Retail news

• Making Christmas wishes come true | Brief letters

  06-08-2020 19:04
  
  Argos catalogue | Eat out to help out | Getting the Guardian | Velveteen breeches | French wine
  In 1986 a friend asked her class of six-year-olds to write letters to Father Christmas. Most of the class asked for a My Little Pony or a Transformer, but one boy just wrote a column of seven-digit numbers. It seems he had memorised the Argos catalogue numbers for the items he wanted and thought it would save Father Christmas some time (The Argos catalogue: why Britain’s love affair with The Boo
  
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• What does John Lewis Partnership’s proposed retail to residential shift entail?

  06-08-2020 18:24 via retailgazette.co.uk
  The retail sector was somewhat taken by surprise when the John Lewis Partnership announced last week that it was exploring the possibility of branching out to private rented housing in a post-Covid market.
  The plans are a part of five strategic steps for the business to grow, which are: “driven by purpose”, “simplifying how we work”, “strengthening retail”, “expanding into more services”, and “partnering to grow”.
  Dame Sharon White &nd
  
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• Morrisons cafes extend “Eat Out to Help Out” scheme for the whole week

  06-08-2020 17:57 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Morrisons cafes extend “Eat Out to Help Out” scheme for the seven day week
  // Government will fund the 50% discounts on Mon-Wed, while Morrisons will fund it Thur-SunMorrisons has announced it would extend the government’s Eat Out To Help Out scheme throughout the week across all of its in-store cafes.
  This means customers can enjoy meal prices will be slashed by 50 per cent from Monday to Sunday.
  The government-funded scheme operates from Monday to Wednesday but Morrisons s
  
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• Castore opens second store in Liverpool

  06-08-2020 17:12 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Castore officially opens new Liverpool store within the Liverpool One precinct
  // It marks the retailer’s second bricks-and-mortar store and the first one outside of London
  // It had originally been slated to open in April but was delayed due to the coronavirus lockdownCastore has officially opened its new store in Liverpool, marking the online retailer’s second bricks-and-mortar store and the first one outside of London.
  The north west city also doubles up as the location of Cast
  
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• Coronavirus drives business rates dispute appeals by 690%

  06-08-2020 16:50 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // 690% surge in tax appeals challenging property valuations which form basis of business rates
  // 144,910 shops, pubs, restaurants, offices, factories & public sector buildings lodged a Check to their property tax valuation
  // This equates to 2230 non-domestic premises every working day in the first quarter of the tax yearCovid-19 has led to a huge surge in tax appeals from retailers and other businesses in England challenging property valuations which form the basis of business rates bills
  
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• “Substantial declines” in retail job vacancies

  06-08-2020 14:41 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Permanent Retail Staff Vacancies Index rose from 20.4 in June to 29.4 in July
  // The index for temporary retail staff grew from 31.1 in June to 35 in JulyLast month saw “substantial declines” in job vacancies for both permanent and short-term retail workers, a new report has shown.
  According to the latest Report on Jobs from KPMG and REC, the retail sector is one of the worst performers for job opportunities as demand for new staff continued to fall throughout July.
  The Permanent
  
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• Asda customers can now return fashion items when they get grocery deliveries

  06-08-2020 14:04 via chargedretail.co.uk
  
  Asda customers can now return their unwanted fashion items when they receive a grocery delivery free of charge.
  Asda is trialling a new returns scheme for its George fashion line, allowing customers to hand fashion items they wish to return to online delivery drivers.
  Customers in York and Milton Keynes who have booked a grocery delivery within the satisfaction guarantee period of the items they wish to return will now have access to the service.
  Previously customers would have been required to
  
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• M&S warns many customers “won’t be able to secure a delivery slot straight away” ahead of online debut

  06-08-2020 11:30 via chargedretail.co.uk
  
  Marks & Spencer will officially launch online with Ocado on September 1 but customers could be forced to wait until they can use the service.
  M&S has finally announced the launch date of its highly anticipated tie-up with Ocado, which will see 6000 of its products be made available online for the first time in its history.
  However, many customers could be left waiting as Ocado continues to struggle to expand its capacity to match a spike in demand for online shopping.
  In an email sent to
  
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• Naked Wines expects 73% sales rise as wine proves popular in lockdown

  06-08-2020 10:47 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Naked Wines reports increase in wine orders during lockdown
  // It expects 40% growth in total sales this yearNaked Wines has experienced a huge boost in wine orders during the coronavirus lockdown, and expects total sales in July to be up 73 per cent compared to last year, thanks to strong rates of new customer growth.
  The online wine seller also said it expects a 40 per cent growth in total sales this year under its central performance scenario.
  Naked Wine said chairman John Walden will step
  
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• Bullring centre owner plans to raise £825m to survive Covid-19 crisis

  06-08-2020 10:12
  
  Hammerson announces cash call and stake sale to help it survive amid £3bn debt burden Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe shopping centre owner Hammerson has announced plans to raise more than £825m through a cash call and the sale of its stake in discount shopping outlets, to help it survive a crisis in retail accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic.The property group, which owns the Bullring in Birmingham and the Brent Cross shopping centre in nort
  
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• The Argos catalogue: why Britain's love affair with The Book of Dreams had to end

  06-08-2020 10:00
  
  The demise of the shopping catalogue has prompted mass nostalgia. But its closure after almost 50 years shows how our buying habits have changed – and how obsessed we now are with screens
  How much do people in England love Argos? The answer comes from a surprising source: information concerning the riots that swept the country in the summer of 2011. When rioters fancied chucking a brick through a shop window and seeing what they could walk out with, Argos’s premises were the most com
  
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• 'Farewell, Book of Dreams': who killed the Argos catalogue?

