Retail news

• Walmart sued by US over alleged role in fuelling America's opioid crisis

  22-12-2020 20:16
  
  World’s biggest retailer accused of ignoring warning signs from its pharmacists and failing to take its gatekeeping duties seriouslyThe US justice department sued Walmart on Tuesday, accusing the retailer of fuelling the opioid crisis and ignoring warning signs from its pharmacists, according to a court filing.The retailer’s shares fell about 2% following the news. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Stocks bounce as UK awaits signs of border reopening with France – as it happened

  22-12-2020 16:03
  
  Rolling coverage of the latest business and markets news, as borders continue to shut in response to the UK’s new Covid strainJohnson appeals to French president but freight Covid ban remainsNew Covid strain means short-term prospects for UK economy are bleakSee all our coronavirus coverage 3.03pm GMT Investors started the session fretting over the fallout of the new Covid strain, which has prompted more than 40 countries to shut their borders to Britain, and raised concerns about how quic
  
  Read more

• Workers claim to face appalling conditions at Pakistani factories supplying Boohoo clothes – video

  22-12-2020 16:01
  
  Clothes sold by the fast-fashion brand Boohoo to British consumers are being made by workers in its supply chain who claim they face appalling conditions and earn as little as £47 a month. Documentary, video and photographic evidence also appears to support claims of potential safety issues, including motorbikes being parked indoors next to flammable materials• Boohoo selling clothes made by Pakistani workers 'who earned 29p an hour'
  • Hungry and afraid: life for factory workers
  
  Read more

• Hungry and afraid: life for factory workers meeting UK demand for cheap clothes

  22-12-2020 16:00
  
  Pakistani workers describe trying to survive on the less than £50 a month many of them earn making items for firms such as Boohoo
  When Qasim Ahmed* arrived in Faisalabad a year ago, he didn’t want much – just enough money to pay for a roof over his head, buy food and send a little home each month.Today, that seems like a fantasy. Instead of having enough to get by, he claims, he has found himself struggling to survive, frequently going hungry, feeling abused by his boss and fea
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• COMMENT: Was this finally the year that retail changed forever?

  22-12-2020 16:00 via retailgazette.co.uk
  It sometimes feels like at the end of every year there’s a Groundhog Day moment where marketers and forecasters pose whether this was the year that retail changed forever. While that may have been an overstated cliché in previous years, it finally rings very true in 2020.
  This has obviously been an incredibly challenging year for the sector, but it’s also been a time of incredible innovation and experimentation as businesses big and small adapted at an astonishing pace.
  As we
  
  Read more

• Boohoo selling clothes made by Pakistani workers 'who earned 29p an hour'

  22-12-2020 16:00
  
  Guardian investigation finds claims of safety issues, with workers saying they sometimes work 24-hour shifts
  The fast fashion brand Boohoo is selling clothes made by Pakistani factory workers who say they face appalling conditions and earn as little as 29p an hour, an investigation by the Guardian has found.In interviews in the industrial city of Faisalabad, workers at two factories claimed they were paid 10,000PKR (£47) a month, well below the legal monthly minimum wage for unskilled labo
  
  Read more

• Asda owners accused of asset stripping by GMB union

  22-12-2020 15:20 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // GMB union said Asda owners are stripping assets following plans to sell off their logistics portfolio
  // The Issa brothers, who own petrol empire EG Group, recently drafted in advisers to prepare for the sale of up to 25 distribution centresAsda owners Mohsin and Zuber Issa have been attacked by the GMB union over their plans to offload the grocer’s logistics portfolio.
  The union for Asda workers has said that the company’s “sale and leaseback” plans amount to asset st
  
  Read more

• Online purchases now account for up to 70% of John Lewis sales

  22-12-2020 14:51 via chargedretail.co.uk
  
  Purchases made online accounted for up to 70 per cent of sales at John Lewis this year, as the retailer reported back on its Shop, Live, Look consumer report for 2020.
  Examining customer trends in the past 12 months, John Lewis found customers were now using their working day to shop online, with peaks at 11am-4pm, as opposed to in the evening between 7-10pm.
  Online now accounts for 60-70 per cent of John Lewis sales whereas before the pandemic it was only 40 per cent.
  READ MORE: John Lewi
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Tesco warns shoppers not to panic buy after France ban

