Retail news

• The Guardian view on lifting the lockdown: not business as usual | Editorial

  05-05-2020 20:25
  
  Tory MPs fear that the growth of the role of the state is accepted as necessary by the publicCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe coronavirus pandemic has forced the British government to spend large amounts to keep its economy afloat and ensure the wellbeing of the public. Ministers did so without paying heed to questions of cost. They were right to forego such concerns. We are seeing wartime levels of spending, pushing deficits – and public debt – t
  
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• Virgin Atlantic job cuts were the only route to Treasury coffers

  05-05-2020 20:00
  
  Billionaire Branson will have a tough time getting a hearing for the fantastical £500m of state aid he requires. What did he expect?Here’s the bit Sir Richard Branson didn’t mention in his open letter to Virgin employees a fortnight ago: the only possible route to the Treasury’s wallet involves almost a third of the 10,000 staff at the Virgin Atlantic losing their jobs.The jobs decision hadn’t been taken at the time but Branson could still have foreshadowed an obvio
  
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• Majority of UK businesses 'need less than a week' to restart

  05-05-2020 19:18
  
  Survey of owners by the British Chamber of Commerce suggests readiness for when lockdown is easedThe majority of Britain’s business owners will need less than a week to restart operations following any loosening of the government lockdown, according to a weekly survey by the British Chamber of Commerce.The latest BCC tracker poll found that almost two-thirds of respondents employing fewer than 10 people said they would need less than seven days to get ready. Around half of respondents that
  
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• Ocado defends pay policies ahead of investor showdown

  05-05-2020 18:57
  Advisory groups urge votes against remuneration report in wake of £87m payout for top executives
  
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• Victoria’s Secret owner L Brands calls off £407m deal

  05-05-2020 18:16 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Victoria’s Secret owner L Brands scraps £407m deal with Sycamore Partners
  // The company aims to take the lingerie retailer privateVictoria’s Secret owner L Brands has called off a deal with private equity firm Sycamore Partners to take the retailer private, just three months after it had reached a $525 million (£407 million) agreement.
  L Brands said it is preparing for the lingerie retailer to operate as a separate company.
  The deal was already uncertain after Sy
  
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• Ocado faces shareholder revolt over £88m bonus payout

  05-05-2020 17:39
  
  Royal London leads opposition to sum shared by four Ocado bosses including CEOOcado is to face a shareholder rebellion over its “excessive” executive pay after four bosses banked an £88m bonus payout.The chief executive, Tim Steiner, was the biggest winner from the scheme, raking in £54m – one of the largest bonus payouts made by a listed UK company. Continue reading...
  
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• Waitrose to double online orders with new fulfilment centre

  05-05-2020 17:35 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Waitrose will open customer fulfilment centre on May 7
  // The grocer aims to double online grocery orders in London by SeptemberWaitrose has announced it will open a six-acre customer fulfilment centre in London this week in a bid to double its online grocery orders in the city by September.
  The centre will launch in Enfield on May 7 and will create 370 jobs which will rise to 850 when full capacity is reached.
  The facility will eventually add 13,000 weekly delivery slots for London cust
  
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• Trouva CEO Mandeep Singh replaced by co-founder Alex Loizou

  05-05-2020 15:46 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Trouva CEO Mandeep Singh exits role
  // Co-founder and CTO Alex Loizou takes the helmTrouva has announced that its co-founder and chief executive Mandeep Singh has stepped down from his role at the independent retailer-focused online marketplace after six years.
  Singh has been replaced by co-founder Alex Loizou, who has until now been chief technology officer and chief product officer.
  Loizou had been chief technology officer since 2013, and was taking on more leadership responsibilities
  
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• Brexit talks hurtling towards new crisis point, says Irish foreign minister

  05-05-2020 15:36
  
  Warning comes as study finds cost of checks on Northern Ireland supermarket deliveries could exceed £100,000 per lorryBrexit talks are hurtling to another crisis point unless progress is made in the next two rounds of talks, the Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney has said.His warning comes as industry analysis of deliveries from Britain to high street supermarket chains in Northern Ireland found that firms could incur costs of more than £100,000 per lorry unless the special Brexit
  
