Retail news

• L’Oréal plots new look to boost cosmetics spending

  30-07-2020 20:36
  World’s biggest beauty group planning wave of new product launches and ad campaigns
  
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• Lloyds' gloomy message on UK recovery is based on more than pessimism | Larry Elliott

  30-07-2020 18:39
  
  Companies are stashing their government-funded bounce-back loans for good reasonWay back, when Britain had a much bigger industrial base than today, ICI’s results were seen as a sign of how well things were going. Times change and these days it is not a manufacturing giant like ICI but a high street bank that has taken on the role of the economy’s bellwether.If what’s happening at Lloyds Banking Group really is a reflection of what is happening to the UK as a whole – and
  
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• Casino shares dive most in decades as profits slide

  30-07-2020 18:25
  French supermarket chain enjoys Covid-19 sales bounce but costs weigh on earnings
  
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• Luxury industry: top-down fashion

  30-07-2020 17:30
  Do not read too much into the latest figures
  
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• John Lewis may turn surplus stores into affordable homes

  30-07-2020 17:14
  
  Partnership also plans to close some supermarkets and sell own-brand food at other retailersCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe owner of John Lewis and Waitrose is exploring turning its surplus retail space into affordable housing as the growth of online shopping forces it to close or scale back stores.Sharon White, who took over as John Lewis chairman in February, has embarked on an overhaul of the retail group, which has suffered a collapse in profits. Continu
  
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• Plastic bag usage drops 59% since 2019, research finds

  30-07-2020 17:13 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Plastic bag use has dropped 59% in just a year
  // Since 2015, sales of plastic bags have dropped 95% in big grocersNew research has found that the use of plastic bags in England has dropped by 59 per cent in just a year as shoppers reused their own bags.
  Sales of single-use carrier bags have dropped by 95 per cent in main supermarkets since introduction of 5p charge in October of 2015, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
  Over the past year, grocers inc
  
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• Furloughed workers to receive full redundancy payments under new law

  30-07-2020 16:19 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Furloughed workers who lose their jobs will receive redundancy pay based on their normal wage under new laws
  // This means statutory redundancy pay is not calculated on a reduced furlough rate
  // Ministers said the changes would also apply to statutory notice pay and other entitlementsFurloughed workers who lose their jobs will receive redundancy pay based on their normal wage under new laws being brought in today.
  Ministers said the move will ensure that furloughed employees receive statutor
  
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• M&S expands Mobile Pay Go tech to 310 stores

  30-07-2020 16:01 via chargedretail.co.uk
  
  Marks & Spencer is more than tripling the number of stores offering its Mobile Pay Go technology, allowing users to pay for goods with their smartphone without visiting the till.
  M&S has made yet another bold tech move as part of its “Never the Same Again” programme, and has expanded the rollout of its scan-and-go technology from 100 to 310 stores.Driven by the shift towards contact-free shopping amid the pandemic, M&S is aiming to bring its Mobile Pay Go technology to sh
  
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• 'Simple modern, discount shopping': the Argos catalogue through the years – in pictures

  30-07-2020 15:40
  
  The retail mainstay has been retired after 47 years. We look back at those classic – and not exactly classic – coversArgos to stop printing catalogue after nearly 50 yearsContinue reading...
  
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• 900 jobs at risk as Tui shutters 166 stores in response to Covid-19

  30-07-2020 15:33 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Tui will permanently shut 166 stores across UK & Ireland
  // The travel firm has witnessed a large shift to online
  // The amount of those wishing to travel has also decreased due to the coronavirus crisisMultinational travel and tourism company Tui has announced that 166 stores will shut across the UK and Ireland as shoppers shift online due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
  Tui said the closures will also take place due to the downturn in travel as a result of the ongoing crisis, which has left m
  
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• Use of plastic bags in England drops by 59% in a year

  30-07-2020 14:57
  
  Sales of single-use carrier bags drop by 95% in main supermarkets since introduction of 5p charge in 2015Shoppers’ use of plastic carrier bags in England has continued to fall – by 59% in the last year alone – since the introduction of the 5p charge, according to recent figures.Overall, sales of single-use plastic carrier bags have dropped by more than 95% in England’s main supermarkets since the charge was introduced in October 2015, government data reveals. Related: Pla
  
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• The Argos catalogue through the years – in pictures

  30-07-2020 14:05
  
  The retail mainstay has been retired after 47 years. We look back at those classic – and not exactly classic – coversArgos to stop printing catalogue after nearly 50 yearsContinue reading...
  
