Retail news

• PwC confirms Wilko to close remaining 300 stores

  11-09-2023 19:13
  Total of 12,500 jobs at risk as chain disappears from high street after almost a century
  
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• Jeremy Hunt says he mustn’t pump extra money into people’s pockets; BoE’s Mann says better to over-tighten interest rates – as it happened

  11-09-2023 17:04
  
  Chancellor says focus is to fight inflation, while Bank of England policymaker argues for higher interest ratesBMW to make electric Mini in UK after securing millions in government fundingAll 400 Wilko shops to close with loss of more than 12,000 jobsA group of the UK’s largest retailers are lobbying the government not to increase their property taxes, saying it would cost them around £400m.Bosses from 44 firms, including Tesco, M&S and B&Q, are urging Chancellor Jeremy Hunt
  
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• Jeremy Hunt says he mustn’t pump extra money into people’s pockets; BoE’s Mann says better to over-tighten interest rates – business live

  11-09-2023 16:21
  Chancellor says focus is to fight inflation, while Bank of England policymaker argues for higher interest ratesBMW to make electric Mini in UK after securing millions in government fundingAll 400 Wilko shops to close with loss of more than 12,000 jobsA group of the UK’s largest retailers are lobbying the government not to increase their property taxes, saying it would cost them around £400m.Bosses from 44 firms, including Tesco, M&S and B&Q, are urging Chancellor Jeremy Hunt
  
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• Jeremy Hunt says he mustn’t pump extra money into people’s pockets; all Wilko stores to close – business live

  11-09-2023 15:16
  
  Chancellor says focus in autumn statement will be to fight inflation, while redundancies now look likely for all 12,500 staff at WilkoBMW to make electric Mini in UK after securing millions in government fundingAll 400 Wilko shops to close with loss of more than 12,000 jobsA group of the UK’s largest retailers are lobbying the government not to increase their property taxes, saying it would cost them around £400m.Bosses from 44 firms, including Tesco, M&S and B&Q, are urging
  
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• All Wilko stores to close as rescue efforts fail; £600m package to save BMW’s Oxford plant – business live

  11-09-2023 14:47
  
  Redundancies now look likely for all 12,500 staff at high street chain, while thousands of jobs have been secured at BMW’s Cowley car plantBMW to make electric Mini in UK after securing millions in government fundingAll 400 Wilko shops to close with loss of more than 12,000 jobsA group of the UK’s largest retailers are lobbying the government not to increase their property taxes, saying it would cost them around £400m.Bosses from 44 firms, including Tesco, M&S and B&Q,
  
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• Boots unveils biggest ever value campaign for shoppers

  11-09-2023 14:20 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Boots has launched its biggest ever value campaign called “Best for Less” to highlight the three key ways shoppers can save using an Advantage Card.
  The Advantage Card scheme has been expanded to offer lower prices on over 2,000 products under the “Price Advantage”.
  Card holders at the healthcare company can also get 10% off its own brand range.
  Thirdly, customers can nab “everyday deals” including Boots £10 Tuesday, Pay Day and Premium Beauty events.Sub
  
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• Wilko to close remaining 300 stores risking more than 10,000 jobs

  11-09-2023 14:04
  Chain to become one of the UK’s biggest retail casualties as it disappears from high street after almost a century
  
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• Wilko: HMV rescue deal collapses, all 400 shops set to close

  11-09-2023 13:01 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  The proposed rescue deal by HMV owner Doug Putman that would see the majority of Wilko stores saved is understood to have collapsed.
  All 400 Wilko branches will now close by early October, which will mean that 12,500 jobs are likely to be lost, according to GMB.
  The union said it was told of the developments by Wilko administrator PwC on Monday morning.
  Putman said: “It is with great disappointment that we can no longer continue in the purchase process for Wilko having worked with administ
  
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• Wilko: First store closures to start on Tuesday

  11-09-2023 13:01 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  The first store closures at Wilko are due to start today, Sky News reports.
  The Cardiff, Liverpool, Acton and Falmouth branches are among 24 stores to close today, with 28 more due to shut on Thursday.
  The news comes after the proposed rescue deal by HMV owner Doug Putman that would see the majority of Wilko stores saved is understood to have collapsed.
  All 400 Wilko branches will now close by early October, which will mean that 12,500 jobs are likely to be lost, according to GMB.
  The union said
  
