Retail news

• Hobbycraft profits plunge 80%

  17-10-2024 20:18 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Hobbycraft has posted an 80% drop in profits for the year ending 18 February 2024, despite achieving sales growth and improved margins.
  The arts and crafts retailer’s profit plunged 80% to £393,000, down from £2m the previous year, impacted by one-off costs and inflationary pressures.
  Despite the decline, the retailer achieved an adjusted EBITDA of £10.3m, a 3.3% dip on last year’s £10.7m.
  This performance was supported by improved gross margins, which rose f
  
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• ‘It’s a form of advertising’: how the humble lip balm became a status symbol

  17-10-2024 18:37
  
  In this week’s newsletter: Lip products are trending, now carrying the kind of cultural cachet once reserved for It-bags. So what’s behind the rise of ‘IYKYK’ beauty?• Don’t get Fashion Statement delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereSome people claim that you’re never more than six feet away from a rat. I’d argue that, in 2024, you’re never more than stretching distance from a lip product. From sticks to balms and glosses, lip products have ne
  
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• John Lewis aims to double its fashion business, says boss Peter Ruis

  17-10-2024 13:43 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  John Lewis executive director Peter Ruis plans to double the department store’s fashion business, citing market consolidation as a key opportunity for growth. 
  Ruis told Drapers Inner Circle Summit 2024: “I think we can double our fashion business. I always say to the team, 10 to 12 years ago, there were five department stores on Oxford Street and there are now two.
  “You don’t grow unless you get out there and prove your relevance. We are growing and we expect to gro
  
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• Sephora to open in Liverpool One as UK expansion continues

  17-10-2024 13:24 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Sephora is set to open a new store in Liverpool One early next year as it ramps up its expansion across the UK.
  The 6,727sq ft store opening in the Spring will stock the retailer’s own-brand collection as well as popular makeup brands such as Rare Beauty, Makeup by Mario, Haus Labs by Lady Gaga and GXVE by Gwen Stefani.
  It will also stock viral social media brands including Topicals, Kayali, Glossier and Glow Recipe. Related StorySephora to open seventh UK store this winter amid ‘rap
  
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• TK Maxx sales top £4bn for the first time

  17-10-2024 13:17 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  The UK arm of TJ Maxx has posted a drop in pre-tax profits despite its sales topping £4bn for the first time.
  Pre-tax profits for the TK Maxx and Homesense owner plunged 42% from £172.4m to £120.7m in the 53 weeks to 3 February 2024 due to a one-off exceptional item of £58.8m in credit in 2023, according to newly filed accounts on Companies House.
  Sales edged up 3.6% to £4.03bn, up from £3.89bn, as more shoppers sought to snap up designer labels at discounted
  
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• Simply Be owner N Brown agrees £191m takeover by founding Alliance family member

  17-10-2024 12:20
  
  Joshua Alliance to take company private, paying 40p in cash for each share not already owned by himself and familyBusiness live – latest updatesThe Simply Be and JD Williams fashion retailer N Brown has agreed a £191m takeover by a member of its founding family, Joshua Alliance.Alliance will pay 40p in cash for each share of N Brown stock not already owned by himself and his family. Shares rose more than 40% after the announcement, to 38.5p. Continue reading...
  
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• (New) Desert Island Stores: Lucy Litwack of Coco de Mer

  17-10-2024 10:07 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Here we launch an exciting new series of interviews by Glynn Davis in which he asks leading retailers about their favourite and most memorable stores. First... View Article
  
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• N Brown set to be acquired by the Alliance family

  17-10-2024 09:33 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  N Brown Group, the owner of Simply Be, JD Williams and Jacamo, is to be taken private by being acquired by a company owned by its... View Article
  
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• Toxic slime and other dangerous toys sold online in Europe

  17-10-2024 09:30
  
  Toy Industries of Europe finds that many products on marketplaces in the ‘kids’ category are unsafe
  
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• Dangerous toys made outside EU sold online within the bloc

  17-10-2024 09:30
  
  Toy Industries of Europe finds that many products on marketplaces in the ‘kids’ category are unsafe
  
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• N Brown to be bought by Alliance family in £191m deal

  17-10-2024 09:26 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  N Brown is set to be taken private by the Alliance family, which helped build the home shopping group, after they made a recommended £191m offer for the business.
  Joshua Alliance, who is a non-executive director of N Brown, made an offer at 40p per share through the acquisition vehicle Falcon 24 Topco, which represents a premium on the Simply Be and Jacamo owner’s last closing price of 27p and an average price of less than 20p over the past year.With the Alliance family already owni
  
