Retail news

• England’s pubs prepare to pull 10m extra pints on Euros final day

  11-07-2024 19:24
  Flights to Berlin are fully booked and Tesco thinks it will shift 1m pizzas in massive boost to the economyPreparations for Sunday’s Euro 2024 final are reaching fever pitch with retailers, pubs and airlines scrambling to meet England fans’ demand for everything from beer and burgers to replica shirts and flights.On Thursday supporters with deep pockets were scouring the web for flights to Berlin or nearby cities and trying to secure a ticket for the final, the latter said to be chan
  
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• Carpetright up for sale as pre-pack deal looms

  11-07-2024 18:09 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Carpetright has put itself up for sale as it struggles amid increased competition and a slowdown in demand.
  The floorings specialist has drafted in advisers at PwC to launch a formal sale process, The Times reported.
  Sources said a sale was likely to be completed via a pre-pack deal or company voluntary arrangement, which could leave customers, suppliers, subcontractors and landlords out of pocket. Related StoryCarpetright drafts in advisers to cut costs05/04/2024 x 8:41 AMThe appointment of PwC
  
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• 85% of beauty sales convert on the first page. Here’s what that means for you.

  11-07-2024 17:36 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  With online sales for beauty products up 11% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2024 alone, the retail media opportunity has never looked so good.
  For brands and retailers aiming to reach beauty shoppers, we’re thrilled to introduce The State of Health & Beauty Report by Criteo.
  The report is packed with insights from nearly 14,000 global shoppers, combined with Criteo’s own commerce data, built on real-world sales and traffic data from their partner brands and retail
  
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• Interview: Gymshark’s Ben Francis – ‘I want to be a globally iconic brand’

  11-07-2024 17:35 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Since launching in 2012, Gymshark has captured the hearts, minds and wallets of fitness obsessed consumers across the globe with its practical products and community-centric approach.
  As the gymwear giant prepares to open its second store in Westfield Stratford this weekend, CEO Ben Francis speaks to Retail Gazette on his expansion plans as he looks to make Gymshark “a globally iconic brand”.
  Learnings from its first store
  Gymshark first entered the world of bricks and mortar back in
  
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• Interview: Gymshark’s Ben Francis – ‘I want it to be iconic all around the world’

  11-07-2024 17:35 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Since launching in 2012, Gymshark has captured the hearts, minds and wallets of fitness obsessed consumers across the globe with its practical products and community-centric approach.
  As the gymwear giant prepares to open its second store in Westfield Stratford this weekend, CEO Ben Francis speaks to Retail Gazette on his expansion plans as he looks to make Gymshark “a globally iconic brand”.
  Learnings from its first store
  Gymshark first entered the world of bricks and mortar back in
  
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• First look: Inside Gymshark Westfield Stratford

  11-07-2024 17:30 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Gymshark is opening the doors to its second UK store this weekend following the success of its flagship on London’s Regent Street.
  The activewear giant has moved into a 7,000 sq ft unit in Westfield Stratford City. which opens on Saturday 13 July.
  Gymshark said while its flagship store on Regent Street is focused on experiential spaces and workout classes, its Westfield Stratford is “a brand-new scene that offers something a little different”.Gymshark founder and chief executiv
  
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• Fenwick celebrates summer of sport in latest campaign

  11-07-2024 16:53 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Fenwick is celebrating this year’s summer of sport as it launches its third campaign of 2024.
  Summer GB will run across all eight of the retailer’s department stores until 15 September and includes campaign windows, pop-ups, takeovers, exclusive products, new brand launches and limited-edition products.
  Fenwick said the new campaign celebrates “a life spent outdoors, with long joyous weekends, weddings, festivals and games with friends”.
  The retailer has partnered with Sw
  
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• Searches for England shirts skyrocket ahead of Euros final

  11-07-2024 16:45 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Google searches for England shirts have soared 2,470% in the UK since England’s win over the Netherlands during the Euros yesterday, an analysis of Google search data reveals,
  New data from BoohooMan showed the relative popularity of England shirts had risen 25-fold on Google Trends this week since England’s semi-final win.
  The fashion retailer’s findings showed the spike in searches occured at 10pm as the team beat the Netherlands 2-1.
  Additionally, searches for “footbal
  
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• Lidl pushes back store opening times after Euros final this weekend

