Retail news

• Ocado stops deliveries to staff as tie-up with Marks & Spencer starts

  03-09-2020 19:36
  
  Delivery firm may be experiencing teething problems with ‘incredibly popular’ M&S launchOcado has temporarily suspended deliveries to its employees as the online grocer battles to clear a backlog following a new tie-up with Marks & Spencer.Ocado said the move would free up space for customer orders, after apparent teething problems in the newly launched partnership caused it to cancel customer deliveries on its first day on Tuesday. Continue reading...
  
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• Silver Lake in talks to buy $1bn stake in Reliance Retail

  03-09-2020 19:30 via ft.com
  US private equity group seeks to deepen ties with India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani
  
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• How can Ann Summers avoid a similar fate to Victoria’s Secret?

  03-09-2020 17:52 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Ann Summers, named after founder ichael Caborn-Waterfield’s female secretary Annice Summers, has had a presence on the UK high streets for the past five decades as a lingerie and sex toy retailer.
  From launching an interactive app to introducing a Party Plan business, Ann Summers’ long-time success appears to be hanging by a thread after chief executive Jacqueline Gold said this week that the retailer might opt for a CVA.
  As landlords refuse to work in partnership with the business
  
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• Retail no longer the main attraction on UK high streets

  03-09-2020 16:19 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Research by High Streets Task Force shows smaller town centres saw comparatively smaller fall in visitors
  // Retail also no longer defines high streets with almost half of town centres now offering wider services
  // Call for a simpler approach to planning just over 1/4 of towns have less footfall than their official designation suggestsNew research has shown that town centres in England are evolving, with retail no longer the dominant attraction for visitors for almost half of high streets up
  
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• The Hut Group confirms £4.5bn stock market float

  03-09-2020 15:41 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // The Hut Group officially confirms plans for a £4.5bn stock market listing
  // The IPO would be London’s first major flotation since the coronavirus crisis struck
  // It is also set to be the biggest stock market listing of a UK firm since 2013The Hut Group has confirmed plans for a £4.5 billion stock market listing in what will be London’s first major flotation since the coronavirus crisis struck.
  The online retail company, which owns the likes of MyProtein, Lookfantasti
  
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• JML quarterly sales surges 118% thanks to lockdown

  03-09-2020 14:58 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // JML posts strong 118% sales growth in three months ending July 31
  // The quarter including the height of lockdown, when more consumers shopped from homeJML has posted a 118 per cent surge in overall direct-to-consumer sales during the quarter that included much of the nationwide lockdown.
  In the three months ending July 31, online was the fastest growing sales stream for the ecommerce site and TV shopping channel, although call centre volumes also increased as more home-bound shoppers chose t
  
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• Costa plans to axe 1,650 staff from coffee shops

  03-09-2020 14:17 via ft.com
  Move follows job cuts at rival chains Pret A Manger and SSP as coronavirus fallout bites
  
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• Costa plans to axe 1,650 staff

  03-09-2020 14:17 via ft.com
  Move follows job cuts at rival chains Pret A Manger and SSP as coronavirus fallout bites
  
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• Lidl Plus digital rewards app launches in Britain offering weekly coupons and discounts

  03-09-2020 13:58 via chargedretail.co.uk
  
  Lidl has rolled out its new digital rewards app Lidl Plus across Great Britain today offering shoppers rewards and discounts every time they shop.
  Lidl Plus is now available to download on iOS and Android in the England, Scotland and Wales after being piloted in stores in Ireland in July.
  Its new app will give shoppers a digital scratch card every time they shop, offering prizes of between 25p and £20.
  Each week Lidl Plus users will also be given a new “single-use coupons” offe
  
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• 1650 high street jobs at risk at Costa Coffee

  03-09-2020 13:43 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Costa Coffee says 1650 high street staff are at risk of redundancy amid cost-cutting measures
  // It has started consultations which could affect more than a 10th of its high street roles
  // The restructuring proposes removal of the assistant store manager role across its UK businessCosta Coffee has said 1650 high street staff are at risk of redundancy as it looks to cut costs amid continued uncertainty over when trade will fully recover following the pandemic.
  The coffee chain told staff toda
  
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• Colin the Caterpillar at 30: how a supermarket cake stole the nation's heart