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• Wilko: All 400 stores to close after HMV rescue deal collapses

  11-09-2023 13:01 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  All 400 Wilko branches will now close by early October resulting in a further 9,100 redundancies, administrators at PwC said.
  The news comes after the proposed rescue deal by HMV owner Doug Putman to save a significant proportion of the discount retailer collapsed late last week.
  Administrators said on Monday: “Staff at 124 stores have today been informed that those outlets will close on, or before, Thursday 21 September.
  “Timings for the closure of the remaining 222 stores will be a
  
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• All 400 Wilko shops to close with loss of more than 12,000 jobs

  11-09-2023 12:58
  
  Talks with HMV owner Doug Putman fail to secure rescue dealBusiness live – latest updatesAll of Wilko’s 400-plus stores are to close with the loss of more than 12,000 jobs, after talks with potential buyers failed to deliver a rescue deal for the stricken retailer.The GMB union said on Monday that administrators PwC had informed staff that all of the chain’s 408 stores are set to close by early October. Continue reading...
  
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• BMW announces £600m package to save Oxford Mini plant; Wilko rescue hopes fade – business live

  11-09-2023 12:19
  
  Thousands of jobs secured as BMW pledges to build its next-generation electric Mini in the UK, while more jobs are at risk at WilkoBMW U-turns on plans to move electric Mini production from UK to ChinaA group of the UK’s largest retailers are lobbying the government not to increase their property taxes, saying it would cost them around £400m.Bosses from 44 firms, including Tesco, M&S and B&Q, are urging Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to freeze their property taxes to avoid a roughly
  
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• Not long until the eCommerce Expo! ⏰

  11-09-2023 11:00 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Not long to go until the eCommerce Expo, 27-28 September 2023 at ExCel LondonWith over 11,000 eCommerce and Marketing experts and 300+ leading solution providers, this event is a must-attend for anyone in the eCommerce industry.The best things in life are free, and eCommerce Expo is one of them – no cost for you and your colleagues!12 conference theatres – a powerhouse speaker lineup of trailblazers, visionaries, and game-changers in retail and B2B commerce from all over the industry
  
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• Ex-H&M sustainability boss joins Zalando

  11-09-2023 10:50 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Zalando has named sustainable apparel expert Pascal Brun as its new vice president of sustainability, diversity and inclusion.
  In his new role at the German online fashion giant, Brun will report to Padmaja Bommareddy, SVP of Corporate Development where he will be responsible for driving the retailer’s “strong commitment to the areas of sustainability and D&I and further integrating them into the strategic ambitions of the company”.
  Brun joins Zalando after 16 years at fel
  
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• BMW to build next-generation electric Mini in Oxford; Wilko rescue hopes fade – business live

  11-09-2023 10:50
  
  Thousands of jobs secured as BMW prepares to announce it will build its next-generation electric Mini in the UKBMW U-turns on plans to move electric Mini production from UK to ChinaA group of the UK’s largest retailers are lobbying the government not to increase their property taxes, saying it would cost them around £400m.Bosses from 44 firms, including Tesco, M&S and B&Q, are urging Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to freeze their property taxes to avoid a roughly £400 million h
  
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• Aldi kicks off biggest round of price cuts on fruit and vegetables

  11-09-2023 10:43 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Aldi has launched its biggest round of price cuts on fruit and vegetable essentials, including bananas, apples, spinach and courgettes.
  The latest price drop represents around one third of its produce range, which has seen 55 items fall by an average of around 11%.
  The price cut is the latest of more than 100 price drops at Aldi over the past few months. It comes as consumer watchdog Which? confirmed Aldi as the UK’s cheapest supermarket for the 15th month in a row.Subscribe to Retail Gaze
  
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• John Lewis boss calls for royal commission to save UK high streets

