Retail news

• Coronavirus: shoppers in England must wear face masks from 24 July

  13-07-2020 23:30
  
  Fines of up to £100 could be handed out for non-compliance under measures to be announced on TuesdayAfter mixed messages and mess-ups, Johnson bows to the inevitable | Analysis Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageFace masks will become mandatory in shops across England, ministers are to announce on Tuesday, following mixed messages, a cabinet split and mounting pressure on Boris Johnson to change public advice.New legislation will not come into force until Fri
  
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• After mixed messages and mess-ups, Johnson bows to the inevitable

  13-07-2020 23:30
  
  Apparent indecision over new policy to contain spread of Covid-19 won’t help people seeking clear guidanceFace masks must be worn in shops across England from 24 JulyCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageMaking facing coverings in English shops mandatory had increasingly appeared an inevitable next step in the government’s campaign against coronavirus after the prime minister appeared wearing one on Friday, and mused about taking a stricter approach.On Sun
  
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• Asda equal pay dispute goes to UK supreme court in virtual hearing

  13-07-2020 21:34
  
  Retailer wants justices to overturn verdict to pay shop workers same as depot staffAsda supermarket workers’ long-running legal battle to receive pay equal to their colleagues who work in the company’s warehouses is being considered in a virtual hearing that got under way at the supreme court.About 35,000 retail workers, the majority of whom are women, have filed claims asking to be paid the same as the predominantly male staff who work in the chain’s distribution depots, and w
  
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• Asda equal pay dispute goes to supreme court in decisive virtual hearing

  13-07-2020 21:13
  
  Retailer wants UK’s highest court to overturn verdict to pay shopworkers same wages as warehouse colleaguesAsda shopworkers’ long-running legal battle to receive pay equal to their colleagues who work in the supermarket’s warehouses is being considered in a virtual hearing that got underway at Britain’s supreme court on Monday.About 35,000 retail workers, who are mostly women, have filed claims asking to be paid the same as the predominantly male staff who work in the cha
  
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• Rishi Sunak cannot just hope other big firms will follow Primark's example | Nils Pratley

  13-07-2020 21:06
  
  Declining ‘job retention bonus’ was honourable and underlined £9.4bn scheme’s shockingly poor designRishi Sunak, the chancellor, readily conceded last week that there would be a “dead weight” cost to his policy of offering firms a £1,000 bonus for every employee recalled from furlough and kept in employment until the end of next January. That weight is the waste of rewarding firms for doing what they would have done anyway as the economy reopens.So it is
  
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• Boohoo shares drop 18% as new Leicester factory reports threaten sales

  13-07-2020 20:45
  
  More than £500m wiped off as US analysts suggest firm’s UK growth could halveShares in Boohoo dived nearly 18% on Monday on concerns that revelations about poor conditions in Leicester garment factories might hit sales growth and increase costs.More than £500m was wiped off the value of the fast fashion site, unwinding nearly all the gains from a short rally on Thursday, amid new reports of problems at factories in the city where Boohoo sources a considerable portion of its sto
  
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• Halfords to close up to 60 sites despite rise in bike sales in lockdown

  13-07-2020 18:18
  
  Firm says surge failed to offset car-related losses, endangering hundreds of jobsHalfords has confirmed plans to close up to 60 stores and garages by April, as it accelerates its plans to withdraw from one in 10 of its sites.The cycle and car parts retailer said it hoped to move staff to other branches, but the closures could lead to hundreds of job losses. Halfords has already closed its Cycle Republic chain and five Halfords stores and garages. Related: Halfords predicts bicycle boom to contin
  
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• Asda equal pay battle to face Supreme Court

  13-07-2020 17:01 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Asda is facing an equal pay battle which is now heading to the Supreme Court
  // The case has been ongoing since 2016
  // Asda has hired David Pannick QC to help fight its appealAsda’s equal pay battle is heading to the Supreme Court on Monday over allegations brought forward by more than 43,000 supermarket workers.
  The Walmart-owned grocer is now asking the UK’s highest court to overturn earlier court rulings that found that the pay of store workers, who are mostly women, can be di
  
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• COMMENT: The Leicester factory scandal must prompt further change

  13-07-2020 16:12 via retailgazette.co.uk
  The spike in Covid-19 cases prompting the local lockdown in Leicester has been linked to garment factories in and around the city, raising issues around worker rights and working conditions.
  In particular, it has been alleged that workers in a factory supplying Boohoo are paid as little as £3.50 per hour and experience poor working conditions in which social distancing measures are absent.
  Fellow fast fashion retailer Quiz has also been embroiled in similar allegations, a move that saw it
  
