Retail news

• Greggs on a roll as low prices and savvy marketing aid rapid expansion

  08-03-2024 19:05 via ft.com
  Newcastle-based baker boasts more sites than any rival and more than 8% of the UK’s food-to-go market
  
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• US jobless rate rises to two-year high while wage growth slows – as it happened

  08-03-2024 16:19
  
  US economy adds 275,000 jobs, more than expected but that strength is partly offset by downward revisions to past monthsThe UK’s High Pay Centre has described the £8m pay package for BP’s chief executive as “a damning indictment of an economic model which is failing consumers and the planet” – at a time when millions of households in the UK are in fuel poverty.Andrew Speke, spokesperson for the think tank, which is focused on pay, corporate governance and resp
  
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• US jobless rate rises to two-year high while wage growth slows – business live

  08-03-2024 15:00
  
  US economy adds 275,000 jobs, more than expected but that strength is partly offset by downward revisions to past monthsThe UK’s High Pay Centre has described the £8m pay package for BP’s chief executive as “a damning indictment of an economic model which is failing consumers and the planet” – at a time when millions of households in the UK are in fuel poverty.Andrew Speke, spokesperson for the think tank, which is focused on pay, corporate governance and resp
  
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• Spain’s supermarket thieves covet olive oil as prices surge

  08-03-2024 14:50 via ft.com
  Thefts of ‘liquid gold’ surpass those of ‘ibérico’ ham, cured cheeses and alcohol in most Spanish regions
  
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• How retailers delivered peak 2023

  08-03-2024 14:07 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Download the Retail Gazette report and survey of 350 UK retailers
  This report leverages exclusive industry research of 350 retailers in the UK, offering key insights into their delivery needs and concerns during peak 2023.
  In a retail landscape characterised by ongoing cost-of-living concerns, how are retailer and consumer delivery expectations evolving? Who were the retail winners in this challenging financial climate and what set them apart from the competition?
  Download the report to:Discove
  
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• Matchesfashion axes half its staff after going into administration

  08-03-2024 13:50 via ft.com
  Almost 300 employees lose jobs as luxury clothing retailer owned by Frasers falls victim to slowdown
  
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• UK competition regulator raises price concerns over sugar deal

  08-03-2024 12:56 via ft.com
  CMA warns merger between makers of Tate & Lyle and Whitworths brands could leave only two large suppliers in UK
  
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• Boots orders support staff back into office five days a week from September

  08-03-2024 12:22
  
  Retail chain’s boss declares office as ‘much more fun and inspiring place’ with everyone in attendanceBoots is ordering administrative staff back into the office for five days a week from September as it tries to gear up the business before a potential sale or flotation.The CEO, Seb James, said the employees – who had been asked to work at least three days a week in the group’s various bases in Nottingham, Weybridge in Surrey, and London – should return for th
  
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• BP paid its boss £8m last year and clawed back £1.8m from dismissed CEO Looney pay – business live

  08-03-2024 12:17
  
  Campaign group Global Witness labels Murray Auchincloss’s £8m paycheck ‘sickening’ and says it would take an average UK worker 230 years to earnThe UK’s High Pay Centre has described the £8m pay package for BP’s chief executive as “a damning indictment of an economic model which is failing consumers and the planet” – at a time when millions of households in the UK are in fuel poverty.Andrew Speke, spokesperson for the think tank, which
  
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• ‘Tap water is boring, so they invent new products’: how did humble H2O become such big business?

  08-03-2024 12:00
  
  The must-have giant drinking cups are just the half of it. From designer ice to aqua mineralogists, water is a marketer’s dreamTowards the end of 2009, Camper English achieved a major breakthrough in his kitchen in San Francisco. After months of experimentation, English, a drinks industry consultant, created the perfect piece of clear ice: a cube with minimal fissures and microbubbles, as transparent as air.His method for making clear ice – freezing water in an insulated container, w
  
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• B&Q launches in-store partnership with paint company Lick

  08-03-2024 11:25 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  B&Q has launched an in-store partnership with paint company Lick, to sell its products in shops for the first time.
  The retailer is set to sell a range of paint, samples and decorating accessories from the paint business in stores throughout the UK and Ireland.
  The DIY company first began stocking Lick paint on its website back July, but its latest move means the products can now be found in stores along with an interactive, digital screen allowing customers complete a quiz to receive colour
  
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• Tesco blasted as pay rise delay leaves many workers earning under minimum wage