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• Marks Electrical to appoint new non-executive director

  17-10-2024 09:07 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Marks Electrical is to appoint Warren Middleton as a non-executive director. Until April 2024, Middleton worked with KPMG for over 25 years, 17 of which were... View Article
  
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• DFS chief financial officer to exit

  17-10-2024 09:05 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  DFS chief financial officer John Fallon is set to stand down from his role at the furniture retailer.
  Fallon will not stand for re-election at the retailer’s AGM on 22 November, but will stay on as CFO for the remainder of its first half to ensure a smooth hand over and will leave DFS in mid-January 2025.
  Fallon joined the retailer in November 2022 after a long stint at Asda. The business said it has kicked off an external search for his replacement. Related StoryDFS suffers heavy losses a
  
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• DFS chief financial officer to step down

  17-10-2024 08:41 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Furniture retailer DFS has announced that its chief financial officer has informed its board of his intention to step down. John Fallon will not stand for... View Article
  
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• Snapchat to open immersive AR ‘high street’ with Boots and Depop on Brick Lane

  17-10-2024 08:15 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Snapchat is launching a new immersive high-street experience, Snap Street, set to open in East London this weekend.
  The Augmented Reality (AR) space aims to bring the “thrill of shopping for fashion and beauty on Snapchat alive,” allowing shoppers to interact with brands like Depop and Boots from 19 – 20 October.
  The Ely’s Yard building in Brick Lane will be transformed into an indoor high street, featuring shop fronts that showcase AR experiences available on the platfo
  
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• Snapchat to open immersive AR ‘high street’ with Boots and Depop

  17-10-2024 08:15 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Snapchat is launching a new immersive high-street experience, Snap Street, which is set to open in East London this weekend.
  The Augmented Reality (AR) space aims to bring the “thrill of shopping for fashion and beauty on Snapchat alive,” allowing shoppers to interact with brands like Depop and Boots on 19 and 20 October.
  The Ely’s Yard building in Brick Lane will be transformed into an indoor high street, featuring shop fronts that showcase AR experiences available on the pla
  
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• Smeg opens exclusive Bluewater pop-up store

  17-10-2024 08:15 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Smeg, the Italian domestic appliance brand, has opened its first-ever pop-up shop at the Bluewater shopping centre. The brand’s only other physical retail space is its... View Article
  
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• The Entertainer completes roll out of over 850 toy concessions at Tesco stores

  17-10-2024 08:02 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  The Entertainer has completed the roll out of over 850 new toy shops within Tesco stores. The partnership has helped the toy retailer to expand its retail... View Article
  
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• Tesco secures landmark solar deal to power 144 stores

  17-10-2024 08:00 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Tesco has signed a deal to acquire enough solar energy to power 144 of its large stores, purchasing almost two-thirds of the electricity generated by the Cleve Hill solar park in Kent.
  The £450m solar park, developed by Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners on farmland near Faversham, will provide Tesco with up to 10% of its UK electricity needs over the next 15 years, generating enough renewable energy to power the stores for a year.
  The site will feature over 560,000 solar panels and energy
  
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• ‘Shop like our nan!’ Call for supermarket ban on plastic packaging for fresh goods

  17-10-2024 08:00
  
  Anti-waste charity Wrap wants ban on 21 items including tomatoes, apples, potatoes, bananas and carrotsSupermarkets should be banned from selling fresh produce such as bananas, apples and potatoes in plastic packaging so we can go back to shopping “like our nan”, according to the influential anti-waste charity Wrap.It is calling for the government to ban packaging on 21 fruit and vegetables sold in supermarkets, including salad tomatoes, carrots and avocados, by 2030. Continue readin
  
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• Poundland rolls out rewards app nationwide

  17-10-2024 07:32 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Poundland is rolling out its rewards app to all stores following a successful trial in around 100 shops in the Isle of Wight, Northern Ireland and... View Article
  
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• Tesco signs deal to buy enough solar energy to power 144 large stores

  17-10-2024 07:00
  
  Supermarket will buy almost two-thirds of the energy generated by the new £450m Cleve Hill solar park in KentTesco has struck a deal to buy enough solar power to run 144 of its large supermarkets, buying almost two-thirds of the entire electricity output from the Cleve Hill solar park in Kent.The £450m solar park is being built on farmland near Faversham by Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners, a London-based firm that invests in renewable and low-carbon energy in the US, UK and Austral
  
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