  22-12-2020 13:40 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Tesco issues warning to consumers not to panic buy after a mass shopping spree on Monday
  // Shoppers panicked following France’s decision to close borders
  // Rival Sainsbury’s warned that food may begin to disappear from shelves just days after France’s banTesco has issued a warning after shoppers were seen panic-buying following France’s decision to close borders.
  The Big 4 grocer ensured households it has plenty of food for Christmas and has also encouraged customers
  
  Read more

• Royal Mail halts deliveries to mainland Europe

  22-12-2020 12:50 via chargedretail.co.uk
  
  The Royal Mail has stopped deliveries to mainland Europe, Canada and Turkey due to a UK travel ban caused by a new strain of coronavirus.
  The postal service said it could not guarantee special delivery items would arrive before December 23 due to the tighter covid-19 restrictions in England that were introduced over the weekend.
  A statement on the Royal Mail website said it had temporarily suspended some International services due to impacts from coronavirus.
  With the exception of the Republic o
  
  Read more

• M&S extends Christmas refund period

  22-12-2020 11:31 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Marks & Spencer has extended its Christmas refund dates
  // This is in response to the latest government guidance
  // Items can now be returned up until the extended date of January 31Marks & Spencer has extended its Christmas refund period in response to the latest government guidance.
  For purchases made between October 4 and December 27, 2020, items can now be returned up until the extended date of January 31, 2021.
  The last date for M&S refunds was previously January 10.READ MORE
  
  Read more

• Card Factory hires ex-Clinton Cards boss as new CEO

  22-12-2020 11:20 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Card Factory hires Darcy Willson-Rymer as chief executive
  // Willson-Rymer will replace Karen Hubbard
  // He will join office in March next yearCard Factory has appointed Darcy Willson-Rymer as chief executive, replacing Karen Hubbard who resigned earlier this year.
  Willson-Rymer had previously led Clinton Cards, and joins Card Factory from convenience food retailer Costcutter, where he was chief executive for eight years.
  At Costcutter, he was responsible for the development of a new operatin
  
  Read more

• Sales rise a fifth at DFS as shoppers stay at home and buy sofas

  22-12-2020 10:19
  Profits for the year will be in the top half of the range of analysts’ forecasts
  
  Read more

• Stocks bounce as UK awaits signs of border reopening with France – business live

  22-12-2020 10:16
  
  Rolling coverage of the latest business and markets news, as borders continue to shut in response to the UK’s new Covid strainJohnson appeals to French president but freight Covid ban remainsNew Covid strain means short-term prospects for UK economy are bleakSee all our coronavirus coverage 9.16am GMT US futures are also edging into positive territory amid the European relief rally. S&P 500 futures are marginally higher, up 0.05%. Nasdaq futures are the standout, of course, up 0.2% as
  
  Read more

• Co-op to top-up Healthy Start vouchers

  22-12-2020 10:05 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Co-op is adding £1 on to Healthy Start vouchers to bring total to £4.10
  // Move comes as government agrees to raise vouchers to £4.25 from April 2021 thanks to campaigning from Child Poverty Task ForceCo-op has announced it will top up the value of the government’s Healthy Start vouchers by an additional £1, in support of Marcus Rashford MBE’s Child Poverty Task Force.
  Healthy Start vouchers can be used to buy vital food and essentials such as milk, fresh,
  
  Read more

• TFG London CEO Ben Barnett announces departure

  22-12-2020 09:45 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Ben Barnett ends 14 year stint with TFG London brands
  // Hobbs managing director Justin Hampshire named as replacementTFG London chief executive Ben Barnett will leave the retail group next year, according to Drapers.
  Barnett joined the Whistles, Hobbs and Phase Eight owner in 2007, and will step down in June 2021 after his fourteen years at the helm.
  Hobbs managing director Justin Hampshire has been named as Barnett’s successor, and will take up the role of group managing director.READ
  
  Read more

• DFS confident for H1 results after “resilient” Q2

  22-12-2020 09:12 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Sales in first 24 weeks of half year rose 19%
  // Furniture retailer says online orders were up 76% year-on-year
  // Profits expected to come in at upper half of forecastsDFS Furniture on Tuesday said it had experienced a particularly strong order intake for the first quarter of its financial year, followed by a resilient second quarter, and now expects profits to be in the upper half of forecasts.
  The retailer said gross sales in the first 24 weeks of the financial year to December 13 rose 19
  
  Read more

• UK stocks, oil prices under pressure as Britain battles to reopen borders – business live