  11-07-2024 16:42 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Lidl is opening its stores an hour later than usual the day after the European Football Championship final this weekend, regardless of the match outcome.
  The special adjustment will come into play on Monday 15 July following the match between England and Spain taking place in Berlin on Sunday 14 July, to allow staff to enjoy post-match celebrations.
  The supermarket joins Tesco in altering its opening hours for the Euros, with the UK’s largest grocer set to close its Express stores early on
  
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• M&S to expand convenience stores with 10 new openings and 50 renewals

  11-07-2024 16:37 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  M&S has unveiled plans to bolster its convenience store footprint this year as it looks to grow the £1bn business.
  With its franchise partners, the retailer said it will open at least 10 new stores and renew up to 50 existing convenience locations across the UK.
  M&S said that by the end of the year, it will have a presence in over 40 UK train stations as well as in hospitals and airports.
  The announcement comes as the retailer reopened the doors to its Liverpool Street Station Mezz
  
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• Amazon at risk of investigation over grocery supplier treatment

  11-07-2024 15:02 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Amazon is facing a formal investigation from the Groceries Code Adjudicator after it found “many suppliers do not believe that Amazon is complying with the Code”.
  According to the GCA’s annual survey, less than half of respondents, which directly supply the online giant, believe it “consistently or mostly complies” with the Groceries Supply Code of Practice.
  As a result, its perceived Groceries Code compliance score has fallen from 59% to 47%.
  The GCA told the onlin
  
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• New look M&S at Liverpool Street as retailer plots 10 new and up to 50 revamped convenience stores

  11-07-2024 15:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Marks & Spencer has reopened its mezzanine store at London’s Liverpool Street station following a transformation. Launched in 2001 with franchise partner SSP as the first... View Article
  
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• ‘A lazy solution’: Etsy sellers say ban on sex toys is a betrayal

  11-07-2024 15:00
  
  Faced with little time to find new platforms, sellers say ban also furthers idea that sexual pleasure is ‘taboo’Etsy has always been a home for sellers of bespoke, artisanal and alternative items – including erotic jewellery and sex toys.But as of next month, some of these companies will be kicked off the platform, which they see as a betrayal of Etsy’s sizeable sex-positive community. Continue reading...
  
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• Boohoo launches influencer storefronts on its website

  11-07-2024 14:53 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Boohoo is allowing thousands of social media influencers to launch personal pages on its website as the fashion retailer increases its investment into social commerce.
  Its latest initative – The Boohoo Collective – allows online creators to curate an edit of their favourite products and feature their shoppable TikTok and Instagram content via personal pages on the Boohoo.com.
  The retailer has partnered with creator storefront specialists LoudCrowd for the initiative, which it said wi
  
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• Mango debuts AI-created campaign for its teen line

  11-07-2024 14:48 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Mango has rolled out a campaign generated entirely using artificial intelligence (AI) for its limited-edition Sunset Dream collection for Mango Teen.
  Various internal teams collaborated on the development of the campaign, which is available across 95 markets, including Mango Teen’s design, art and styling, dataset and AI model training, and photography studio.
  The Spanish fashion giant’s campaign began with shooting real photos of each clothing item in the collection.
  Using the real
  
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• Hobbycraft eyes 7 new stores in 2025 amid expansion spree

  11-07-2024 14:43 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Hobbycraft is planning to open seven new shops in 2025 as it continues with its store roll out programme across the UK.
  The new locations take the total number of stores opened by the crafts specialist over the last four years to 26.
  It said its shops were a “vital hub” for customers, with arts and crafts shopping “more an experience than a simple transaction”.
  The investment into new locations has created 325 additional jobs over the last three years, with 105 more set t
  
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• Poundland sales dragged down by general merchandise overhaul

  11-07-2024 14:35 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Poundland owner Pepco Group’s third quarter sales fell below expectations as it battled with slow moving stock and a challenging transition to its new general merchandise ranges.
  Poundland like-for-like sales plunged 6.9% to £404m (€480m), which it attributed to challenges related to the introduction of new Pepco-sourced clothing and general merchandise ranges, “which are being addressed”.
  Across the wider Pepco group, like-for-likes fell 4.3%, however group sal
  
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• Currys to upgrade 50 of its largest stores

  11-07-2024 14:15 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Currys has unveiled a store upgrade programme for its largest sites across the UK as part of its commitment to “make the customer shopping experience easier”.
  The electricals retailer will transform 50 of its larger stores, which will see the inclusion of new categories, seasonal showcases, and a focus on “reinvigorating megastore entrance space”.
  The new ranges include health and beauty, pet tech, portable power, and fitness, and its seasonal showcases will include the l
  