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• Halfords to close 60 sites despite rise in bike sales in lockdown

  13-07-2020 15:56
  
  Firm says surge failed to offset car-related losses, endangering hundreds of jobsHalfords has confirmed plans to close 60 stores and garages by April, as it accelerates its plans to withdraw from one in 10 of its sites.The cycle and car parts retailer said it hoped to move staff to other branches, but the closures could lead to hundreds of job losses. Halfords has already closed its Cycle Republic chain and five Halfords stores and garages. Related: Halfords predicts bicycle boom to continue for
  
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• M&S welcomes ex-Debenhams director as new boss for brands

  13-07-2020 15:54 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // M&S hires new business lead of brands
  // Sarah Savva most recently served as project manager of new business development at PrimarkMarks & Spencer has appointed the former Debenhams director Sarah Savva as its new business lead of brands.
  Savva was most recently the project manager of new business development at Primark, and joined M&S earlier this month.
  She worked at department store chain Debenhams between 1989 and 2018, working her way up from finance controller to become
  
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• The Original Factory Shop announces new chairman & MD

  13-07-2020 13:17 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // The Original Factory Shop announces new leadership team
  // Matt Williams appointed executive chairman, Phil Briggs promoted to managing director
  // CEO Emma Fox and chairman Alistair McGeorge both stepped downThe Original Factory Shop has announced changes to its leadership team with the appointment of a new executive chairman and a new managing director.
  Matt Williams, who has been on the board at The Original Factory Shop as a non-executive director for six years, will now take up the role
  
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• Retailer Quiz drops Leicester manufacturer

  13-07-2020 13:14 via ft.com
  Group faces allegations of illegally low wages at factory making its clothes
  
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• Councils call on bailiffs again to secure unpaid business rates

  13-07-2020 13:01 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Councils have started drafting in bailiffs again to secure unpaid business rates
  // Bailiffs had been put on hold when the lockdown came into effect in MarchCouncils have started drafting in bailiffs again to secure unpaid business rates from local retailers, just days after the Chancellor set out the latest phase of the government’s plan to protect jobs.
  Bailiffs had been put on hold from enforcing the collection of outstanding business rates from troubled businesses after the lockdown
  
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• Quiz suspends clothing supplier over Leicester subcontractor concerns

  13-07-2020 12:43
  
  Subcontractor was alleged to be paying less than the minimum wage The fast fashion retailer Quiz has suspended a clothing supplier after a subcontractor in a Leicester factory was reported to be paying less than the minimum wage. Quiz also said it would carry out a full review of its procedures for auditing suppliers after finding the supplier used the subcontractor “in direct contravention of a previous instruction”. Continue reading...
  
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• Amazon temporarily bans TikTok from employee phones as security concerns grow

  13-07-2020 12:03 via chargedretail.co.uk
  
  Amazon instructed its employees to remove TikTok from their mobile devices due to “security risks” on Friday, before reversing its decision hours later.
  TikTok, the Chinese video sharing app which is fast becoming the go-to platform for retailers to reach Gen Z shoppers and boasts over 500 million users, has come under intense scrutiny over how it handles user data in recent weeks.
  Amazon sent an email to employees on Friday, seen by CNBC, informing them that if they have &ldquo
  
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• US liquidators give retailers ‘sticker shock’ over unsold goods

  13-07-2020 12:00 via ft.com
  Retailers are turning to liquidators to offload stock but are alarmed at how little they pay
  
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• Muji stores at risk as it files for bankruptcy protection

  13-07-2020 10:51 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Muji files for bankruptcy protection after falling £49 million in debt
  // The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated store closures
  // This marks the first time a major Japanese retailer has sought Chapter 11 protection due to the pandemicMuji has filed for bankruptcy protection after falling $64 million (£49 million) in debt as it struggles to survive amid increased rent payments.
  The Japanese home goods retailer said the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated store closures, while still h
  
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• Ted Baker faces investor revolt over plans to raise exec salaries

  13-07-2020 10:29 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Ted Baker faces shareholder revolt over executive salaries and bonuses
  // An advisory firm recommended that investors vote down the retailer’s remuneration policyTed Baker is facing backlash from its investors over plans to increase executive pay amid its battle for survival.
  Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) has recommended that investors vote down the retailer’s remuneration policy at its AGM next week.
  The advisory firm said that Ted Baker’s decision to increase ex
  
