Retail news

• Treasury messed up over B&M's Covid rates freebie

  12-11-2020 20:17
  
  Where shops were open and sales booming, there was no case for a year’s relief from business ratesIt’s bad enough that the big supermarkets, sporting their best sales figures in years, were given a pandemic freebie by Rishi Sunak in the form of a year’s relief from business rates. But the case of the discount retailer B&M, clinging to its £38m from the Treasury even as it pays a £250m special dividend to shareholders, is more extreme.B&M in April found itsel
  
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• 3i’s past is an action plan for the future

  12-11-2020 18:14
  3i template for post-pandemic regeneration fund; GVC, a card or so short of a full deck
  
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• Big Interview: Cas Paton, Founder & CEO, OnBuy

  12-11-2020 16:00 via retailgazette.co.uk
  The inspiration for starting OnBuy came after a gap was found in the UK marketplace.
  Founder and chief executive Cas Paton said he wanted to improve retailers’ business efficiencies and create cost savings – especially for businesses that needed an online marketplace to sell their goods, and wanted to avoid the likes of Amazon.
  “I’ve always been quite entrepreneurial,” Paton told Retail Gazette.
  “I had done work for businesses. And the way my career’s s
  
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• Burberry attacks move to scrap tax-free shopping on eve of Brexit

  12-11-2020 15:50
  
  Brand says move to install 20% VAT will lose ‘home market advantage’ and deter 1.2m visitors to shop in Europe insteadBurberry has warned that the government’s plan to scrap tax-free shopping will rob the British luxury brand of its “home market advantage” on the eve of Brexit, as wealthy international tourists opt to holiday in mainland Europe instead.Julie Brown, the chief operating officer of Burberry, said foreign tourists, who are traditionally behind more than
  
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• Currys PC World to expand ShopLive service to meet Christmas demand

  12-11-2020 15:30 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Currys PC World expects huge demand this Black Friday and Christmas
  // It is adding more expert colleagues to its online offering ShopLive and Order & Collect service
  // Having launched with 20 colleagues in June, ShopLive now boosts 800 expertsCurrys PC World has said it is expanding its ShopLive service after witnessing a 48 per cent rise in online traffic since stores closed due to lockdown restrictions.
  The British electrical retailer expects sales this Christmas to mark its largest o
  
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• Burberry: in the trenches

  12-11-2020 15:30
  The luxury retailer is reducing markdowns and banking on ‘new and younger consumers’ to pay full price
  
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• Tapi Carpets accuses Carpetright of breaching lockdown rules

  12-11-2020 15:05 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Tapi Carpets criticises rivals for remaining open during the England lockdown
  // The retailer has 140 stores and closed its English stores last Thursday for 4 weeks
  // Carpetright and United Carpets have kept their stores open despite the restrictionsTapi Carpets has launched a scathing attack on rivals Carpetright and United Carpets to close their stores in line with updated government guidance.
  The carpet and floor tile seller, which has 140 stores across the country, closed
  
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• Edinburgh’s iconic Christmas market goes virtual this year

  12-11-2020 14:35 via chargedretail.co.uk
  
  Edinburgh’s iconic Christmas market is set to take place virtually for the first time this year as retailers are offered free access to a new virtual shop window.
  Last month organisers announced that the world-renowned Christmas market, which last year welcomed 2.6 million people and generated £110 million for the city, would not be able to take place physically due to COVID-19 restrictions.
  Now the local council has laid out plans to bring the market online, offering hundreds of art
  
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• Sberbank’s tech ambitions hit by clashes with Mail.ru

  12-11-2020 14:02
  Russia’s state-owned bank argues with new partner as it tries to build food delivery and ride-hailing platform
  
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• B&M to pay Arora brothers £37m as part of special dividend

  12-11-2020 13:54
  Move likely to stoke controversy over taxpayer support for traders during lockdown
  
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• WH Smith to shut 25 high street stores after it reports £280m loss

