Retail news

• British Fashion Council announces Laura Weir as New CEO

  06-01-2025 17:59 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  The British Fashion Council (BFC) has announced the appointment of Laura Weir as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective 28th April 2025. Laura will succeed Caroline... View Article
  
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• Vision Express promotes retail director to MD role

  06-01-2025 17:49 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Vision Express promoted its current retail director Steve Worboys to the role of managing director.
  Worboys will serve as boss of the business’s UK & ROI optical retailers to include Vision Express, David Clulow, John Lewis Opticians and Harrods Opticians from this month.
  The executive has been retail director of Vision Express since 2021, and brings over 20 years of experience across the UK retail sector to the role.
  During his time at Vision Express, the retailer said he had been a &
  
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• Conversation with… Al Bruce, Founder of Olive & Barr

  06-01-2025 17:42 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  In this interview, Al Bruce, Founder of Olive & Barr, reflects on his journey from a passion for design to creating timeless Shaker kitchens. He shares... View Article
  
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• Amazon Fresh launches ‘London’s best value meal deal’ for £1

  06-01-2025 16:48 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Amazon Fresh has launched what it described as “London’s best value meal deal” at just £1 for shoppers throughout January.
  Available from 6 to 31 January in the retailers stores across the capital, customers can buy a main, snack and drink from the £3.90 meal deal range for just £1. The grocery business’s £5.50 premium meal deal is not included within the offer.
  Shoppers can opt for a hot drink for no extra cost, while iced drinks are also availabl
  
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• B&Q acquires 5 Homebase UK stores

  06-01-2025 16:39 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  B&Q is set to acquire five Homebase stores in the UK for £2.5m following the chain’s collapse last year.
  The stores in Altrincham, Basingstoke, Biggleswade, Leamington Spa and Worcester will join the DIY giant’s portfolio, and store staff will be transferred across.
  B&Q said the deal will add a combined 25,000 sqm to its store estate and aims to begin converting the spaces to its banner in the Spring.
  It comes after the retailer announced last month that it had acquired
  
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• Comment: Spicing up retail with HP

  06-01-2025 14:15 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  During my student days the acquisition of a bulky TV and a chunky VHS video recorder were at the very top of the household requirements when... View Article
  
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• The Range to open second set of ex-Homebase stores later this month

  06-01-2025 13:56 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  The Range has confirmed the second set of its new-format store openings located in former Homebase units.
  The discount chain, which snapped up the DIY giant’s brand and up to 70 stores in November, will unveil the new shops in Newton Abbot, Felixstowe and Blyth on 24 January.
  The branches will include The Range’s full product ranges, alongside its ‘Garden Centres by Homebase’ concept,
  It follows the first set of rebranded locations in Pollokshaws, Glasgow; Christchurch, B
  
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• Wickes appoints chief retail and distribution officer

  06-01-2025 13:25 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Wickes Group has appointed Steven Blair to the newly created role of chief retail and distribution officer. Due to take up his position at the home... View Article
  
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• M&S chair Archie Norman: We have ‘a lot more to do’ despite stellar year

  06-01-2025 13:15 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  M&S chair Archie Norman has insisted the business has “a lot more to do” despite its recent stellar financial results.
  The executive explained the retailer had “a plan but it’s a high wire act and we have got to keep both feet on the wire,” The Guardian reported.
  Speaking to the outlet, he said: “We have a lot more to do. Four years of decent results and people may think job done, but in fact there is long way to go.”
  It comes after M&S saw half-
  
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• Data: Retailers hit with £1.51bn in returns after Christmas rush

  06-01-2025 12:59 via retailgazette.co.uk
  As Brits returned to work after the festive break, £1.51bn worth of unwanted gifts and goods have made their way back to retailers, according to home delivery specialist Parcelhero.
  Data released by the firm found that post-Christmas returns surged by 6.8% on 2 January, compared to the same day in 2024.
  Royal Mail also reported a 52% increase in returns compared to a typical day from the previous month.
  This increase follows a notable rise in parcel shipments, with a 554.7% jump in returns
  
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• Pets at Home veteran Louise Stonier departs after 20 years