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• John Lewis Partnership mulls private rented housing in strategic review update

  30-07-2020 14:01 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // John Lewis Partnership chair Sharon White updates staff on strategic review, which was first announced in March
  // The letter outlined five strategic steps, featuring a reduction in HQ costs & “rebalancing” of store estate
  // Other features include the possibility of branching out to private housing/rentingJohn Lewis Partnership is exploring the possibility of branching out to private rented housing as part of five strategic steps to grow the business in a post-coronavirus mar
  
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• John Lewis looks to private homes to offset high street pain

  30-07-2020 13:49
  Social housing ventures to compensate for margin decline as chair seeks expansion ‘beyond retail’
  
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• CRMC Virtual Series

  30-07-2020 13:01 via retailgazette.co.uk
  The newly-designed CRMC Virtual Series will host Retail Marketers focused on re-entry strategies and comprised of case study presentations, group discussions, 1:1 meetups and social events.  Participants will learn from a diverse group of high level executives from top retail brands, and will have the opportunity to meet with industry-leading solution providers that are equipped to help retailers design their Blueprints for Re-Entry. Series 1 kicks off August 13th with presentations from L&
  
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• UK economic revival under way but jobs concerns grow

  30-07-2020 13:00
  
  Guardian analysis shows hit to workers gathering pace despite boost from lockdown easingUK Covid-19 cases fall but fears grow over jobs, spending and debtQ, U, V or W: what shape will Britain’s economic recovery be?Britain’s economy has begun to repair the damage from the coronavirus lockdown as restrictions are gradually lifted, despite mounting concern over the long-term damage to the jobs market, according to a Guardian analysis.As the government prepares to scale back the furloug
  
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• UK Covid-19 cases fall but fears grow over jobs, spending and debt

  30-07-2020 13:00
  
  Analysis of pandemic’s effects on businesses examines work, growth and stock marketsUK economic revival under way but jobs concerns grow
  Q, U, V or W: what shape will Britain’s economic recovery be?Continue reading...
  
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• John Lewis may turn surplus Waitrose stores into affordable homes

  30-07-2020 12:49
  
  Partnership also plans to close some supermarkets and sell own-brand food at other retailersCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe owner of John Lewis and Waitrose is exploring turning its surplus retail space into affordable housing as the growth of online shopping forces it to close or scale back stores.Sharon White, who took over as John Lewis chairman in February, has embarked on an overhaul of the retail group, which has suffered a collapse in profits. Continu
  
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• John Lewis considers closing more Waitrose stores

  30-07-2020 12:49
  
  Move comes amid overhaul and push to sell own-brand food at other retailersCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageMore Waitrose store closures may be on the way as the supermarket chain’s owner, John Lewis, signalled it was looking for new avenues of growth, including selling its food in other retailers’ stores and turning surplus shop space into housing.Sharon White, who took over as John Lewis chairman in February, has embarked on an overhaul of the retai
  
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• Rishi Sunak’s planned online sales tax is a tax on disability | Frances Ryan

  30-07-2020 12:00
  
  Designed to help the high street, it would instead hurt a group who are already more likely to be living in povertyThe Tories have adopted a “your country needs you” approach to Britain’s pandemic. It is our civic duty to get back to normal – to go shopping, eat out, use public transport and go out to work. Now the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, is floating the idea of an online sales tax in England to nudge the public to get out to the high street. The British Retail Consortiu
  
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• Wish.com slammed by ASA after “sexually graphic” ads appear on BBC Good Food app

  30-07-2020 11:54 via chargedretail.co.uk
  
  Wish.com has been slammed by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) after its adverts featuring sex toys and partially naked women were posted on the BBC’s Good Food Guide app.
  Wish, a US ecommerce marketplace known for selling cheap Chinese goods, has been reprimanded by the watchdog for posting adverts deemed “sexually graphic” on numerous apps “that should have been suitable for children”.
  The ASA received three complaints over adverts which appeared on the BB
  
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• Argos scraps catalogue after 47 years as consumers shift online

  30-07-2020 11:34 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Argos has stopped printing its catalogue after online shopping increases in popularity
  // The retailer was printing its catalogue just twice a year as more shoppers jumped onlineArgos has reportedly scrapped its catalogue division after 47 years as more customers use the Argos website either to order products for home delivery or collect in-store.
  In recent years, the retailer had been publishing its catalogue just twice each year as online shopping became preferable to print.
  The Sainsbury&r
  
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• UK car dealership Pendragon to cut 1,800 jobs

  30-07-2020 11:19
  
  Firm to shed head office and showroom staff as Covid-19 deepens industry crisis Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe UK car dealership Pendragon plans to cut 1,800 jobs, in the latest sign of the turmoil hitting the automotive industry because of the coronavirus crisis.Pendragon said 15 of its stores would be closed as a result of a review of its operations, which started before the pandemic, with 400 job losses. A further 1,400 redundancies will be made across i
  