  03-09-2020 13:00
  
  Since it first appeared in M&S, the larvae-like cake has become a generation’s go-to for birthdays, anniversaries and office parties. But with the baking landscape – and the world of work – transformed, can Colin survive?I can see my mother now as she wrestles sponge shapes, icing and cardboard into a vertical space rocket. The year is 1994 and everyone is having a Jane Asher novelty shaped cake from the Asher’s Party Cakes book. Little did Mum realise – there b
  
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• Boxpark hires David Gough as new chief operations officer

  03-09-2020 12:23 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Boxpark appoints David Gough as chief operations officer to lead its business strategy
  // David Gough is the former operations director at Stable Bar & Restaurants (Fuller’s)
  // He steps into his new role with Boxpark with immediate effectBoxpark has announced the appointment of David Gough as its new chief operations officer.
  Stepping into his role with immediate effect, Gough will assume responsibility for of Boxpark’s site operations alongside the current head of operations
  
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• Amazon to increase UK workforce by a third this year

  03-09-2020 11:40 via ft.com
  Ecommerce group to add 7,000 more engineers, pickers and packers by year-end in response to rising online demand
  
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• Amazon steps up hiring spree with push for 7,000 new staff in UK

  03-09-2020 11:37
  
  Online retailer also plans for 20,000 seasonal workers to cope with Christmas demandAmazon is taking on 7,000 permanent staff in the UK and recruiting 20,000 seasonal workers as it gears up for a busy festive season.The new recruits, including engineers, IT specialists, warehouse workers and health and safety experts, will work across more than 50 sites, including Amazon’s corporate offices and two new delivery warehouses which will open in the autumn in Durham and Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nott
  
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• Amazon to create 7000 new UK jobs in 2020 in major “vote of confidence”

  03-09-2020 11:32 via chargedretail.co.uk
  
  Amazon is set to create 10,000 jobs in the UK this year in a “clear vote of confidence in the UK economy”.
  Amazon is set to extend its UK workforce to over 40,000 by the end of the year, hiring 7000 new employees across more than 50 sites, adding to the 3000 it has already hired in 2020.
  These include three new state-of-the-art fulfilment centres in Darlington, Durham and Sutton-in-Ashfield which will create over 1000 permanent roles each.
  The robotic fulfilment centres in Durham and
  
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• QIA will commit £75m to Hut Group flotation

  03-09-2020 11:04 via ft.com
  Retailer targets £4.5bn valuation that would make it UK’s biggest listing this year
  
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• Hut Group confirms London IPO plans

  03-09-2020 11:04 via ft.com
  Ecommerce group targets £4.5bn valuation that would make it Britain’s biggest listing this year
  
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• Capri Holdings hires new Jimmy Choo CEO

  03-09-2020 10:29 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Capri Holdings hires Hannah Colman as Jimmy Choo CEO
  // Colman has worked with Jimmy Choo for 24 years
  // She will succeed Pierre DenisCapri Holdings has appointed a new chief executive for luxury footwear retailer Jimmy Choo.
  Hannah Colman will succeed Pierre Denis who stepped down in February, and will report to Capri Holdings chairman and chief executive John Idol.
  Colman has worked with Jimmy Choo for 24 years, initially as the store manager of the brand’s first boutique on London&r
  
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• John Lewis adds 30 new third-party brands to “modernise offering”

  03-09-2020 09:53 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // John Lewis adds 30 new brands to its platform
  // It hopes to “modernise” its offering
  // The chosen brands “respond directly to the new needs of the nation”John Lewis Partnership has reportedly extended its third party brand offering on its website and in-store line-up for autumn/winter 2021.
  The retailer added more than 30 new fashion, beauty and accessory third-party brands to its platform, Drapers reported.
  John Lewis said the chosen brands, which consist of at
  
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• Hammerson CEO candidate steps down days after fundraising £800m

  03-09-2020 09:32 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Hammerson’s Simon Betty steps down just days after the firm raised £800m
  // Betty first joined Hammerson in 2006Hammerson’s leading internal candidate has reportedly stepped down, days after the shopping centre landlord raised almost £800 million to shore up its balance sheet.
  Simon Betty first joined Hammerson in 2006, and is set to resign to take up a new job at a European company, Sky News reported.
  Betty’s decision to quit rules out the prospect of Hammerson
  
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• Lego to open 120 new stores as “more adults” purchase toy sets

