Retail news

• BT shocks shareholders but fibre investment is long overdue

  07-05-2020 20:13
  
  Covid-19 pandemic underlines need for superfast broadband and BT was left horribly exposedIt was only a few years ago that BT’s policy on dividends was to shoot for an increase of 10%, minimum, annually. That was downgraded to a “progressive” approach, meaning up a bit, in May 2017. Now shareholders’ rations are being suspended and, when a divi returns in the 2021-22 financial year, it’ll be at half the old level.Chairman Jan du Plessis and the new (ish) chief execu
  
  Read more

• Zalando: wear to go

  07-05-2020 18:27 via ft.com
  Online retailer’s partnerships with fashion brands should support growth and lift margins
  
  Read more

• Neiman Marcus and the demise of the US department store

  07-05-2020 17:45 via ft.com
  The coronavirus outbreak has accelerated the decline of America’s favourite shopping institution
  
  Read more

• 60% drop in H&M sales as lockdown affects business

  07-05-2020 17:14 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // H&M sales drop 60% due to coronavirus pandemic
  // 80% of stores remain closed globallyH&M has seen its sales drop by 60 per cent due to the impact of Covid-19 on trading.
  Between March 1 and May 6, group sales declined by 57 per cent year-on-year in local currencies, as 80 per cent of H&M’s stores remain closed.
  However, since the end of April, H&M has gradually started reopening stores in a number of markets where local restrictions and social distancing rules allow.REA
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Neiman Marcus files second big US retail bankruptcy of lockdown

  07-05-2020 16:34 via ft.com
  Upscale US department store follows J Crew as latest debt-burdened chain felled by pandemic
  
  Read more

• Neiman Marcus files for bankruptcy protection

  07-05-2020 16:34 via ft.com
  Upscale US department store chain is latest debt-burdened retailer felled by coronavirus
  
  Read more

• eCommerce Marketing: 3 Strategies to come back stronger after a crisis

  07-05-2020 16:25 via retailgazette.co.uk
  The retail sector has been one of the most affected ones during the coronavirus crisis. Now is a crucial time for eCommerce leaders and marketers to plan their comeback and create a path forward.
  What are some of the immediate actions you can take? And what are the medium to long term tactics you should deploy?
  Watch the webinar and hear from our eCommerce experts how to navigate the current situation and ensure your business will thrive again:
  Key topics include:Which marketing tactics deliver
  
  Read more

• Hotel Chocolat to reopen high st stores before launching takeaway sites

  07-05-2020 16:06 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Hotel Chocolat looks to reopen high street and self-standing independent stores first
  // The retailer is set to launch a trial which will see it reopen some stores as takeaway locationsHotel Chocolat has said it is preparing to reopen high street and self-standing independent stores first, ahead of a trial to reopen a number of stores as takeaway locations from next week.
  Co-founder and chief executive Angus Thirlwell said the confectionery retailer would open five or six stores next week as
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• The dos & don’ts retailers should consider post lockdown

  07-05-2020 15:57 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Given the extent of the impact of Covid-19 on retailers, it would be hard to imagine that retail would return to normal – at least swiftly – after lockdown.
  As the UK nears the end of the government-mandated shuttering of non-essential shops and high street businesses nationwide, retailers are seeking guidance from trade bodies on how to go about reopening.
  Even if non-essential stores were allowed to reopen in some capacity, with the likelihood of restricted visitor numbers and redu
  
  Read more

• M&S expands NHS t-shirt range as it continues fundraising efforts

  07-05-2020 14:09 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Marks & Spencer’s newest t-shirt design features a nod to the #ClapForOurCarers initiative
  // M&S’ “All in This Together” t-shirt is one of its fastest selling t shirts everMarks & Spencer is launching new designs of its “All in This Together” t-shirt as it continues to support #ClapForOurCarers amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
  Two weeks ago M&S launched the first batch of its t-shirts for the whole family in aid of NHS Charities Togethe
  
  Read more

• BRC urges govt to let retailers decide when to reopen

  07-05-2020 14:04 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // The BRC calls on the government to reconsider any plans for phasing the reopening of retail stores
  // It says retailers should decide when they’re ready to reopen post-lockdown
  // It also argues that safety & a risk-based approach should be the key basis for making decisions on reopening, not store sizesThe BRC has called on the UK Government to reconsider any plans for phasing the reopening of retail stores for when lockdown restrictions begin to ease.
  The Times today publishe
  
  Read more

• Next to create new chain of upmarket beauty halls

  07-05-2020 13:55
  
  Retailer swooping on stores vacated by struggling firms to create The Beauty Hall from NextNext is swooping on stores vacated by struggling retailers to create a new chain of upmarket beauty halls in large shopping centres.Next chief executive Simon Wolfson said on Thursday that the retailer intended to “create a new force in beauty retailing” as it confirmed plans to lease the beauty hall floors of five axed Debenhams stores in malls owned by the property firm Hammerson. Continue re
  
  Read more

• Zalando expects double-digit business growth in 2020

  07-05-2020 13:16 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Zalando’s growth outlook is significantly above the overall fashion market
  // Despite the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak, Zalando aims to grow its GMV by 10-20%Zalando is anticipating double-digit growth in 2020 despite the challenging trading environment due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.
  The retailer aims to grow its gross merchandise volume by 10-20 per cent and its revenue in the same range.
  The company expects to be clearly profitable with an adjusted EBIT between €100 millio
  
  Read more

• JD Sports says blocking Footasylum merger is 'absurd' amid Covid-19 crisis

  07-05-2020 12:47
  
  Competition and Markets Authority’s decision fails to take account of fallout from pandemic, sports retail chain saysJD Sports Fashion has criticised the competition watchdog for paving the way for potential job losses after the retailer was blocked from merging with a struggling rival, Footasylum.Peter Cowgill, the executive chairman of the UK’s largest sports retailer, said the company “fundamentally disagreed” with the Competition and Markets Authority’s decision
  