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• Primark rejects £30m windfall with John Lewis set to follow

  13-07-2020 10:00 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Primark declines government’s offer to take back furloughed workers into full employment
  // John Lewis is not expected to collect any money from the Treasury’s job retention bonus
  // Under the scheme, companies can be paid £1000 for every worker brought back from furloughPrimark has rejected the government’s call to taking back furloughed workers into full employment, declining a potential windfall of about £30 million – with John Lewis set to follow its st
  
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• Quiz suspends Leicester supplier over living wage conditions

  13-07-2020 09:50 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Quiz suspends work with Leicester supplier over living wage allegations
  // The fast fashion retailer said it would also investigate the allegations
  // The news comes after Boohoo was embroiled in a similar controversy over Leicester factory working conditionsQuiz has suspended work with one of its suppliers amid allegations of non-compliance with National Living Wage requirements in a factory making its clothing in Leicester.
  The fast fashion retailer said it would also investigate the allega
  
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• Halfords eyes 60 store closures despite rising sales

  13-07-2020 09:23 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Halfords earmarks 60 stores for closure despite publishing rising sales last week
  // Closures will include both garages & retail shops
  // Staff are expected to be moved to other shopsHalfords has reportedly earmarked 60 sites for closures after revealing earlier this month that it would ramp up its store closure scheme due to the coronavirus pandemic.
  According to The Telegraph, the closures will include both garages and retail shops, with staff expected to be moved to other shops.
  The cy
  
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• Footfall still low in June despite retail lockdown exit

  13-07-2020 08:57 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Footfall across UK shopping destinations fell by 56.6% throughout the month of June, Springboard says
  // This is an improvement on the 73.3% year-on-year decline recorded in May
  // Footfall for the week starting June 15 jumped by 40% against the previous week, but then it slowed for the remaining monthRetail footfall for June more than halved against the same month last year as shopper demand remains low despite the “turning point” of reopening thousands more stores.
  New figures f
  
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• Shoppers shun high streets in England and Northern Ireland, data shows

  13-07-2020 07:01
  
  Footfall down 65% in June compared with 2019, highlighting challenge for retail sector as lockdown eased
  Shoppers were allowed to return to the high street in June as stores began to reopen in England and Northern Ireland, but figures show that few chose to do so. Retail footfall collapsed by 65% compared with the same month last year, according to research by data company Springboard.The latest figures are an improvement on the 73% year-on-year decline in May, but highlight the challenges facin
  
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• Asda equal pay battle heads to Supreme Court

  13-07-2020 06:00 via ft.com
  Mainly female shop workers fight for parity with mostly male depot workers
  
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• Superdrug launches campaign to combat cyberbullying

  13-07-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Superdrug has launched an anti-bullying pledge as it looks to combat online trolling on social media platforms. The move came about after the retailer noticed a spike... View Article
  
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• Save your spot for this week’s Retail Customer Marketing webinar

  13-07-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  ​Make sure you save your spot for the Retail Customer Marketing Webinar this week to hear some of the sector’s most innovative retail leaders share the secrets... View Article
  
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• Quiz suspends work with supplier over living wage allegations

  13-07-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Quiz has suspended work with one of its suppliers while it investigates reports of an alleged instance of non-compliance with National Living Wage requirements in a factory making... View Article
  
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• Last chance to access today’s Retail Customer Marketing webinar

  13-07-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  ​Make sure you save your spot for the Retail Customer Marketing Webinar this week to hear some of the sector’s most innovative retail leaders share the secrets... View Article
  
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• Guide: Are you losing online sales?

  13-07-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Turn your online sales threats into opportunities…With online sales rapidly taking a larger portion of global consumption many brands are working intensively to boost their e-commerce... View Article
  
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• Desigual designs unlimited shopping experiences empowers retail staff, provides more personal customer experiences

  13-07-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  One of today’s most popular Spanish clothing brands, Desigual needed a single view of its customers, catalog, and stock to meet its goals for service and... View Article
  
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• Demand for retail slows after initial reopening rush

  13-07-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  New figures have shown that UK retail footfall dropped by 56.6% year-on-year in June compared to a fall of 73.3% in May. The data from Springboard... View Article
  
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• Centre:mk welcomes Dune London

  13-07-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Footwear retailer Dune London has launched its latest store concept and first shop to open post-lockdown at Centre:mk in Milton Keynes. Situated at 31 Silbury Arcade... View Article
  
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