Retail news

• Pure Electric opens 11 new stores after Cycle Republic takeover

  22-06-2020 18:14 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // After its takeover of 11 Cycle Republic stores, emobility retailer Pure Electric will reopen those shops under its own fascia
  // Halfords sold Cycle Republic to Pure Electric in April
  // The deal secured the future of 11 stores and 85 jobsE-mobility retailer Pure Electric is set to reopen all 11 Cycle Republic shops under its own fascia by June 24.
  The Cycle Republic stores have undergone a conversion during lockdown and all 11 will reopen as Pure Electric by the end of this week.
  It comes af
  
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• 2/3 of Westfield London’s anchor stores could be turned into co-working space

  22-06-2020 17:49 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Westfield London submits plans to convert 2/3 of its anchor stores into co-working office spaces
  // The five anchor stores at the centre are House of Fraser, Next, M&S, Waitrose and DebenhamsWestfield London has submitted plans to convert a part of the space currently being used by anchor stores into co-working office space.
  About two-thirds of one of the shopping centre’s anchor stores could reportedly be redeveloped for office use, if plans are approved by council.
  House of Fraser
  
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• Soft rebound in footfall in week 1 of post-lockdown

  22-06-2020 17:10 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // UK retail enjoyed a soft rebound in footfall figures as the England and Northern Ireland
  // Overall UK footfall decreased 57.2% YoY, compared to previous week decline of 76.2% YoY, says BRC
  // Meanwhile, Springboard says overall footfall figures surged 45% week-on-weekThe reopening of non-essential retailers, including clothes shops and department stores in England led to soft rebound in customers heading to the high street, new data shows.
  According to a special release of the BRC-ShopperTra
  
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• Moody’s gives M&S negative outlook amid profitability concerns

  22-06-2020 15:54 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Moody’s revises M&S outlook to negative, reflecting issues around profitability & credit metrics
  // Moody’s confirms Ba1 senior unsecured long-term ratings of M&S & a (P)Ba1 long term medium-term note program rating
  // Moody’s also confirms M&S’s Ba1-PD probability of default ratingInfluential credit ratings firm Moody’s has revised M&S’s outlook to negative to reflect what it views as issues around the retailer’s profitability
  
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• Shopper numbers surged 45% in week English shops reopened

  22-06-2020 15:45
  
  Footfall down 54% compared with 2019, but uplift expected when Scotland and Wales reopensCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageShoppers flocked back to the high streets in England over the past week as non-essential stores reopened but numbers remained well down on a year earlier, according to the latest survey of retail footfall.Springboard, a company that measures the number of potential customers at retail outlets across the UK, found that footfall in the week star
  
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• Hunter creative director Alasdhair Willis resigns

  22-06-2020 14:06 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Alasdhair Willis, Hunter’s creative director, resigns from business
  // Willis will focus on existing consultancies and develop new opportunities
  // He was also appointed senior advisor to Hunter’s new majority shareholder, Atypical PartnerHunter has announced that Alasdhair Willis has taken the decision to stand down from his role as creative director at the end of July.
  The footwear retailer and brand said Willis was stepping down to focus on his existing brand consultancies, his
  
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• Go Outdoors’ future uncertain as JD Sports files for court protection

  22-06-2020 13:31 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // JD Sports files for court protection for Go Outdoors to keep creditors at bay
  // The 10-day moratorium would ensure that creditors cannot take legal action without permission of the court.
  // Follows speculation that JD Sports was on the brink of plunging Go Outdoors into administrationJD Sports has filed for court protection for its subsidiary Go Outdoors to keep creditors at bay as it mulls over what to do with the business.
  The camping and hiking retailer’s owner said a 10-day m
  
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• 15% drop in minors being checked for ID during online grocery deliveries

  22-06-2020 13:20 via chargedretail.co.uk
  
  Online grocers are failing to check for identification while delivering alcohol and cigarettes thanks to the need for socially distanced deliveries.
  According to new research conducted by retail age-check company Serve Legal, the number of teenagers being asked for ID at doorsteps has dropped 15 per cent since April.
  The research suggested that the rise in retailers using third party delivery companies, such as Deliveroo, to meet a spike in demand was partly to blame.
  It also suggested that rush
  
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• Shopware 6 now available as a cloud solution 

  22-06-2020 13:15 via retailgazette.co.uk
  At this year’s purely digital Community Day, Shopware announced that a cloud solution has now been added to their product portfolio: the so-called Starter Edition.
  With this addition, Shopware aims to support entrepreneurs and start-ups and make the possibilities offered by Shopware 6 more accessible to new market players with innovative ideas. The Starter Edition is the first of many steps in bringing Shopware’s breakthrough technologies to the cloud.
  “There are currently vari
  
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• JD Sports moves to appoint administrators for Go Outdoors

  22-06-2020 12:59
  UK clothing and equipment chain employs 2,400 people in 67 stores
  
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• 4 UK retailers under investigation for charging “excessive and unfair prices” for hand sanitiser

  22-06-2020 11:08 via chargedretail.co.uk
  
  Four UK pharmacies and convenience stores are being investigated for charging “excessive and unfair prices” for hand sanitiser after receiving thousands of complaints.
  The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it is investigating four retailers, which it has not yet identified, over price gouging concerns.
  It said that its probe into profiteering on hand sanitiser, which has seen demand skyrocket since the start of the pandemic, was still “at an early stage and no assump
  