  08-03-2024 11:23 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Tesco has been criticised after a month-long delay to a promised pay rise has left hundreds of staff earning less than the minimum wage.
  The grocery giant, which employs more than 330,000 workers, revealed this week it was increasing the minimum pay for its shop workers from £11.02 to £12.02 as of 28 April – almost a month after the legal minimum wage for those aged 21 and over increases to £11.44.
  The delay is allowed under HMRC rules, which ensures minimum pay rates are
  
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• Five last-minute tips for Mother’s Day marketers

  08-03-2024 11:17 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Juliette Aiken, Global Marketing Director, Dotdigital, shares a guide for marketers to make the most out of Mother’s Day. For the UK and Ireland, Mother’s Day... View Article
  
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• John Lewis Lego bouquets grow in popularity for Mother’s Day

  08-03-2024 11:14 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  John Lewis has reported a spike in demand for its Lego floral bouquets as an alternative gift idea for Mother’s Day.
  Sales of the ever lasting flowers have soared 817% over the last two weeks, compared to the same time last year, with the hashtag #legoflowers racking up 31.8k posts on TikTok, according to the retailer.
  Bestsellers for Mother’s Day include Lego daffodils, sunflowers, and its 939-piece Icons 10313 wildflower bouquet, as the bouquets reportedly grow in popularity as a m
  
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• BP paid its boss £8m last year; clawed back £1.8m from dismissed CEO Looney pay – business live

  08-03-2024 11:02
  
  Campaign group Global Witness says BP CEO’s £8m paycheck would take an average UK worker 230 years to earn BP paid its chief executive Murray Auchincloss £8m last year – and clawed back £1.8m from its former boss Bernard Looney’s pay package.Looney was dismissed in December for failing to disclose to the board personal relationships with colleagues.The millions paid out to BP’s CEO contrast with the millions of Brits in energy poverty, showing the sicken
  
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• Matchesfashion to enter administration; two more takeover deals announced in UK flurry – business live

  08-03-2024 10:15
  
  Frasers Group puts Matches into administration just weeks after buying the online luxury retailer for £52mShares in Frasers Group fell nearly 2% this morning, after it announced that it was putting Matchesfashion into administration, less than three months after buying the luxury online retailer from the private equity firm Apax for around £50m.Victoria Scholar, head of investment at interactive investor, said:The financial woes facing Matchesfashion highlight the broader slowdown in
  
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• Matalan reshuffles senior leadership team as ‘ambitious’ transformation plan continues

  08-03-2024 10:12 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Matalan has hired a host of new senior leaders to the company, as it presses on with its “ambitious” business transformation.
  The group has appointed former Boden director of product management and experience, David Seeby as its new director of online, in a bid to drive forward its ecommerce offer.
  Former Co-op director of strategic planning and solutions John O’Driscoll joins the retailer as its new director of strategy, overseeing the delivery of the leadership team’s s
  
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• Superdry hires restructuring firm to explore options

  08-03-2024 09:34 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Superdry has drafted in advisors from restructuring specialist Teneo as the ailing fashion retailer continues to explore cost-saving measures.
  The company is understood to have been working with Teneo on its turnaround plan over the past few weeks, Drapers reported.
  Superdry is thought to be considering a potential company voluntary arrangement (CVA) and a restructuring plan.Subscribe to Retail Gazette for free
   Sign up here to get the latest news straight into your inbox each morning&
  
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• Luxury clothing brand Matchesfashion to enter administration

  08-03-2024 09:15
  
  New owner Frasers Group decides it is unwilling to fund turnaroundThe luxury clothing retailer Matchesfashion is to enter administration after its new owner, Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group, said it was not willing to fund a turnaround.Matches was acquired by Frasers just three months ago for £52m in cash from private equity firm Apax Partners but the business has “consistently missed its business plan targets” and made losses, Frasers said. Continue reading...
  
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• Currys offloads Greek business as sale given green light

  08-03-2024 09:12 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Currys has completed the sale of its Greek business Kotsovolos to electricity supplier Public Power Corporation (PPC) following regulatory approval.
  The electricals giant said PPC had received “unconditional approval” from the Hellenic Competition Commission to purchase Dixons South East Europe, the holding company of its Greek business.
  The transaction is worth £175m, adjusted to include lease liabilities, and will be completed in the first half of April.Subscribe to Retail Ga
  
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• Matchesfashion to enter administration; stock markets rise on rate cut hopes – business live