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• UK retail job vacancies plummet 79.7% in April

  05-05-2020 15:35 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Retail jobs plummeted by 79.7% in April on a month-on-month basis, says CV-Library
  // Year-on-year, it nose dived by 78.5%The latest job market data for the UK retail industry has shown a continuing decline in job vacancies last month due to the coronavirus crisis, plummeting by almost 80 per cent.
  According to data from CV-Library, job vacancies plummeted by 79.7 per cent in the retail sector in April on a month-on-month basis.
  Year-on-year, retail job numbers nose dived by 78.5 per cent.REA
  
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• Asos dramatically ramps up roll out of AR ‘See My Fit’ app to help protect the “wellbeing of our models and staff”

  05-05-2020 13:09 via chargedretail.co.uk
  
  Asos is dramatically accelerating its augmented reality (AR) “See My Fit” roll out, allowing users to accurately see what items look like in different sizes and on different body types.
  First launched in January, Asos’ AR tool digitally maps its products to 16 different real-life models with different heights and body shapes, ranging from size four to 18.
  Now Asos says it will digitally map hundreds of products to six different models every week, ensuring “product present
  
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• UK online grocery sales likely to surge by a quarter amid lockdown

  05-05-2020 13:03
  
  Supermarkets ramp up internet operations as coronavirus restrictions drive demandCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageOnline grocery sales are expected to surge by more than a quarter this year as the coronavirus lockdown prompts more families to shop from home.Supermarkets have ramped up online operations to serve millions more shoppers as fears of catching Covid-19 have driven demand from vulnerable shoppers, including the elderly, as well as families trying to avo
  
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• Sainsbury’s praises customers, staff and partners for £4.1m donation

  05-05-2020 12:42 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Sainsbury’s has revealed a donation of £4.1m has been sent to vulnerable people across the UK
  // It is also donating over 750,000 items from its Tu clothing range towards local communities & charitiesSainsbury’s has revealed that its customers, along with Argos, Habitat and Nectar customers have collectively raised over £1.9 million to Comic Relief and BBC Children in Need over the past three weeks – all of which was matched pound for pound.
  The UK government
  
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• Sainsbury’s praises customers, staff & partners for £4.1m donation

  05-05-2020 12:42 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Sainsbury’s has revealed a donation of £4.1m has been sent to vulnerable people across the UK
  // It’s also donating over 750,000 items from its Tu clothing range for local communities & charitiesSainsbury’s has revealed that its customers, along with Argos, Habitat and Nectar customers have collectively raised over £1.9 million for Comic Relief and BBC Children in Need over the past three weeks – all of which was matched pound for pound.
  The UK governme
  
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• The pandemic is yet to dampen demand for luxury goods resales

  05-05-2020 12:36
  If anything, it’s only made the most coveted more sought after, as online sellers adapt to cater for their clientele.
  
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• The pandemic is yet to dampen demand for luxury goods

  05-05-2020 12:36
  If anything, it’s only made the most coveted more sought after, as online sellers adapt to cater for their clientele.
  
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• Brooks Brothers seeks buyer as Covid-19 takes its toll

  05-05-2020 11:25 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Brooks Brothers seeks buyer as Covid-19 uncertainty impacts business
  // The retailer extended the sale process which was initially set in motion at the end of 2019Brooks Brothers is reportedly seeking a buyer after having extended a sale process which was initially set in motion at the end of last year.
  The US fashion retailer, which has over 250 stores in the world with many in the UK, has felt the impact of Covid-19 as uncertainty took its toll on trading.
  The potential transaction could be
  
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• Amazon VP quits “in dismay” over whistleblower sackings

  05-05-2020 11:08 via chargedretail.co.uk
  Amazon has seen the shock departure of one of its vice presidents who said remaining at the company would have meant “signing off on actions I despised”.
  Amazon Web Services (AWS) vice president Tim Bray quit the company abruptly yesterday “in dismay” over the company’s controversial sacking of two employees who were publicly critical of its labour practices.
  In a blog post on Friday, Bray said: “I quit in dismay at Amazon firing whistleblowers who were making
  
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• Businesses told it is “critical” to offer safe workplaces post Covid-19