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• 4 UK retailers under investigation for charging “excessive and unfair prices” for hand sanitise

  22-06-2020 11:08 via chargedretail.co.uk
  
  Four UK pharmacies and convenience stores are being investigated for charging “excessive and unfair prices” for hand sanitiser after receiving thousands of complaints.
  The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it is investigating four retailers, which it has not yet identified, over price gouging concerns.
  It said that its probe into profiteering on hand sanitiser, which has seen demand skyrocket since the start of the pandemic, was still “at an early stage and no assump
  
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• Mothercare updates on transformation plan as interim CEO announces departure

  22-06-2020 10:31 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Mothercare updates again on its transformation plan
  // Retailer will downsize head offices and sub-let warehouse space
  // Interim CEO Glyn Hughes will depart retailer on June 30Mothercare on Monday revealed it will move head offices and is in discussions with new debt providers as part of an update on its transformation plan.
  The embattled baby care and maternity retailer said it “remain[s] on track to become a profitable international franchise operation”, via what it describes a
  
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• Morrisons launches hot food takeaway service

  22-06-2020 10:02 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Morrisons re-opens all 402 of its supermarket cafés with take-away offering
  // Customers call a hotline to be put through to their nearest store
  // Morrisons has also teamed up with Deliveroo to offer takeaway food deliveryAll 402 of Morrisons supermarket cafés will now offer a hot food-to-go service.
  The Big Four retailer will sell breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner from its cafés, with all items on the menu prepared by hand in Morrisons cafés and packaged
  
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• Alistair Darling supports emergency VAT cut, but retailers warn it could encourage use of cash

  22-06-2020 09:34 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Alistair Darling urges Government to consider emergency cut in VAT
  // Retailers raise concerns over increase in cash transactions if VAT rates are cutThe former Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling has urged the Government to “boost consumer spending” by cutting the standard rate of VAT.
  Writing in a foreword for a report by think tank Policy Exchange, Darling said a tax cut to stimulate consumer spending made sense.READ MORE: VAT could be slashed to boost consumer spendin
  
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• Bira welcomes Government’s extension of eviction ban for retailers

  22-06-2020 08:56 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // BIRA supports Government’s decision in extending ban on retail evictions
  // Rents for the 3 months to September 29 are due this Wednesday, but struggling retailers can avoid being evicted until September 30
  // Non-essential retailers in England were permitted to reopen from June 15, originally providing just one week of trading before quarterly rent payments were due on June 24.The British Independent Retailers Association (BIRA) has announced its support of the Government’s decis
  
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• Art of Fashion: jewellery

  22-06-2020 06:09
  
  Lucia Silvestri reflects on four decades at Bulgari, fashion designers photograph their jewellery and George Easton dreams up jewels for ‘The Crown’
  
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• Bulgari’s dynamic duo: Jean-Christophe Babin and Lucia Silvestri

  22-06-2020 06:00
  The CEO and creative director reflect on design, Covid-19 and nine years of growth under LVMH
  
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• UK retail footfall up 45% last week

  22-06-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  New figures have shown that footfall across UK retail locations increased by 45% last week from the previous seven day period as non-essential stores in England reopened following the... View Article
  
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• THG signs agreements worth £100m with new beauty brands

  22-06-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  The Hut Group’s technology services division, THG Ingenuity, has signed major partnership agreements with beauty brands Elemis, PZ Cussons Beauty, Burt’s Bees, Nuxe, By Terry and Revolution Beauty. The... View Article
  
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• Studio Retail says trading is well ahead of last year

  22-06-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Studio Retail has said trading has been well ahead of last year in the first eleven weeks of its new financial year. Sales increased by 55%... View Article
  
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• Retailers redouble efforts to help customers beat the queues as lockdown eases

  22-06-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Validify partners with the British Retail Consortium to highlight in-store tech innovation with latest Rapid Response Report as non-essential retail stores reopen. As some Brits queued... View Article
  
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• Reiss begins selling face masks in its stores and online

  22-06-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  UK fashion retailer Reiss has begun making reusable non-medical face masks available for purchase in its UK stores and online. All profits from the sales will... View Article
  
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• Pure Electric opens 11 new electric scooter and bike stores

  22-06-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Following its take over of 11 Cycle Republic stores owned by Halfords, e-mobility retailer Pure Electric will have reopened all the shops under its own fascia by 24 June. The... View Article
  
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• John Lewis to open a further nine department stores this week

  22-06-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  John Lewis is to reopen nine more department stores this coming Thursday following the successful reopening of an initial 13 shops last week. The stores are situated... View Article
  
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• JD Sports prepares to put Go Outdoors into administration

  22-06-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  JD Sports has said it is exploring options for its Go Outdoors business and has confirmed that it has started the process of putting it into administration.... View Article
  
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• DPD to create 6,000 new jobs in response to boom in online shopping

  22-06-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  DPD is to create 6,000 new jobs across the UK as a result of the boom in online shopping due to the Covid-19 crisis. The new jobs will... View Article
  
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• Beaverbrooks enjoys strong trading post-lockdown

  22-06-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Beaverbrooks has reported a surge in revenue since its stores reopened last week after sales rose by 30% year-on-year on the first day of trading alone. The jeweller said it benefited from... View Article
  
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