Retail news

• Dominic Chappell evaded tax liability in £1 BHS deal, court told

  08-10-2020 18:27
  Businessman who bought failed UK retailer alleged to have spent cash on a Bentley and yacht
  
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• MPs demand evidence for Chancellor scrapping duty-free shopping

  08-10-2020 18:03 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // The Treasury Committee has asked for evidence behind Chancellor’s decision to scrap duty free shopping
  // Chairman Mel Stride has written to the Chancellor asking for the cost analysis of the VAT overhaulThe Treasury Committee has demanded to see evidence behind Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s decision to scrap duty free shopping for overseas visitors.
  Chairman Mel Stride has written to the Chancellor asking for the cost analysis of the VAT overhaul.
  An evidence session this week raised
  
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• Very expects record festive period as more shoppers go online

  08-10-2020 17:35
  UK’s second-biggest ecommerce retailer returns to profit and forecasts pandemic to boost sales further
  
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• Tesco poaches Tate & Lyle chief financial officer

  08-10-2020 15:24 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Tesco hires Imran Nawaz as chief financial officer
  // Nawaz is currently serving as chief financial officer at Tate & Lyle
  // He will join office in April 2021Tesco has poached a new chief financial officer from a food and beverage supply firm, just days after chief executive Ken Murphy stepped in to replace Dave Lewis.
  Imran Nawaz will join its board from his current position as chief financial officer at global food and beverage supplier Tate & Lyle.
  He was previously the senio
  
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• Aldi doubles the number of items available on Deliveroo amid continued ecommerce push

  08-10-2020 14:21 via chargedretail.co.uk
  
  Aldi is more than doubling the number of items available for home delivery via the Deliveroo app, as it continues its push into ecommerce.
  Aldi Ireland announced this week that 330 items will now be available for customers to have delivered to their door in 30 minutes by Deliveroo.
  Previously Aldi’s Irish arm only offered 140 essential items to customers via the rapid delivery service, but its popularity among customers has encouraged the pair to expand their partnership.
  In June Aldi expa
  
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• Frasers Group insists it did not break furlough rules despite allegations

  08-10-2020 12:41 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Frasers Group denies forcing staff to work while on furlough
  // The retail group said it is in regular contact with tax collector HMRC about its procedures
  // Sports Direct was accused of asking furloughed shop managers to shift stock from stores to depots at height of the Covid-19 pandemicFrasers Group has reportedly insisted that it did not break the rules after staff alleged that the group encouraged them to work while on the furlough scheme.
  The group, which owns the likes of Sports Direc
  
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• N Brown drafts in senior M&S director as group design director

  08-10-2020 11:54 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // N Brown appoints new directors to strengthen retail team
  // Last week, the group reported a recovery in first quarter sales thanks to demand for homewareN Brown has completed a series of new appointments in an effort to strengthen its senior retail team.
  The appointments come after the group’s attempt to refresh its strategy, which includes a focus on delivering more relevant product through its brands.
  The retail group, which owns Jacamo, JD Williams and Simply Be, has appointed t
  
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• Black Friday 2020 could see 22% drop in sales after discount “mega peak” sparked by Amazon Prime Day

  08-10-2020 11:38 via chargedretail.co.uk
  
  Black Friday 2020 could see sales drop by nearly a quarter as Amazon Prime Day creates a 10-week discount “mega peak”.
  Amazon’s long delayed Prime Day, due to take place next week, will spark one of the longest and most competitive periods of discounting British retail has ever seen, according to a new report from Wunderman Thompson Commerce.
  This discounting “mega peak” will extend through Black Friday, which could see spending fall by 22 per cent compared to last
  
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• Asda launches free drive-thru flu jabs

  08-10-2020 10:36 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Members of public can receive free NHS flu jabs from Asda carparks
  // The scheme will run across 13 stores nationwide
  // Patients “won’t even need to leave their car to get a jab,” says Asda pharmacistAsda has announced it will launch a drive-thru flu jab service for people at risk of catching coronavirus.
  The supermarket group will today begin offering flu jabs free of charge to anyone eligible for the treatment on the NHS, including elderly people, pregnant women, those wi
  
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• Why Findability Is The Key To 5X Conversions

  08-10-2020 10:11 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Site visitors who search are 2X more likely to convert. Yet, nearly 30% of visitors are frustrated with irrelevant product results. In contrast, the new generation of personalized search use behavioural and past purchase data in real-time to help visitors find relevant products quickly. And, the new metric for search performance is Findability
  To learn how findability improves your search experience and conversions, read our paper “Personalize Commerce Search: How to Improve Findability at
  
