores & move pharmacists to busier stores amid coronavirus pandemic
  // It’s part of an effort to have more pharmacists where they’re most needed
  // The first wave of temporary closures take effect from Good FridayBoots is set to temporarily close 60 of its stores in an effort to redeploy pharmacists to where they’re most needed in busier branches during the coronavirus pandemic.
  The health and beauty retailer said most of the stores affected would be i
  
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• Supermarkets could be a hotbed for infection according to new supercomputer modelling

  09-04-2020 11:13 via chargedretail.co.uk
  
  Supermarkets could be a hotbed for infection according to new research which used supercomputers to simulate the airborne spread of COVID-19.
  Finnish researchers studied how tiny airborne aerosol particles emitted when someone coughs or sneezes between in a supermarket can spread and hang in the air for a number of minutes.
  Around 30 specialists in fluid dynamics, aerosol physics, ventilation and biomedical engineering used a supercomputer to simulate and 3D model how the scenario would play out
  
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• Louis Vuitton to make free masks for frontline health workers

  09-04-2020 10:51 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Louis Vuitton to produce masks for frontline health workers
  // Five of its workshops will be converted amid the Covid-19 crisisLouis Vuitton has announced it will begin producing free masks for frontline health workers amid the coronavirus pandemic.
  The luxury retailer is converting five of its French workshops to make the masks.
  Louis Vuitton chairman Michael Burke praised workers who volunteered to make the non-surgical masks.READ MORE:Coronavirus: When will retail return to normal?
  Coronav
  
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• Coronavirus: 25% salary cuts for Westfield bosses

  09-04-2020 10:25 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield execs to donate 25% of income to Covid-19 causes
  // The donation comes as “a sign of solidarity with all employees”Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) executives have said they will donate 25 per cent of their salary to Covid-19 relief efforts.
  URW chief executive Christophe Cuvillier, chief financial officer Jaap Tonckens and the entire senior management team have agreed to temporarily cut their remunerations by 25 per cent.
  The donation comes as “a si
  
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• Coronavirus: Naked Wines forecasts £200m sales rise

  09-04-2020 10:03 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Naked Wines to see an excess of £200m in full-year 2020 revenues
  // The rise is due to the coronavirus lockdown increasing demand
  // High levels of demand recorded from both new and repeated customersNaked Wines has forecast a £200 million rise in its full-year 2020 revenues thanks to the coronavirus lockdown resulting in increased demand.
  The retailer said it had seen “higher levels of demand from both new and repeat customers” in all of its markets, particularly
  
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• Work & Pensions Secretary won’t condemn Tesco for £900m shareholder payout

  09-04-2020 10:01 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Work & Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey won’t “attack” Tesco for £900m dividend pay out
  // Tesco under scrutiny for the pay out despite securing a £585m tax break from the government
  // Coffey told ITV’s Robert Peston that Tesco deserved credit for its efforts in navigating the pandemic so farWork and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey has said she will not “attack” Tesco for its decision to pay huge dividends to shareholders while receiving
  
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• Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia seeks £50m funding

  09-04-2020 09:31 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Arcadia Group seeking to borrow up to £50m to shore up its future during coronavirus pandemic
  // It has approached banks about a new round of borrowing against its new distribution centre in Daventry
  // It is no clear if a deal has been reached yet.Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia Group retail empire is reportedly seeking to borrow up to £50 million against its distribution centre to support the business through the coronavirus crisis.
  According to Sky News, the fashion group
  
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• John Lewis to deliver care packages to UK’s busiest hospitals

  09-04-2020 09:13 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // John Lewis teams up with the British Medical Association to deliver care packages to frontline NHS staff
  // The “refuel & refresh boxes” are intended for staff working in high pressure clinical areas such as ICU
  // John Lewis is also creating a wellbeing area for medics & volunteers at the NHS Nightingale LondonJohn Lewis has teamed up with the British Medical Association (BMA) to deliver care packages to NHS staff on the coronavirus frontline across the UK’s busiest
  
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• Naked Wines gives Covid-19 trading update

  09-04-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Naked Wines has reported an increase in demand for its products from both new and existing customers since the Covid-19 related restrictions on social gatherings began.... View Article
  
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• M&S supports NHS response to Covid-19

  09-04-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Marks & Spencer is helping the NHS through the Covid-19 crisis by donating thousands of items of clothing to be used in NHS hospitals. The retailer... View Article
  
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