  06-08-2020 10:00
  
  The demise of the shopping catalogue has prompted mass nostalgia. But its closure after almost 50 years shows how our buying habits have changed – and how obsessed we now are with screens
  How much do people in England love Argos? The answer comes from a surprising source: information concerning the riots that swept the country in the summer of 2011. When rioters fancied chucking a brick through a shop window and seeing what they could walk out with, Argos’s premises were the most com
  
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• McColl’s swings to loss as Covid-19 brings “extraordinary change”

  06-08-2020 09:54 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // McColl’s sales drop and swings to a loss in the 26 weeks to May 24
  // The Covid-19 pandemic led to store closures and reduced servicesMcColl’s has swung to a loss on the back of a sales decline at its interim mark due to the “extraordinary change” brought on by the Covid-19 crisis.
  The convenience grocery chain posted a loss before tax of £500,000 in the 26 weeks to May 24, down from a £500,000 million profit in the same period in 2019.
  Meanwhile sales drop
  
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• McColl’s sales drop as Covid-19 brings “extraordinary change” to business

  06-08-2020 09:54 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // McColl’s sales and profits drop in the 26 weeks to May 24
  // The Covid-19 pandemic led to store closures and reduced servicesMcColl’s has posted a drop in profits and sales at the interim mark due to the “extraordinary change” brought on by the Covid-19 crisis.
  The convenience retailer saw a loss before tax of £500,000 in the 26 weeks to May 24, down from a £500,000 million profit in 2019.
  Sales dropped 1.0 per cent to £604.8 million due to store clos
  
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• Hammerson looks to raise almost £1bn to get through pandemic

  06-08-2020 09:42
  Shopping centre owner to sell stake in European business and raise £550m from rights issue
  
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• Hammerson to raise £825m to alleviate Covid-19 damages

  06-08-2020 09:19 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Hammerson to raise £552 million through fundraising while selling off assets worth £274 million
  // This will provide a total of £825m for the shopping centre giant
  // The property giant aims to alleviate the disruption caused by the coronavirus crisisHammerson has said it plans to raise £825 million through a £552 million fundraise and £274 million sale of assets in an effort to offset “the extraordinary disruption caused by Covid-19”.
  The shopp
  
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• Footfall drops almost 40% despite hospitality reopenings

  06-08-2020 08:59 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Footfall drops over 39% across retail during July
  // On high streets, footfall levels dropped 47.2%
  // The levels are an improvement of nearly a fifth from JuneThe UK high street has seen footfall drop by over 40 per cent during July as Brits continue to stay home following the lockdown ease.
  For the four weeks covering July 5 and August 1, footfall declined by 39.4 per cent in retail destinations across the UK, an improvement of nearly a fifth from June, according to data from Springboard.
  H
  
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• Joules remains “confident” despite £2m loss

  06-08-2020 08:46 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Joules posts pre-tax loss of £2 million compared with a £12.9 million profit in the previous year
  // The decline was due to stock availability issues over Christmas and the coronavirus lockdownJoules has posted a loss before tax in its full year results as the “challenges” of the Covid-19 crisis continued to affect the business.
  The lifestyle retailer recorded a pre-tax loss of £2 million for the 53 weeks to May 31, compared with a £12.9 million profit in t
  
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• UK staycation boom lifts sales of camping gear

  06-08-2020 07:00
  
  Retailers say airbeds, cool boxes and portable firepits in hot demand along with tentsPuddles, soggy tents and gas leaks: the joys of Covid-safe campingForget draughty tents and troublesome groundsheets. A new wave of first-time campers are pimping their pitches with portable firepits and comfy airbeds as camping enjoys a revival in tandem with the UK staycation boom.Despite doom and gloom on much of the high street and the cancellation of the music festival season, retailers say shoppers have b
  
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• WEBINAR: How to secure the value of your new ‘pandemic purchasers’ in a post-lockdown world

  06-08-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  With lockdown easing what learnings can be taken from the past four months to ensure you can continue to engage and retain this new type of... View Article
  
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• Naked Wines sales rose by 73% in July

  06-08-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Naked Wines has said it expects total sales for July to be 73% ahead of the same month last year after new customers acquired during the... View Article
  
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• McColl’s like-for-like sales up 8.3%

  06-08-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  The McColl’s convenience chain has posted an 8.3% uplift in first half like-for-like sales after the company benefited from stronger food and alcohol sales during the... View Article
  
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• Lord & Taylor to close 19 stores

  06-08-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  US luxury department store Lord & Taylor is to close 19 stores. The business and its parent company Le Tote have recently filed for Chapter 11... View Article
  
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• Lidl opens 100th London store

  06-08-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Lidl has reached the milestone of its 100th store in London with the opening of a new shop in Beckton. The supermarket has also unveiled plans for... View Article
  
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• Joules upbeat despite full year loss

  06-08-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Joules has swung to a pre-tax loss of £2 million in the 53 weeks to 31 May compared to a profit of £12.9 million in the previous year.... View Article
  
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• Icon Outlet signs up Tommy Hilfiger Childrenswear

  06-08-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Icon Outlet at The O2 is to add a Tommy Hilfiger Childrenswear store to its line-up this month. The brand will be the first new retailer to join the premium... View Article
  
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• Aptos to acquire Revionics, global leader in AI-Powered price optimisation

  06-08-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Long-time friend of The Retail Bulletin, Aptos, a recognised market leader in retail technology solutions, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Revionics,... View Article
  
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