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• Very Group touts return to profit as revenue tops £2bn for first time

  08-10-2020 09:58 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Revenue totals £2.05bn for The Very Group
  // The past year saw new shoppers flock to Very.co.uk, with a 14.1% rise in customer base
  // Andy Burton to leave his role as CTO, hunt now underway for replacementThe Very Group on Thursday revealed retail sales rose 10.5 per cent to £1.23 billion, driving group revenue growth of 2.9 per cent up to £2.05 billion
  In its full year results for 2020, The Very Group (formerly known as Shop Direct) said that “despite unprecedented c
  
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• Peacocks sale at threat as Edinburgh Woollen Mill faces allegations of unpaid bills

  08-10-2020 09:55 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group wrote in follow-up letter to a Bangladesh trade organisation that recent allegations have put the sale of Peacocks into jeopardy
  // The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association had alleged that EWM had £27m in unpaid debts to businesses which are members of the organisation
  // The chair of the trade organisation later admitted that the original £27m figure that was recirculated was false and the company has paid its suppliers to a &ld
  
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• Primark taps Topshop for new trading director Jon Bennett

  08-10-2020 09:25 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Primark appoints former Topshop director for its trading director for menswear
  // Bennett joins Primark after 8 years at Arcadia
  // Current director of buying and trading director for menswear Lynne Walker is moving over to Primark CaresValue-retailer Primark has appointed Topshop and Topman’s global sourcing director Jon Bennett as its new trading director for menswear, according to Drapers.
  Counting senior buying roles at Tesco’s F&F, Next and River Island in his experience,
  
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• Taken for a ride as Evans Cycles fails to deliver for NHS workers

  08-10-2020 09:15
  
  The shop offered a 20% discount to woo staff for bikes that haven’t been suppliedI am a junior doctor and have been working throughout the pandemic. In June, when Evans Cycles was offering a 20% discount for NHS workers, I ordered a £716 bike to get to work. I was given an estimated delivery date of 22 July but that came and went. There has been no responses to phone calls or emails.When I visited the store I was told I would have to wait until November, at least. I asked to cancel t
  
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• 10pm curfew slashes footfall at UK retail destinations in September

  08-10-2020 08:50 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // High street footfall drops almost 40% y-o-y after curfew implicated
  // Retail parks fare better, with footfall down just 7% from last year
  // Footfall in Central London down 56% as shoppers instead stay localFootfall at UK retail destinations fell 28.2 per cent in the five weeks from August 30 to October 3 2020.
  Springboard’s Footfall Monitor for September found footfall fell 34.6 per cent in the high streets compared to the same time last year, 31.5 per cent in shopping centres an
  
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• World’s garment workers face ruin as fashion brands refuse to pay $16bn

  08-10-2020 08:15
  
  Analysis of trade figures reveals huge power imbalance as suppliers and workers in poorest parts of the world bear cost of Covid downturnCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coveragePowerful US and European fashion companies have refused to pay overseas suppliers for more than $16bn (£12.3bn) of goods since the outbreak of Covid-19, with devastating implications for garment workers across the world, according to analysis of newly released import data.Two US-based group
  
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• Fashion groups transform back-end systems to aid bounceback

  08-10-2020 06:00
  
  Brands which quickly reorganised distribution channels have softened pandemic impact
  
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• Trust issues: join me and be there #forthefour

  08-10-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Chris Brook-Carter, CEO, retailTRUST: While one in four adults will experience a mental health problem at some point in their life, every single one of us –... View Article
  
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• The Very Group returns to profit

  08-10-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  The Very Group has returned to profit after its revenue exceeded £2 billion for the first time. In the year to 30 June, the owner of... View Article
  
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• Tesco appoints Imran Nawaz as chief financial officer

  08-10-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Tesco has announced that Imran Nawaz will join its board as chief financial officer. Nawaz currently holds the same position at Tate & Lyle and was... View Article
  
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• Studio named as official partner for I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!

  08-10-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Studio Retail has become an official partner for the latest series of ITV’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! The online value retailer will... View Article
  
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• N Brown strengthens senior retail team

  08-10-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  N Brown Group has strengthened its retail team through two senior hires. The move follows the appointment of Sarah Welsh as the group’s chief executive of... View Article
  
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• eBay UK to launch “Pay As You Grow” scheme

  08-10-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  eBay UK is launching a new scheme aimed at UK start-ups which removes all fees for first time sellers for their first 100 sales each month.... View Article
  
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