  11-09-2023 10:39
  
  Sharon White says 6,000 shops have closed over the past five years and rethink is neededBusiness live – latest updatesThe boss of John Lewis has called for a royal commission review into the UK’s ailing high streets, arguing that mass stores closures, crime and antisocial behaviour are blighting Britain’s town centres.Dame Sharon White, the chair of John Lewis Partnership, which owns the John Lewis and Waitrose chains, said 6,000 shops in Britain have closed over the last five
  
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• Retailers to pay police to deter shoplifters as crime soars

  11-09-2023 10:34 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Ten of Britain’s largest retailers are set to fund a new police operation that aims to deter shoplifters.
  Under Project Pegasus, police will run CCTV pictures of shoplifting incidents provided by the retailers via the Police National Database.
  According to The Times, the scheme will use facial recognition technology, giving police a “national picture of where shoplifting gangs are operating and the shops they are targeting”.
  Project Pegasus is expected to be paid £600,000
  
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• Wilko: HMV rescue deal collapses putting thousands of jobs at risk

  11-09-2023 10:01 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  The proposed rescue deal by HMV owner Doug Putman that would see the majority of Wilko stores saved is understood to have collapsed, putting thousands of jobs at risk.
  According to Sky News, administrators at PwC are now expected to sign a deal with The Range to acquire the Wilko brand and online assets in the coming days.
  Meanwhile, Poundland is understood to be in the running to snap up 100 stores. Although it is unclear whether the employees at the branches will be included in the transaction
  
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• Wilko: HMV owner’s bid to buy most of shops collapses

  11-09-2023 09:56
  
  Poundland, Home Bargains and The Range still in talks but Doug Putman bid failsA rescue deal proposed by the owner of HMV that would have saved around half of Wilko’s stores and secured the future of thousands of jobs has collapsed.Doug Putman, who engineered a turnaround of HMV in the UK and owns Toys R Us in Canada, had been negotiating a deal to save as many as 200 of Wilko’s 408 stores, throwing a lifeline to staff. Continue reading...
  
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• Shein accuses Temu of copying thousands of product images as copycat row escalates

  11-09-2023 09:50 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Shein has filed a lawsuit against Temu in London’s High Court accusing its rival of copying thousands of images from its website.
  The Chinese ecommerce giant claims it has “identified thousands of instances” where Temu sellers had taken photos from its website to market and sell their products.
  Shein alleges its rival has been “competing unfairly” by passing off its products as those sold on its site, according to court papers filed at the High Court in August and s
  
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• Shein accuses Temu of copying thousands of product images

  11-09-2023 09:50 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Shein has filed a lawsuit against Temu in London’s High Court accusing its rival of copying thousands of images from its website.
  The Chinese ecommerce giant claims it has “identified thousands of instances” where Temu sellers had taken photos from its website to market and sell their products.
  Shein alleges its rival has been “competing unfairly” by passing off its products as those sold on its site, according to court papers filed at the High Court in August and s
  
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• Aldi, M&S, Ikea call for business rates freeze

  11-09-2023 09:06 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Retail leaders have written to chancellor Jeremy Hunt calling for a freeze in business rates in the upcoming autumn statement to prevent the industr being charged millions of pounds in additional tax.
  The chief executives from 44 of the UK’s biggest retailers  – including Aldi, Boots, Ikea, M&S, Sainsbury’s and Tesco – said that more than £400m would be added to its rates bills if the “multiplier” used to determine commercial property tax was ap
  
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• Aldi, M&S, Ikea and more call for business rates freeze

  11-09-2023 09:06 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Retail leaders have written to chancellor Jeremy Hunt calling for a freeze in business rates in the upcoming autumn statement to prevent the industry being charged millions of pounds in additional tax.
  The chief executives from 44 of the UK’s biggest retailers  – including Aldi, Boots, Ikea, M&S, Sainsbury’s and Tesco – said that more than £400m would be added to its rates bills if the “multiplier” used to determine commercial property tax was a
  
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• John Lewis boss calls for government reform as high streets turn into ‘looting grounds’