  12-11-2020 12:40
  
  Retailer says nearly 200 jobs will be affected as coronavirus pandemic hits sales
  WH Smith is to close 25 high street stores, affecting nearly 200 jobs, after the coronavirus pandemic pushed the retailer £280m into the red.The books to paperclips chain said it was likely to permanently close the stores, which are mainly smaller ones, as sales in its high street business fell 19%. Its previously successful travel outlets – in stations, airports and hospitals – saw sales slide by
  
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• Burberry plans to cut discounting despite hit to revenues

  12-11-2020 12:31
  Luxury retailer is determined to retain brand strength after attracting new customers in China, South Korea and US
  
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• PS5 reselling for nearly double RRP just hours after “rollercoaster” pandemic launch

  12-11-2020 12:01 via chargedretail.co.uk
  
  PlayStation 5 consoles are already regularly receiving 55 per cent above their retail price on resale sites as the “rollercoaster” launch gets underway in key markets.
  Sony’s PS5 launched across Japan and North America today and is already being resold on sites like Ebay and StockX for close to twice its RRP.
  The release has been significantly hampered by the pandemic, with Sony urging customers to “be safe, stay home, and place your order online” in order to mainta
  
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• Lockdown sales boost at B&M prompts £250m special dividend

  12-11-2020 12:01
  
  Profits nearly double to £296m as revenues surge 30% as retailer benefits from out-of-town locationsDiscount retailer B&M is paying its shareholders a £250m special dividend, after a boost in sales during lockdown almost doubled profits in the first half of the year.The group, which sells everything from homeware and toys to electrical items and pet supplies, was among the essential retailers allowed to remain open during the UK-wide lockdown in the spring, when it proved popular
  
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• Bookshops should be classed as essential, Waterstones says

  12-11-2020 11:43 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // The Booksellers Association calls on government to classify bookshops as essential retailers
  // Waterstones CEO James Daunt said it is unjustified that other retailers that sell books like WHSmith and grocers remain open
  // Waterstones has invested significantly in making shops safe to operateThe Booksellers Association has appealed to the government to reopen England’s bookshops during the second lockdown, as other retailers that sell books like WHSmith and grocers remain open.
  Waterst
  
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• M&S teams up with The Entertainer’s Early Learning Centre

  12-11-2020 11:13 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Marks & Spencer has teamed up with toy retailer Early Learning Centre
  // Early Learning Centre products will be sold on the M&S website
  // The partnership is M&S’s second online tie-upMarks & Spencer has teamed up with toy retailer Early Learning Centre, which will see its products being sold on the M&S website as it seeks to build online appeal.
  M&S will offer 200 lines from Early Learning Centre, the toy brand owned by The Entertainer, from Thursday.
  
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• B&M to pay second special dividend

  12-11-2020 10:39
  Move likely to stoke controversy over taxpayer support for traders during lockdown
  
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• B&M pretax profits double in first half

  12-11-2020 10:25 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // B&M revenues up 25%
  // Retailer will repay £3.7m in furlough support received during first lockdown
  // B&M “remains confident” in future prospects after encouraging start to second halfB&M posted a 121 per cent rise in pretax profits for the first half of its year to September 26, from £106 million to £235.6 million.
  The discount retailer saw revenues in the first half rise by a quarter, from £1.79 billion to £2.24 billion.
  “The grou
  
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• Burberry pretax profits down 62% for first half

  12-11-2020 10:04 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Burberry saw pretax profits by more than half after impact of coronavirus
  // Luxury fashion brand saw demand pick up in Q2 after store sales fell 45% in Q1
  // Emphasis on digital experiences to offset impact of store closuresBurberry saw pretax profits fall by 62 per cent in the first half of its financial year to September 26, after impacts from the coronavirus restricted luxury spending.
  The luxury British fashion house recorded first-half pretax profits of £73 million in the six mont
  
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• Stores at risk as LK Bennett prepares to launch CVA