  Read more

• Coronavirus: John Lewis reveals changes in shopping habits

  07-05-2020 12:07 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // John Lewis Partnership publishes new findings based on shopping habits amid Covid-19
  // At Waitrose, basket sizes doubled during the second week of lockdown
  // The John Lewis website saw a slight dip in traffic around 5pm as people tuned in for the government briefingJohn Lewis Partnership has published its latest annual shopping trends report that reveals new changes in Brits’ habits during the coronavirus lockdown.
  The group teamed up with OnePoll to research 2000 UK adults during the
  
  Read more

• The Works sales skyrocket 81% during Covid-19 lockdown

  07-05-2020 11:16 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // The Works online sales rise during Covid-19 lockdown
  // Revenue rose by 3.5% year-on-year for the 12 months to April 26The Works has seen its online sales more than triple during the coronavirus lockdown while its stores remain closed.
  The discount retailer said its like-for-like sales in stores and online increased by a colossal 81 per cent in the week to March 22.
  Meanwhile, revenue rose by 3.5 per cent year-on-year for the 12 months to April 26.READ MORE:Coronavirus: When will retail
  
  Read more

• Ocado shareholders revolt against CEO’s £54m bonus

  07-05-2020 10:53 via chargedretail.co.uk
  
  Ocado’s shareholders yesterday revolted against “excessive” pay rises for its executives, including a £54 million bonus for its chief executive.
  The online grocer’s shareholders expressed their opposition to an £88 million bonus pay out for its top executives during its annual general meeting (AGM) yesterday.
  Nearly 30 per cent of shareholders, including US investment giant BlackRock and UK investment firm Royal London, voted against the pay-out marking a six
  
  Read more

• Superdry mulls financing options as coronavirus hits sales

  07-05-2020 10:11 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Superdry reports 19.1% slump in full-year sales to £705.5m, exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic
  // Results were compounded by a 57% plunge in stores sales in its fourth quarter due to the lockdown
  // Superdry is in talks with its lenders and potential new financing providers regarding additional liquiditySuperdry has revealed a slump in full-year sales, which was exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic and a plunge in quarterly store sales due to the lockdown.
  The fashion retailer s
  
  Read more

• Coronavirus: White Stuff to make “significant” job cuts

  07-05-2020 10:02 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // White Stuff to make job cuts due to Covid-19 impact on business
  // The retailer has 1500 colleagues across 120 storesWhite Stuff is reportedly set to make redundancies at its head office in an effort to prepare the business for a reduction in demand and opening hours due to the Covid-19 crisis.
  The lifestyle retailer has over 1500 workers across 120 stores in the UK, and has told its sales and head office staff that it is opening a consultation on potential job cuts.
  Although the number
  
  Read more

• Next swoops in on empty Debenhams beauty halls for new concept

  07-05-2020 09:33 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Next signs new flexible leases to take over the existing beauty halls in five Debenhams stores to close
  // These will be run as standalone Next premium beauty halls – a new concept for the retailer
  // The concepts are part of Hammerson’s wider strategy to repurpose and reduce department store spaceNext has signed new flexible leases to take over the existing beauty halls in Debenhams stores that are set to permanently close down in five Hammerson shopping centres.
  The fashion reta
  
  Read more

• 1400 job cuts as Debenhams permanently shuts another 5 stores

  07-05-2020 09:09 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Another 5 Debenhams stores will not reopen after lockdown, resulting in 1400 job losses
  // This brings its total store closures to 16 since it fell into administration last month
  // The five stores are in Birmingham, Reading, Glasgow, Leicester and CroydonDebenhams has announced that another five of its UK stores will not reopen following the easing of lockdown restrictions, bringing its total store closures since administration to 16.
  The retailer said that despite “best efforts”
  
  Read more

• The decline of an American institution

  07-05-2020 06:00 via ft.com
  How the coronavirus outbreak has accelerated the demise of US department stores
  
  Read more

• An abrupt end to the UK furlough scheme would be self-defeating | Nils Pratley

  07-05-2020 01:01
  
  The Treasury cannot afford to spend £10bn a month indefinitely, but a cliff-edge end to Covid-19 wage subsidies is not the answerWhat’s the safest way for Rishi Sunak to wind down his wage-support furlough scheme? Well, start by finding the correct language. The imagery in the current political talk about “weaning” businesses off an “addiction” is absurd.When the chancellor introduced the coronavirus job retention scheme on 20 March, he said it was to “p
  
  Read more

• Zalando forecasts sales growth of 10% to 20% in 2020

  07-05-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Online fashion retailer Zalando expects to increase its full year gross merchandise volume by between 10% and 20%, despite a slowdown in sales during March due... View Article
  
  Read more

• The Works boosted by strong online sales during lockdown

  07-05-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  The Works has posted a 3.5% uplift in revenue in the year to 26 April as it benefited from a boost to online sales during the... View Article
  
  Read more

• Superdry sales plunge during covid-19 crisis

  07-05-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Superdry has said its fourth quarter performance has been “substantially impacted” by the coronavirus pandemic. Group revenue was down 36.9% in the three month period after... View Article
  
  Read more

• Next to launch new beauty hall concept in former Debenhams stores

  07-05-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Next is to launch a new premium beauty format in five of Hammerson’s flagship shopping centres. Called The Beauty Hall from Next, the new concept will... View Article
  
  Read more

• Debenhams to close a further five department stores

  07-05-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Debenhams is to close an further five department stores in a move that will put 1,000 jobs at risk. The shops are all situated in Hammerson... View Article
  
  Read more

Follow @retailuknws on Twitter!