  11-09-2023 08:45 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  John Lewis boss Sharon White has branded UK high streets as “looting grounds” for criminal gangs as she calls on the government to review the current state of town centres.
  In a letter to The Telegraph, the chairwoman said local high streets were being destroyed by the rise in shoplifting and antisocial behaviour, encouraged by years of shop closures that have left many town centres littered with “seemingly endless” rows of charity shops and boarded up storefronts.
  White
  
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• BMW to build next-generation electric Mini in Oxford; John Lewis chief calls for royal commission to save high streets – business live

  11-09-2023 08:42
  
  Thousands of jobs secured as BMW prepares to announce it will build its next-generation electric Mini in the UKBMW will unveil a significant investment in its electric Mini plant in Oxford today, a move that will secure 4,000 jobs and strengthen the UK’s electric vehicle supply chain.The investment by the German carmaker is the result of “extensive” engagement with the UK government, according to the business and trade department, and marks a reversal of plans to move electric
  
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• Co-op recruits undercover guards to combat shoplifting rise

  11-09-2023 08:24 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Co-op has hired undercover guards to patrol its shop floors as it looks to combat the rise in shoplifting.
  The supermarket chain said it had increased the use of “covert” security staff to catch theives in stores, The Telegraph reported.
  The security employees are supplied by contractor Mitie and have been trained to confront and hold thieves until the police arrive on the scene.Subscribe to Retail Gazette for free
  Sign up here to get the latest news straight into your inbo
  
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• Former Alibaba chief Daniel Zhang steps down from cloud unit

  11-09-2023 06:39
  Leadership shake-up comes as ecommerce group starts breaking up its empire
  
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• Departing Alibaba chief Daniel Zhang steps down from cloud unit

  11-09-2023 06:39
  Leadership shake-up comes as ecommerce group starts breaking up its empire
  
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• Waitrose to launch new own-brand range – Japan Menyū

  11-09-2023 02:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Waitrose will be launching a new own-brand range of Japanese-inspired food later this month. Due to arrive on shelves on 20 September, the Japan Menyū  range... View Article
  
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• Tesco pharmacies begin offering free winter flu jabs

  11-09-2023 02:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Tesco pharmacies have begun offering free NHS winter flu jabs to the over 65s and other eligible groups today. For those who do not qualify for... View Article
  
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• Q&A: Orla Power, Marketing Director, Luzern eCommerce

  11-09-2023 02:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Orla Power leads global marketing for Luzern eCommerce, the leading European managed eCommerce platform provider. With 20 years of experience, Orla is a seasoned business and... View Article
  
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• Morrisons and Motor Fuel Group in talks on petrol forecourts deal

  11-09-2023 02:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  The Morrisons supermarket chain is in talks to sell its petrol forecourts business to Motor Fuel Group. According to Sky News, an agreement could be reached... View Article
  
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• Interview: Rob Dance on navigating with purpose and people-centred values

  11-09-2023 02:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Rob Dance’s journey from selling his cherished Renault 5 car for a mere £1,000 to set up ROCK in 2008 is a testament to his relentless... View Article
  
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• How brand licensing can drive revenue, footfall and customer loyalty for retailers.

  11-09-2023 02:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Brand licensing offers incredible above and below the line benefits, yet some retailers are still to take advantage. This summer the world turned pink; Barbie pink.... View Article
  
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• Express names new chief executive

  11-09-2023 02:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  US fashion chain Express has appointed Stewart Glendinning as its new chief executive. Due to take up his role on 15 September, he will replace Tim... View Article
  
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• A.F. Blakemore announce new structure to leverage retail strength

  11-09-2023 02:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  A.F. Blakemore has announced changes to the leadership team to consolidate retail knowledge across its SPAR portfolio. A.F. Blakemore CEO Carol Welch said: “I am delighted... View Article
  
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• Waitrose slashes prices for third time this year

  11-09-2023 01:01 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Waitrose is slashing prices on 250 of its popular autumn products on Wednesday, the supermarket has revealed.
  The move will cut prices by 10% on average, across items including pasta, whole chickens, sausages and potatoes.
  The change makes it the third time Waitrose has lowered the costs of hundreds of products this year, under an £100m investment in lowering prices.
  Waitrose reduced the prices of more than 200 products back in June, on goods including tomato ketchup and ice cream.Subscrib
  
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