  12-11-2020 09:57 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // LK Bennett will launch CVA proposals but will “secure as many jobs as possible”
  // Sales are not expected to fully bounce back until mid-2021
  // At least 4-5 store closures and a small number of job losses will take placeLK Bennett is reportedly preparing to launch its CVA proposals which will see five stores close down and move remaining shops to turnover-based rents.
  The womenswear retailer said the proposals will result in a small number of redundancies as it attempts to &
  
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• WHSmith reports back on £226m loss after “challenging year”

  12-11-2020 09:32 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // WHSmith posts pretax loss of £226m after its travel and high street stores are heavily impacted by coronavirus restrictions
  // Travel business swung to a loss of £33m after last year’s profit of £117m
  // WHSmith said it will look to close around 25 storesWHSmith on Thursday reported back on its preliminary results for the full year to August 31.
  The book and travel retailer made a pretax loss of £226 million, compared with a profit of £135 million in 2019.
  
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• Yoox Net-A-Porter and The Prince’s Foundation launch sustainable luxury collection

  12-11-2020 08:47 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Prince Charles’ charity announces new initiative with Yoox Net-A-Porter
  // Titled The Modern Artisan, project looks to train young UK and Italian textile designers in heritage and luxury fashion design
  // The first Yoox Net-A-Porter for The Prince’s Foundation capsule collection launches across Yoox, Net-A-Porter, Mr Porter and The Outnet simultaneously todayThe Prince of Wales and Yoox Net-A-Porter have announced a new sustainable luxury collection of menswear and womenswear, lau
  
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• India’s patchy economic recovery raises post-Covid hopes

  12-11-2020 02:13
  Analysts caution that optimism may not be enough as threat of second wave looms
  
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• India’s economy shows flickers of life ahead of Diwali festival

  12-11-2020 02:13
  But analysts warn tentative economic comeback could lose steam if virus cases surge
  
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• The Shirt Society appoints Steve Price as product development director

  12-11-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Subscription model menswear retailer The Shirt Society has appointed Steve Price as product development director. Price has extensive experience in fashion merchandising and is a former... View Article
  
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• The complete guide to Machine Learning in Retail Demand Forecasting

  12-11-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  In today’s data-rich retail environment, machine learning can help tackle your biggest demand forecasting challenges. Download the free guide to learn: How machine learning enables you... View Article
  
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• Overcoming the Returns Challenge

  12-11-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  E-commerce returns are one of the biggest logistics challenges facing retailers today. Retailers can lose up to a massive £60bn per year trying to overcome the... View Article
  
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• Franchsie Group sells 47 franchise locations to Bebe Stores

  12-11-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Franchise Group has announced that it has refranchised 47 Buddy’s locations to women’s fashion retailer Bebe Stores for a sum of $35 million. The agreement also... View Article
  
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• Franchise Group sells 47 franchise locations to Bebe Stores

  12-11-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Franchise Group has announced that it has refranchised 47 Buddy’s locations to women’s fashion retailer Bebe Stores for a sum of $35 million. The agreement also... View Article
  
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• Debenhams launches ‘Giftastic’ campaign

  12-11-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Debenhams has launched a 2020 Christmas campaign called Giftastic which features real families from across the UK. The department store said its regional stores played a... View Article
  
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• Cox & Cox posts strong third quarter sales

  12-11-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Cox & Cox has seen its revenue grow by 103% in its third quarter which means its sales have climbed by 72% in the financial year... View Article
  
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• Central England Co-op introduces new value range

  12-11-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Central England Co-op has introduced a new value range of own-brand food and grocery essentials as it looks to attract budget conscious shoppers. The new Co-op... View Article
  
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• Burberry reports drop in first half sales and profit

  12-11-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Burberry has reported a 31% drop in revenue to £878 million in its first half after trading was impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. In the  six... View Article
  
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• Britain is becoming a proud nation of ‘dotshop’ keepers

  12-11-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Britain has always been, according to Napoleon’s famous phrase, ‘a nation of shopkeepers’, with the UK’s booming e-commerce scene and the new snappy, memorable and universally... View Article
  
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