  22-12-2020 09:07
  
  Rolling coverage of the latest business and markets news, as borders continue to shut in response to the UK’s new Covid strainJohnson appeals to French president but freight Covid ban remainsNew Covid strain means short-term prospects for UK economy are bleakSee all our coronavirus coverage 8.07am GMT Investors seem to be snapping up Britain’s domestic stocks that were made cheaper following a 2.1% slump on Monday. The FTSE 250 is up 0.4% at 19,773 points 8.03am GMT UK stocks are the
  
  Read more

• Impact of coronavirus hits home for retailers with almost 40,000 in significant financial distress

  22-12-2020 08:46 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Over 20,000 high street retailers in significant financial distress for Q4
  // “While many industries have been hit hard, retail – which was already suffering a crisis of confidence – has been shaken to its foundations” says Begbies Traynor
  // Online retailers are also at risk, with 11,500 now in financial difficultyAlmost 40,000 retailers are under significant financial distress this Christmas, with new data showing the wide-ranging impact of coronavirus on both in-sto
  
  Read more

• All that glitters: UK retailers shift away from plastic Christmas

  22-12-2020 08:00
  
  Manufacturers and shops remove millions of pieces of single-use plastic from their rangesUK retailers and supermarkets have stepped up efforts to take plastic out of packaging for the festive season, boasting of a flurry of eco-friendly wrapping for Christmas puddings, desserts, party foods and chocolates, and with many greetings cards and crackers now free of glitter.Tesco alone has removed more than 20m pieces of single-use plastic from its Christmas range this year – including crackers,
  
  Read more

• Fortnum & Mason boss blasts ‘see-saw’ lockdowns for adding to stress

  22-12-2020 06:00
  Outgoing chief points to risk of UK businesses ‘not making it past January rent day’
  
  Read more

• Thousands of fraudsters are selling via Shopify, analysis finds

  22-12-2020 05:00
  Ecommerce platform’s rapid growth during the pandemic has left it exposed to con artists
  
  Read more

• Investors pour $1bn into buying up small merchants on Amazon

  22-12-2020 05:00
  Start-ups including Thrasio, SellerX and Heroes are rolling up small brands, hoping to become the new P&G or Unilever
  
  Read more

• Thailand’s competition chief criticises $10.6bn CP-Tesco deal

  22-12-2020 01:01
  Watchdog warns of potential for Thai group to gain ‘almost full control’ of retail market
  
  Read more

• Almost 40,000 retailers in UK in financial straits before tougher Covid rules

  22-12-2020 01:01
  
  Insolvency specialist says numbers are 24% higher than the same period last yearCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageAlmost 40,000 retailers in the UK were in “significant financial distress” even before the introduction of tighter restrictions over the weekend forced non-essential shops to shut.Research by the insolvency specialist Begbies Traynor found that 39,232 retailers – both online and bricks and mortar operations – were experiencing s
  
  Read more

• Waitrose appoints new trading director and director of online

  22-12-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Waitrose has appointed Charlotte di Cello as trading director and Laura Burbedge as director of online following an internal and external recruitment process. Currently working as... View Article
  
  Read more

• L Brands makes a range of senior appointments at Bath & Body Works

  22-12-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  L Brands has announced a range of new senior appointments at Bath & Body Works. Julie Rosen has joined the business as president while Deon Riley... View Article
  
  Read more

• H&T introduces new Christmas benefits for store employees

  22-12-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  H&T Pawnbrokers has introduced some special Christmas benefits for store employees in this pandemic year. The company said its chief executive John Nichols and operations director... View Article
  
  Read more

• Flooring Superstore steps up expansion plans

  22-12-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Flooring Superstore is to double its number of stores in 2021 after opening 25 shops in England, Scotland and Wales during the last three years. The... View Article
  
  Read more

• Evans to be run as online brand following acquisition by City Chic Collective

  22-12-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  City Chic Collective has confirmed that it will operate plus-size retailer Evans as an online only retailer after it acquired the Arcadia brand out of administration.... View Article
  
  Read more

• DFS posts uplift in sales

  22-12-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Furniture retailer DFS has reported a 19% increase in gross sales in the twenty four weeks to 13 December. In a pre-close interim trading update, the... View Article
  
  Read more

• Card Factory hires former Clinton Cards head as CEO

  22-12-2020 01:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Card Factory has hired former Clinton Cards head Darcy Willson-Rymer as its new chief executive. Willson-Rymer will join the greeting cards retailer from Costcutter Supermarkets where... View Article
  
  Read more

Follow @retailuknws on Twitter!