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• Gymshark eyes US and European stores as Regent Street flagship exceeds expectations

  11-07-2024 14:12 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Gymshark is looking to open more stores globally with a focus on prime locations as its first physical store on Regent Street in London has exceeded expectations.
  Speaking to Retail Gazette ahead of its second store opening at Westfield Stratford this weekend, founder and CEO Ben Francis said it would be “unit-led” rather than targeting store numbers or specific locations.
  “We are actively looking across the UK, the US, and Europe, but we are committed to finding the right unit
  
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• Hobbycraft emphasises importance of physical retail as it announces plans for seven new stores

  11-07-2024 13:12 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Arts and crafts retailer Hobbycraft is to open seven new stores in 2025. The news follows the recent launch of the retailer’s fifth UK store of... View Article
  
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• Uniqlo can capitalise on Europe’s fast-fashion weakness

  11-07-2024 12:35
  
  Growth potential for Japanese group lies in the backyard of its rivals, H&M and Zara
  
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• Currys to give 50 of its largest stores a makeover

  11-07-2024 11:30 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Electricals retailer Currys has announced that 50 of its largest stores are to undergo a makeover. This will include the introduction of new categories, seasonal showcases,... View Article
  
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• Holland & Barrett reports surge in full year sales

  11-07-2024 10:10 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Holland & Barrett has said its transformation strategy is delivering strong results as it announced that its sales increased by 11% to £806.1 million in the... View Article
  
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• Dr Martens reports steady trading ahead of AGM

  11-07-2024 10:07 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Dr Martens has insisted trading since the start of its financial year has remained in line with expectations, ahead of its annual general meeting (AGM) this morning.
  The footwear retailer said its guidance for FY25 was unchanged, and highlighted that its first quarter, as always, was its smallest period of the financial year, representing the end of the spring/summer season.
  It claimed its current financial year would be very second-half weighted, particularly in terms of profit.
  Dr Martens said
  
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• Frasers Group ups stake in Hugo Boss to £415m

  11-07-2024 09:37 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Frasers Group has upped its stake in Hugo Boss once again, taking its investment in the company to around £415m (€490m) at the shares’ most recent closing price.
  The owner of Sports Direct said it now owned 5.6m shares, 7.99% of Hugo Boss’s total share capital, as well as 13.81%, via the sale of put options.
  The update comes after Frasers increased its financial exposure in the fashion brand in May, bringing its total shares in the company to £305m. Related StoryMatc
  
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• The Body Shop: Beauty industry tycoon closes in on deal

  11-07-2024 09:24 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Entrepreneur Mike Jatania, who made his fortune building cosmetics brands, is gearing up to buy The Body Shop out of administration.
  The tycoon is thought to be part of a consortium which has entered discussions with administrators handling the sale of the cosmetics chain, according to Bloomberg.
  Ex-Molton Brown CEO Charles Denton is also part of the bid, sources have revealed. The retailer’s new owners are planning to retain all of its existing UK shops.
  The Body Shop’s business acr
  
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• Interview: How Harrods is bringing ‘175 years of exceptional’ to life

  11-07-2024 09:16 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Harrods is celebrating 175 years of trading this year and the business is keen to celebrate – and is making sure the luxury brands that it sells play a central role in these celebrations.
  The London luxury department store has built a reputation of partnering with the some of the world’s most exclusive labels to create showstopping brand takeovers that has seen a 15m sculpture of artist Yayoi Kusama placed outside its entrance and its entire facade covered in giant colourful spots fo
  
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• Pepco Group posts drop in like-for like revenue following supply chain disruption

  11-07-2024 08:35 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Pepco Group, the parent company of Poundland, Dealz and Pepco, has seen its group revenue rise by 8% year-on-year at constant currency to €1.481 billion. However,... View Article
  
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• Søstrene Grene advances sustainability with SBTi approved climate targets

  11-07-2024 08:30 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Søstrene Grene has announced that its 2030 climate targets have been approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). The SBTi, an internationally recognised climate standard,... View Article
  
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• Mango launches first campaign generated by artificial intelligence for Mango Teen

  11-07-2024 07:59 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Mango has launched an entirely AI generated campaign for its Mango Teen line. Created for the line’s limited-edition Sunset Dream collection, the campaign reflects Mango’s continued... View Article
  
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• The search for higher productivity

  11-07-2024 00:44 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Lost productivity in retail has become an issue in the face of rising labour costs, the difficulties in finding and retaining staff and a continued wave... View Article
  
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