Retail news

• Clarks cuts 900 jobs as it strengthens digital push

  21-05-2020 19:13
  New chief executive says company is too complex and bureaucratic
  
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• Swarovski welcomes its first ever company-wide creative director

  21-05-2020 17:32 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Swarovski hires Giovanna Battaglia Engelbert as creative director
  // She will be responsible for the full creative direction of the company
  // Her products will be showcased in the spring/summer 2021 collectionSwarovski has appointed Giovanna Battaglia Engelbert as its first ever company-wide creative director.
  Engelbert will oversee the full creative direction of the company and “reimagine theproduct portfolio across all divisions”.
  The first products designed by her will be show
  
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• Retail profit warnings in first quarter of 2020 exceed 2019

  21-05-2020 17:18 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // New research found that FTSE retailers issued 38 profit warnings in first 3 months of 2020
  // 28 of the warnings issued by listed retailers cited Covid-19FTSE retailers have issued 38 profit warnings in the first three months of 2020, surpassing the total number recorded in the sector in 2019, new research found.
  According to EY’s latest Profit Warnings Report, 28 of the warnings issued by listed retailers cited Covid-19, with many businesses experiencing an abrupt slowdown as a result
  
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• Big Interview: Dennis Schmoltzi, CEO, Emma Mattress

  21-05-2020 16:34 via retailgazette.co.uk
  For Dennis Schmoltzi, Emma Mattress was a gateway into the retail industry.
  He co-founded the online bedding retailer in Frankfurt in 2015 with Max Laarmann and Benjamin Quiroga-Rivera, and has since then expanded the bed-in-a-box service to 21 countries spanning three continents.
  To drive the retailer, Schmoltzi drew on seven years’ experience as a consultant at McKinsey & Company, especially his understanding of how to build a business and to remain agile.
  “I was consulting ban
  
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• Clarks to cut nearly 1,000 head office jobs

  21-05-2020 14:59
  
  Retailer grapples with market changes and coronavirus-related financial strainCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageClarks is cutting 900 jobs as the loss-making British retailer grapples with the growth of online shoe shopping as well as the financial strain of coronavirus-related store closures.The 195-year-old British brand, which employs nearly 10,000 people, said it was cutting nearly 1,000 head office staff as part of a turnaround plan. Continue reading...
  
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• Pets at Home pays dividend but warns on outlook

  21-05-2020 14:49
  Chain experienced initial sales surge during lockdown but profits expected to shrink
  
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• Online sex doll, lingerie and sex toy sales skyrocket during lockdown

  21-05-2020 14:17 via chargedretail.co.uk
  
  Online sales of sex dolls, sex toys and lingerie have skyrocketed during lockdown as shoppers stuck at home look for new ways to entertain themselves.
  Missguided reported this week that its lingerie sales had spiked a whopping 300 per cent since lockdown was imposed on March 23.
  Sales of black bralettes have jumped 18 per cent across the UK since the start of lockdown, according to the online fashion retailer, while high wasted pants saw a sales rise of 15 per cent.
  Meanwhile Sex Doll Genie, whi
  
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• Morrisons to offer support for domestic abuse victims as govt mulls codeword scheme

  21-05-2020 14:00 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Morrisons to offer safe spaces where victims of domestic abuse can contact support services
  // The govt is also planning a codeword scheme, where a specific phrase could be used to alert shop workers to escape danger
  // The Morrisons staff and shop workers under the govt’s plans would be specifically trainedMorrisons has become the first grocery chain to offer a safe space for domestic abuse victims as the UK Government mulls a codeword scheme to help them escape from danger.
  A specific
  
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• Clarks slashes 900 jobs amid Made to Last turnaround strategy

  21-05-2020 12:48 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Clarks to slash 900 office jobs as part of a major shake-up to revitalise the business
  // This will consist of 160 immediate redundancies followed by another 700 in the next 18 months
  // Clarks says the job cuts will be partially balanced by the creation of around 200 new rolesClarks is set to slash around 900 office jobs as part of a major shake-up to revitalise the business for a post-coronavirus climate and as it enters its third century of operation.
  The 195-year-old footwear retailer sai
  
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• Amazon launches first ever big-budget video game Crucible amid major push into the sector

  21-05-2020 11:00 via chargedretail.co.uk
  
  Amazon has released its first ever big-budget video game after setting up Amazon Game Studios eight years ago.
  Crucible is the online retailers free-to-play competitive shooter, released yesterday, that represents Amazon’s bid to cash in on the runaway success of games like Fornite, Apex Legends and Call of Duty: Warzone.Amazon Game Studios, set up in 2012, has until now focused on more casual tablet games, but its latest big-budget title has drawn speculation the compa
  
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• Urban Outfitters store sales to drop 60% due to Covid-19

