Retail news

• More than half of UK retailers affected by Houthi disruption, survey shows

  25-02-2024 23:30
  
  Costs are escalating amid delays, according to British Chambers of Commerce research that shows UK exporters have also been hitMore than half of UK retailers and exporters have been affected by the disruption to Red Sea trade from Houthi rebel attacks on cargo ships, research by a leading business lobby group suggests.The price of shipping a container from Asia to Europe has gone up by as much as 300% for some businesses, while logistical delays have added up to three to four weeks to delivery t
  
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• More than half of UK exporters affected by Houthi disruption, survey shows

  25-02-2024 23:30
  
  Costs are escalating amid delays, according to British Chambers of Commerce research that shows UK retailers have also been hitMore than half of UK retailers and exporters have been affected by the disruption to Red Sea trade from Houthi rebel attacks on cargo ships, research by a leading business lobby group suggests.The price of shipping a container from Asia to Europe has gone up by as much as 300% for some businesses, while logistical delays have added up to three to four weeks to delivery t
  
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• Oxford Street sweeter – with fewer shops empty or selling candy

  25-02-2024 17:50
  
  Openings in past year include HMV, Under Armour and Rituals, with Ikea poised to join them in the autumnOxford Street has begun to bounce back, with the proportion of vacant shops down by 40% and almost a fifth of its troublesome candy and souvenir shops now closed.The revival of the central London shopping street has been spurred by a mix of factors, including: the full reopening of Tottenham Court Road station at its eastern end and last May’s official launch of the Elizabeth line which
  
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• Retailers make last-ditch effort to get Hunt to scrap tourist tax

  25-02-2024 12:44 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Retailers have made a last-ditch attempt to persuade Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to axe the UK’s tourist tax in the upcoming Budget, with new evidence suggesting that reintroducing tax-free shopping will spark a £2.8bn tourism boom.
  New West End Company and the Association of International Retail (AIR) has submitted evidence to Downing Street this week refuting the Treasury’s assumption a reintroduction would cost £2.5bn in forgone tax revenues, The Telegraph reported.
  The new
  
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• John Lewis to cut 20% of customer service workers

  25-02-2024 12:19 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Hundreds of John Lewis customer service staff are facing redundancy as the retailer looks to cut the size of its team at a key outsourcer by 20%.
  The Partnership, which also owns Waitrose, is said to be axing the number of people it contracts from customer service provider Foundever, which has been a partner of the business for the past 17 years.
  According to The Telegraph, John Lewis is looking to shrink its team, which stands at more than 1,000 employees, by around 200 people.
  The Partnership
  
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• John Lewis outsourced customer service staff hit with redundancies

  25-02-2024 12:19 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Hundreds of customer service employees working for John Lewis are facing redundancy as the retailer cuts the number of people on its account from outsourcer Foundever.
  The department store company’s team consists of over 1,000 staff and is shrinking by approximately 200 workers.
  Foundever manages the majority of the retailer’s customer service and has served as its partner for the last 17 years, according to The Telegraph.
  John Lewis claimed it was looking for jobs for affected worke
  
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• M&S withholds payment to Ocado after poor performance

  25-02-2024 12:04 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  M&S is withholding a multi-million-pound payment to Ocado Group after its grocery delivery tie-up failed to meet key performance targets.
  The pair partnered in 2019 to create Ocado Retail, a £750m venture that gave Ocado customers access to M&S Food.
  As part of the deal, the high street retailer is expected to pay Ocado a final instalment of £190.7m by August, dependent on the venture’s performance against an undisclosed target in the year to November 2023.Subscribe to
  
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• Next eyes rescue bid for The Body Shop

  25-02-2024 11:50 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Next is considering a rescue bid to acquire parts of The Body Shop after the retailer’s UK operations were placed into administration earlier this month.
  The retail group is understood to have contacted administrators at FRP Advisory to express an interest in acquiring assets as part of any sale process it decides to launch, Sky News reported.
  The Body Shop owner Aurelius filed for administration of the retailer’s UK operations last week in a move to restructure the business.
  Next is
  
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