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• Avoiding a bloodbath on the UK high street

  30-07-2020 11:00
  A shake-up of how retailers are taxed is long overdue
  
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• ScS “encouraged” by reopenings as orders skyrocket 92.2%

  30-07-2020 09:55 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // ScS order levels reach near-2019 levels since reopening
  // Store sales dropped by over 90% during the coronavirus lockdownScS has experienced a high level of orders to almost the same level as they were prior to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
  The furniture retailer said that since May 24, orders had increased by 92.2 per cent compared with the previous year.
  However, store sales plummeted by 92.5 per cent during the lockdown period as stores temporarily shut and consumers had to stay at
  
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• Government-backed Covid-19 loans expanded to retailers in deep debt

  30-07-2020 09:52 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Retailers banned from government-backed loans because they were too deep in debt can now access CBILS
  // They can borrow up to £5m if they have fewer than 50 employees & turn over below £9m a year
  // The government also announced £20m of funding to help small retailers recover from the pandemicRetailers and other businesses that were banned from government-backed loans because they were too deep in debt will now be able to tap into the Treasury’s coronavirus scheme
  
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• Westfield centres rental income hit by coronavirus

  30-07-2020 09:28 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Rental income at Unibail-Radamco-Westfield’s shopping centres hit as Covid-19 keeps shoppers away
  // However, they’ve hailed an “encouraging footfall recovery” since post-lockdown reopening
  // In the UK, was approaching 50% of 2019 levels but it’s higher in other parts of EuropeThe Westfield shopping centre empire has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic after a 14 per cent drop in half-year sales and rent collection nosediving by just over two-thirds.
  
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• Argos to stop printing catalogue after almost 50 years

  30-07-2020 09:21
  
  Move towards online shopping sounds death knell for catalogue once found in three-quarters of UK homesArgos is to stop printing its catalogue after almost 50 years as the buying bible once found in three-quarters of British homes is claimed by the inexorable move to online shopping.Over 1bn copies of the bi-annual catalogue have been printed since its launch in 1973, and at its height it was Europe’s most widely-printed publication, with only the bible in more homes across the UK. Continue
  
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• Brookfield mall unit makes concessions over $6.4bn debt

  30-07-2020 04:51
  Deal for group’s property arm imposes dividend restrictions as retail fallout grows
  
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• Your Payroll Isn’t Good Enough

  30-07-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Why payroll maturity matters   Webinar Wed 12th August. 1-2pm – In partnership with HR Grapevine. Has your Payroll operation been ‘wow’, ‘m’eh’ or ‘yikes’ over... View Article
  
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• WEBINAR: Your Payroll Isn’t Good Enough

  30-07-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Why payroll maturity matters   Webinar Wed 12th August. 1-2pm – In partnership with HR Grapevine. Has your Payroll operation been ‘wow’, ‘m’eh’ or ‘yikes’ over... View Article
  
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• The human touch: A resilient frontline remains critical to retail’s post-covid-19 recovery

  30-07-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  If retail businesses are going to survive and thrive in retail’s “new normal”, empowerment and career development of frontline staff must be at the heart of... View Article
  
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• ScS posts strong growth in post-lockdown sales

  30-07-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Furniture retailer ScS has said trading has been very strong both in its shops and online since the reopening of its stores following the Covid-19 lockdown.... View Article
  
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• Primark launches in-store clothing recycling scheme

  30-07-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Discount fashion retailer Primark has launched a new recycling scheme that enables shoppers to recycle unwanted clothing at any of its UK stores. The retailer has installed... View Article
  
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• Nike chooses Paris for third House of Innovation store

  30-07-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Nike has chosen Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris for the opening of its third House of Innovation store as it looks to harness the power of... View Article
  
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• Marks & Spencer rolls out Mobile Pay Go to more stores

  30-07-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Marks & Spencer has tripled its Mobile Pay Go network from 100 to 310 stores to enable more customers buy their groceries without visiting a till. With shoppers able... View Article
  
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• John Lewis Partnership gives update on new strategy

  30-07-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  The John Lewis Partnership has given an update on the direction it wants to take following a strategic review that has taken in feedback from staff, customers and suppliers. In... View Article
  
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• Ironmongery Direct celebrates best ever month

  30-07-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Ironmongery Direct has said it achieved its most successful month ever in June with record figures for both order numbers and revenue. The online business said it benefited from... View Article
  
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• Deichmann to join line-up at The Glass Works

  30-07-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Footwear retailer Deichmann is to join the line-up at The Glass Works shopping destination in Barnsley town centre. The retailer has signed a 10-year lease for a 5,000 square... View Article
  
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