  21-05-2020 10:57 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Urban Outfitters online sales rise in first quarter
  // It warned that store sales could be down by over 60% in the second quarterUrban Outfitters has said it expects store sales to be down by over 60 per cent in the second quarter due to “tepid” demand during the Covid-19 pandemic.
  Despite this, there had been a 63 per cent rise in new online customers in the first quarter, while home products and casualwear were “overperforming”.
  The group, which includes retaile
  
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• DFS and Furniture Village to begin reopening handful of stores

  21-05-2020 10:22 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // DFS and Furniture Village to reopen a handful of stores this week
  // DFS is set to open some of its shops on Friday
  // Furniture Village plans to open all 46 of its branches this SaturdayFurniture Village and DFS are preparing to reopen their stores in time for the bank holiday weekend.
  The homeware retailers began planning to reopen stores when the government changed its guidance earlier this month.
  DFS is set to open a handful of its shops on Friday, while Furniture Village plans
  
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• Pets at Home revenue reaches £1bn for first time

  21-05-2020 09:58 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Pets at Home full-year profits and sales rise
  // Underlying pre-tax profit rose to £99.5m in the 52 weeks to March 26
  // Group revenue in the year rose 10.2% reaching £1 billionPets at Home has seen its full-year profits and sales rise but cautioned that the costs from the Covid-19 pandemic will impact its business in the year ahead.
  The pet goods retailer said its underlying pre-tax profit rose to £99.5 million in the 52 weeks to March 26.
  Group revenue in the year rose 10.
  
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• Superdrug the first retailer to offer DIY Covid-19 antibodies testing kit

  21-05-2020 09:56 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Superdrug becomes first retailer to offer DIY kit to test for Covid-19 antibodies.
  // It costs £69 and users need to take a blood sample at home which is sent off for testing
  // Superdrug said it was “confident” in the accuracy and reliability of the test but experts have expressed cautionSuperdrug has become the first high street retailer to offer a DIY kit to test for Covid-19 antibodies.
  The testing kit costs £69 and users need to take a blood sample at home which i
  
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• M&S poaches Asda’s George VP for online clothing boss

  21-05-2020 09:36 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // M&S raids Asda’s George for online clothing boss
  // M&S’s new ecommerce director is the commercial vice-president of Asda’s George brand, Stephen Langford
  // He will report to M&S’s new clothing and home managing director, Richard PriceMarks & Spencer has raided the senior ranks of Asda’s George division to hire Stephen Langford as the head of its online clothing arm.
  Langford will start at M&S as ecommerce director in just over a week&rs
  
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• Matalan reopens 15 stores based on “essential” homewares guidance

  21-05-2020 09:10 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Matalan reopens 15 stores
  // Reopenings come after change in government guidance that included homeware on essential retailers list
  // 417 Matalan staff have reportedly returned to work and been taken off the government’s furlough schemeMatalan has reportedly started to reopen stores in retail parks across England this week.
  According to Drapers, the value retailer is reopening these stores based on a change in government guidance on May 1 that included homeware on the list of essential
  
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• Welcome Break to reopen 72 food and beverage units by 4 June

  21-05-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Welcome Break has said it will have reopened 72 Starbucks, KFC and/or Burger King units across its 26 motorway service areas by 4 June. The company... View Article
  
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• Ted Baker appoints global creative director

  21-05-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Ted Baker has announced that Anthony Cuthbertson is to join the fashion retailer in the newly created role of global creative director. Due to take up... View Article
  
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• Ted Baker appoints Anthony Cuthbertson as global creative director

  21-05-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Ted Baker has announced that Anthony Cuthbertson is to join the fashion retailer in the newly created role of global creative director. Due to take up... View Article
  
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• Sensormatic Solutions launches COVID-19 toolkit for retail success

  21-05-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Real-Time Occupancy, thermal imaging and physical barrier solutions help create a safer store environment now and for retailers reopening in the future.   Johnson Controls have... View Article
  
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• Pets at Home revenue passes £1 billion for first time

  21-05-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Pets at Home has posted record group revenue in the year to 26 March with an uplift of 10.2% to just over £1 billion. This helped... View Article
  
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• Marks & Spencer appoints new online clothing head

  21-05-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Marks & Spencer has hired Stephen Langford to head up its online clothing business. Due to take up his ecommerce director position in just over a... View Article
  
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• Co-op works with Buymie on same day grocery delivery service

  21-05-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  The Co-op has collaborated with Buymie on the introduction of same-day home grocery deliveries across Bristol. The partnership is the first in the UK for Ireland... View Article
  
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• Clarks to cut 900 jobs as part of turnaround plans

  21-05-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Footwear retailer Clarks is to make 900 corporate jobs redundant as part of its strategy to “re-energise“ its business. The retailer announced 160 redundancies today, 108... View Article
  
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