Retail news

• New Look narrows losses despite lower sales

  28-10-2024 17:38 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  New Look has narrowed its pre-tax losses despite posting a near 9% fall in sales amid “tough trading conditions”.
  The fashion retailer reported a pre-tax loss of £21.7m for the year to 30 March, down from an £87.8m loss the year before. Sales dropped 8.9% to £769.2m, which it attributed to “store closures and tough trading conditions”.
  New Look said it purchased a higher proportion of “broad appeal stock with longevity” to help protect margin
  
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• Jamie Oliver launches cookery school in John Lewis flagship

  28-10-2024 17:24 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Jamie Oliver is to open a cookery school and cafe at John Lewis’s revamped London flagship in Oxford Street, under a £800m investment by the retailer to revamp its stores over the next four years.
  The school, which features two classrooms and a 50-seat cafe, is set to open at the store in March.
  Although John Lewis has a Waitrose cookery school in west London, the move represents the first time the retail giant has held lessons.
  It comes after John Lewis unveiled its newly upgra
  
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• Lidl eyes 10 new stores before Christmas as it inks £70m sale and leaseback deal

  28-10-2024 16:51 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Lidl is ramping up its UK expansion as it exchanges on a £70m sale and leaseback deal and plans to open 10 new stores before Christmas.
  The sale and leaseback deal, which is a joint venture between Roadside Real Estate and Meadow Partners, includes 12 new stores in locations such as Crediton, Manchester, and Saffron Walden.
  Lidl GB chief development officer Richard Taylor said: “Our sale and leaseback deal is just the latest example of how we’re continuing to expand our fo
  
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• Lidl eyes 10 new stores before Christmas as it exchanges on £70m sale and leaseback deal

  28-10-2024 16:51 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Lidl is ramping up its national expansion as it exchanges on a £70m sale and leaseback deal and plans to open 10 new stores before Christmas.
  The sale and leaseback deal, which is a joint venture between Roadside Real Estate and Meadow Partners, includes 12 new stores in locations such as Crediton, Manchester, and Saffron Walden.
  Lidl GB chief development officer Richard Taylor said: “Our sale and leaseback deal is just the latest example of how we’re continuing to expand
  
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• John Lewis recruits record 12,500 staff for Christmas

  28-10-2024 10:28 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  John Lewis is taking on an additional 12,500 staff members ahead of the Christmas period, forming its largest ever seasonal recruitment drive.
  The partnership, which recently opened its Christmas shops across 35 stores, is recruiting an extra 4,100 new jobs across Waitrose, John Lewis and its distribution network compared to last year, as it said shopper numbers had hit record levels and it “doubles down on its commitment to customer experience”.
  The roles will  provide support
  
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• Mike Ashley on Boohoo Group: ‘I am all in’

  28-10-2024 09:52 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Frasers Group founder Mike Ashley said he is “all in” to turnaround Boohoo Group after the retail entrepreneur made a public bid for the fashion giant’s vacant CEO position last week.
  Ashley told The Sunday Times: “I am all in. I’m ready to dedicate my time and effort – including basing myself in Manchester as much as I deem required – to turn Boohoo around and deliver value for all shareholders.”
  “The focus here needs to be on urgent and dec
  
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• Lidl to accelerate expansion with 10 new openings before Christmas

  28-10-2024 08:52 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Lidl GB is accelerating its store opening programme with the launch of 10 new stores before Christmas. The supermarket is planning to open new London shops... View Article
  
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• Fatface slumps to loss post-Next acquisition

  28-10-2024 08:46 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Fatface fell to a loss during its latest financial year, despite claiming it had “focused on profit over sales growth”.
  The fashion brand saw pre-tax losses slump to £3.2m for the 35 weeks ended 27 January, from a £19.5m profit the year prior.
  The retailer noted it had seen exceptional costs of £7.9m for the period, which it said mostly related to its acquisition by Next last year.
  Fatface was snapped up by the fashion and homewares giant in October 2023 for £
  
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• How John Lewis is putting some much-needed love into its stores

  28-10-2024 08:32 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  John Lewis is putting “the buzz” back into its stores as it unveiled its newly upgraded Oxford Street flagship this week following a £6.5m investment.
  The department store is using its home on London’s busiest shopping street to test and trial new concepts as it prepares to roll out upgrades across the rest of its estate in the next couple of years.
  “The buzz is back in John Lewis and we’re giving our customers even more reasons to shop in our brilliant s
  
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• Marks & Spencer adds self-checkouts to changing rooms

  28-10-2024 07:31 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Marks & Spencer is planning to add self-service checkouts to changing rooms in all 180 of its clothing stores to stop customers having to queue twice.... View Article
  
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• Flannels opens new Leeds flagship

  28-10-2024 07:30 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Flannels has opened a new flagship shop in Leeds as it continues to expand its store portfolio. Spanning over 70,000 square feet, the space offers an... View Article
  
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• H&M celebrates 20 years of guest designer collaborations with release of pre-loved items

  28-10-2024 07:15 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  H&M is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its guest designer collaborations by revisiting some of its collections through a special release of pre-loved items. Having launched... View Article
  
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• ‘Christmas creep is real’: festivities start earlier every year, analysis finds

  28-10-2024 07:00
  
  Data supports belief that Christmas-themed merchandise, songs and decorations are appearing ahead of seasonHalloween might not yet be upon us, but the creepy thing is, Christmas is coming – and fast.A Guardian analysis shows that the Grinch-like grumble that “Christmas is getting earlier every year” is actually justified. Figures from major supermarkets, local news bulletins and the UK Top 40 charts confirm what members of the public have long suspected: that the slow and stead
  
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