  03-09-2020 09:12 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Lego sales rise during first half of the year despite store closures
  // The toy-maker is planning the launch of 120 new stores this yearLego has reported a rise in sales during the first half of the year as an increased number of children were gifted its toy sets during the UK lockdown.
  The toy-maker reported a seven per cent increase in revenues to DKr15.7 billion (£1.9 billion) for the for the six months to the end of June.
  Meanwhile. operating profit jumped 11 per cent to DKr3.9 bill
  
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• Eat Out to Help Out “enticed” Brits as retail footfall recovers

  03-09-2020 08:56 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // UK footfall declines but continues to recover
  // Retail parks witnessed the highest recovery
  // Footfall on UK high streets was 38% lower in August than the same month last yearRetail footfall has improved during August for the third consecutive month as visitors were “enticed” by the Eat Out to Help Out scheme.
  Footfall declined by 31 per cent for the month but was boosted by the popularity of retail parks, Springboard found.
  Retail park footfall was only 11 per cent lower t
  
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• Eat Out to Help Out “enticed” Brits as August retail footfall recovers

  03-09-2020 08:38 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // UK footfall declines but continues to recover, Springboard says
  // Retail parks witnessed the highest recovery while footfall on high streets was 38% lower & shopping centres down 34%
  // Meanwhile shop vacancies jumped to the highest level since January 2014 after a raft of store closuresRetail footfall has improved for the third consecutive month as visitors were “enticed” by the Eat Out to Help Out scheme.
  Overall footfall in August declined by 31 per cent year-on-year, an i
  
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• UK organic food and drink sales boom during lockdown

  03-09-2020 08:00
  
  Bananas, chicken, eggs and wine the standouts as growth reaches highest rate since 2016Sales of organic food and drink rose sharply in the UK during lockdown – and have soared by double the rate of non-organic equivalents over the past year.Organic bananas, chicken, eggs and wine are among the standout winners that, from January, helped supermarkets enjoy the highest sales growth in the sector since December 2016. Related: Grape Britain: UK merry on organic wine as sales soarContinue readi
  
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• Empty shops on UK high streets at highest level in six years

  03-09-2020 01:01
  
  Greater London, where number of closed outlets has increased by almost two-thirds, is hardest hit by riseThe number of empty shops on UK high streets has risen to its highest level in six years as city centres, and especially London, suffer from a dive in visitor numbers.Nearly 11% of shops remained vacant in July compared with 9.8% in January, with the number of empty premises rising in six out of 10 UK regions, according to retail analysis firm Springboard. Greater London suffered by far the w
  
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• Seekology launches new store with Bhuti

  03-09-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Seekology has launched a new shop-in-shop in Bhuti’s wellbeing members’ club in Richmond. The store will sell items from over 20 independent beauty and wellbeing brands and will also... View Article
  
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• Mandarin Stone joins line-up at Fulham Road

  03-09-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Tile retailer Mandarin Stone has opened a new showroom on Fulham Road in the heart of Chelsea’s design quarter. Spanning 1,233 square feet, the store is the brand’s second... View Article
  
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• Manchester Arena renamed AO Arena

  03-09-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Online electricals retailer AO has become the new headline sponsor of the Manchester Arena as part of a five year deal. The sponsorship includes the venue being... View Article
  
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• Lidl launches Lidl Plus loyalty app

  03-09-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Lidl has launched a new smartphone-based rewards app called Lidl Plus. Available for UK customers to download and use in store, the app provides shoppers with exclusive rewards and discounts when... View Article
  
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• Costa to cut 1,650 jobs

  03-09-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  The Costa coffee  shop chain has said nearly 1,650 roles are at risk of redundancy due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. In a statement, the... View Article
  
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• Capri Holdings appoints chief executive of Jimmy Choo

  03-09-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Luxury group Capri Holdings has appointed Hannah Colman as chief executive of  the Jimmy Choo footwear brand  on a permanent basis. She will report to John Idol,... View Article
  
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• Authentic Brands Group completes acquisition of Brooks Brothers

  03-09-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Authentic Brands Group has completed its acquisition of US business wear retailer Brooks Brothers. The move follows Brooks Brothers’ filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in... View Article
  
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• Amazon will have created 10,000 new UK jobs by end of year

  03-09-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Amazon will have created 10,000 new permanent roles across the UK by the end of the year to take its total permanent UK workforce to more than... View Article
  
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• Amazon to create 7,000 new UK jobs by end of year

  03-09-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Amazon is to create 7,000 permanent roles across the UK by the end of the year to take its total permanent UK workforce to more than 40,000. The online... View Article
  
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