  05-05-2020 10:03 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Health sec Matt Hancock has told employers it is “critical” to provide safe workplaces
  // The govt is in talks with trade unions about what rules should be in place post lockdownThe health secretary Matt Hancock has reportedly urged employers to provide safe workplaces post lockdown.
  Hancock said he is in talks with firms and trade unions about what rules should be in place, highlighting that it is “critical” to ensure social distancing measures are met, Sky News repor
  
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• Police called to Home Bargains’ South Shields store over social distancing row

  05-05-2020 10:00 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Police called to Home Bargains store in South Shields over social distancing row
  // Staff also staged a walk out over concerns on how many people were allowed in the store
  // Home Bargains has denied any failings and confirmed that social distancing measures were still in placePolice were called to a Home Bargains store near Newcastle yesterday over social distancing concerns that even prompted a staff walk out.
  Local media reported that the retailer’s store on Millbank Industrial Estat
  
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• Superdrug reduces rent payments as coronavirus impacts footfall

  05-05-2020 09:26 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Superdrug tells landlords it will reduce its rent payments for at least three months amid coronavirus crisis
  // It has been able to keep its stores open during the lockdown as it sells essentials
  // However, it says it experienced a dramatic fall in footfallSuperdrug has reportedly informed landlords it will reduce its rent payments for at least three months, despite keeping a number of its UK stores open during the lockdown.
  In a letter seen by the Financial Times, the health and beauty reta
  
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• Chancellor pledges no “cliff-edge” end to furlough scheme

  05-05-2020 09:08 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Chancellor Rishi Sunak promises no “cliff-edge” cut-off to the government’s furlough scheme
  // MPs were looking at ways to wind down the scheme & ease people back into work
  // Figures showed that 6.3m workers were having 80% paid by the Treasury at a cost of £8bn to the taxpayerChancellor Rishi Sunak has promised there will be no “cliff-edge” cut-off to the government’s furlough scheme to support workers through the coronavirus pandemic.
  The lates
  
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• J.Crew the first US retailer to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

  05-05-2020 08:55 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Owner of J.Crew files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the first US retailer to do so during coronavirus crisis
  // J.Crew had sought help from creditors to stay afloat during the restructuring process
  // Operations at J.Crew will continue: stores are closed for now but clothing is still available to purchase onlineThe owner of J.Crew is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the first major retailer to do so since the coronavirus pandemic forced the closure of most stores in the US
  
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• Amazon and eBay should be liable for faulty goods, says EU group

  05-05-2020 05:00
  Online marketplaces must be responsible for what they sell, says consumer organisation Beuc
  
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• Food deliveries to vulnerable in UK 'need better coordination'

  05-05-2020 01:01
  
  Consumer and disability rights groups say many struggling to access basics during pandemicCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageConsumer and disability rights groups have called on the government urgently improve the coordination of food deliveries for vulnerable people, warning that thousands are not getting the help they need during the pandemic.The consumer group Which? said it had been contacted by more than 1,000 people who were either disabled, elderly or had il
  
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• Waitrose to double grocery deliveries to London customers through new CFC

  05-05-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Waitrose is opening a six-acre customer fulfilment centre in London’s Enfield this week as part of plans to double its online grocery orders in the capital... View Article
  
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•  TTEC Hiring Over 3,500 Remote Contact Centre Agents in the United Kingdom

  05-05-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  TTEC, a leading digital global customer experience technology and services company focused on the design, implementation and delivery of transformative solutions for many of the world’s... View Article
  
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• Tesco supports UK potato growers during covid-19 crisis

  05-05-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Tesco has begun supporting UK potato growers who have been left with surplus stock due to the closure of restaurants and fast food outlets during the... View Article
  
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• Royal Mail, Post Office and eBay team up to support small retailers with top ten tips

  05-05-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Royal Mail, Post Office and eBay have teamed up to share ten tips to support small retailers and budding marketplace sellers who are increasingly selling and shipping... View Article
  
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• J. Crew files for bankruptcy protection in US

  05-05-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  J.Crew Group has become the first large retailer in the US to file for bankruptcy protection during the coronavirus crisis. The fashion retailer has commenced  Chapter... View Article
  
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