  08-03-2024 08:44
  
  Frasers Group puts Matches into administration just weeks after buying the online luxury retailer for £52mGood morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group is putting Matchesfashion into administration, just weeks after buying the online luxury clothing retailer, putting hundreds of jobs in jeopardy.Since Frasers acquired Matches, the business has consistently missed its business plan targets and, no
  
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• Deliveroo extends Screwfix tie-up to 15 locations

  08-03-2024 08:42 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Deliveroo has expanded its partnership with Screwfix to a total of 15 locations since its launch last year.
  The delivery firm announced its exclusive tie-up with the home improvement retailer in November as part of its Deliveroo Shopping feature, which allows users to shop from a range of non-food categories.
  Retail Week reported that Screwfix products are now available to order on the app from its stores based in Bayswater, Beckenham, Borehamwood, Bromley, Charlton, Chessington, Colindale, Croy
  
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• IWD 2024: WHSmith travel retail director Heidi Reynolds on breaking age barriers in leadership

  08-03-2024 08:40 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  To celebrate International Women’s Day 2024 Heidi Reynolds, retail director for WHSmith Travel shares her remarkable journey from young motherhood to a senior executive role at one of the UK’s retail icons.
  After five years at the helm of WHSmith’s high street division, Reynolds was recently promoted to head up the retailer’s booming travel arm.
  With a 20-year industry career at a host of household names including Ikea, Tesco and Pets at Home, Reynolds brings a wealth of
  
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• Frasers Group puts Matches into administration two months after acquisition

  08-03-2024 08:28 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Frasers Group has put luxury etailer Matches into administration less than three months after buying it.
  The retail empire said on Thursday that the fashion business had “consistently missed its business plan targets and, notwithstanding support from the group, has continued to make material losses”.
  “Whilst Matches’ management team has tried to find a way to stabilise the business, it has become clear that too much change would be required to restructure it and the conti
  
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• Frasers Group puts Matches into administration after two months

  08-03-2024 08:28 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Frasers Group has put luxury etailer Matches into administration less than three months after buying it.
  The retail empire said on Thursday that the fashion business had “consistently missed its business plan targets and, notwithstanding support from the group, has continued to make material losses”.
  “Whilst Matches’ management team has tried to find a way to stabilise the business, it has become clear that too much change would be required to restructure it and the conti
  
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• Frasers Group puts Matches into administration

  08-03-2024 07:44 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Frasers Group is putting Matches Fashion into administration just weeks after acquiring the luxury clothing retailer from Apax Partners. In a statement released last night, Frasers... View Article
  
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• Currys launches ‘Trash Tycoon’ gaming experience to promote e-waste recycling

  08-03-2024 07:41 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Currys has launched its  first ever game as it looks to encourage customers to recycle their e-waste. Called Trash Tycoon and created in Fortnite, the free-of-charge... View Article
  
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• Majestic opens new small format store in Marlow

  08-03-2024 07:04 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Wine retailer Majestic has opened a new small-format store in Marlow as part of its ongoing UK expansion. The 2,200 square foot space is around half... View Article
  
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• Marks & Spencer expands Nobody’s Child presence to 60 stores

  08-03-2024 06:49 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Marks & Spencer is adding Nobody’s Child pop-up shops to 48 further stores to take the total number of stores with space for the brand to... View Article
  
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• International Women’s Day: 7 activist female founders

  08-03-2024 01:01 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Today marks International Women’s Day, which provides Retail Gazette with the perfect opportunity to highlight some of the talented female founders that have used their businesses to campaign for change.
  Anita Roddick, The Body ShopAnita Roddick was the pioneering entrepreneur behind what became the UK’s leading ethical beauty retailer, The Body Shop.
  While its status may have fallen behind in recent years under various owners, Roddick set out to create a brand that sold natural cosm
  
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• IWD 2024: WHSmith travel retail director Heidi Reynolds

  08-03-2024 00:38 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  To celebrate International Women’s Day 2024 Heidi Reynolds, retail director for WHSmith Travel shares her remarkable journey from young motherhood to a senior executive role at one of the UK’s retail icons.
  After five years at the helm of WHSmith’s high street division, Reynolds was recently promoted to head up the retailer’s booming travel arm.
  With a 20-year industry career at a host of household names including Ikea, Tesco and Pets at Home, Reynolds brings a wealth of
  
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• PiRA24 Judge Interview: Nick Singh, Ikea

  08-03-2024 00:21 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Meet Nick, the Mid Market Manager from IKEA, who now joins our judging panel for the prestigious People in Retail Awards 2024. With a keen eye... View Article
  
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