  06-01-2025 12:30 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Pets at Home veteran Louise Stonier has left after more than 20 years with the retailer, having held several senior roles within the business.
  Stonier, who most recently served as chief operating officer and managing director of the retailer’s Vet Group, announced on Linkedin she has joined Medivet as chief operating officer for the UK and international markets.
  Stonier first joined the pet specialist back in 2004 as head of legal, spending 10 years in the role before advancing to position
  
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• Dr Martens creative director exits after 10 years

  06-01-2025 12:28 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Dr Martens global creative director Darren McKoy has stepped down after a decade with the British footwear brand.
  McKoy joined the bootmaker in January 2015 as global category manager for footwear, before being promoted to global product and merchandising director in 2017. In November 2021, he was appointed global creative director.
  Prior to Dr Martens, Mckoy held a range of product manager and category roles at VF Corp, Adidas, Mamas & Papas and Asics.
  During his time at the retailer, Dr Ma
  
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• Wickes poaches Tesco director for chief retail and distribution officer

  06-01-2025 12:08 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Wickes has hired Tesco director Steven Blair to the newly created role of chief retail and distribution officer.
  Blair, who joins the home improvement giant on 10 March, has worked at Britain’s largest supermarket for the last nine years and served most recently as its strategy and business planning director.
  He has held several senior positions during his tenure at Tesco, including director of commercial transformation and retail director of large stores.
  Prior to that, Blair spent three
  
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• Aldi celebrates ‘best Christmas ever’ with sales of £1.6bn

  06-01-2025 10:41
  
  Britain’s fourth-biggest grocer says crucial holiday period performanceboosted by 12% surge in premium range salesAldi has reported its “best Christmas ever” after Britain’s fourth-biggest grocer said it made sales of more than £1.6bn in the four weeks to Christmas Eve, thanks in part to shoppers trading up to its premium range.The supermarket chain said total sales for the crucial holiday period increased by 3.4% year-on-year, helped by a 12% increase in sales of i
  
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• Data: Over half of businesses to raise prices post-Budget

  06-01-2025 10:24 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  The majority of UK businesses are planning to raise prices in the coming months as confidence falls to its lowest level since 2022, according to the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC).
  The latest Quarterly Economic Survey, conducted after the Chancellor’s recent Budget, which gathered responses from more than 4,800 businesses, shows 55% of business expect to increase prices in the next three months, with labour costs identified as the main driver. This compares with 39% in the third quarte
  
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• Poundland adds 900 products to its £1 or less range

  06-01-2025 10:00 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Poundland has introduced a further 900 products to its £1 or less range as well as lowered the prices on hundreds of items as part of its commitment to delivering value to customers.
  The move means the discounter now offers almost 2,400 products in its UK stores within that price range, which extends to more than 4,000 when including its clearance ranges.
  It added that it would deliver over 200 savings through its new app, Poundland Perks, that launched last October and has 2.2m downloads.
  
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• Heavily pregnant and devoted to clothing apps, could I survive a return to actual high street shops? | Nell Frizzell

  06-01-2025 10:00
  
  Perhaps, I thought, there was more to shopping than collecting squashy parcels from forecourt lockers. I soon got my answerI love clothes; I loathe clothes shops. Like many of my contemporaries, I have embraced the world of online secondhand shopping. And yet, I also want to live in a place where people walk, shop, gather and eat in their city centre. I want the high street to remain as healthy and as unhomogenised as possible. I know that online shopping is killing off traditional shopping area
  
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• A visit to the high street taught me this: hell is shopping with other people | Nell Frizzell

  06-01-2025 10:00
  
  After years of buying clothes online, I wondered if there was more to shopping than collecting squashy parcels from forecourt lockers. I soon got my answerI love clothes; I loathe clothes shops. Like many of my contemporaries, I have embraced the world of online secondhand shopping. And yet, I also want to live in a place where people walk, shop, gather and eat in their city centre. I want the high street to remain as healthy and as unhomogenised as possible. I know that online shopping is killi
  
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• Data: Aldi crowned cheapest UK supermarket of 2024

  06-01-2025 09:50 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Aldi has been named as the cheapest UK supermarket of 2024 by Which?.
  According to the consumer watchdog’s analysis, Lidl was the second-cheapest grocer every month, charging £1.99 more than Aldi on average, while Waitrose was found to be the most expensive every month of 2024.
  For a larger shopping list, excluding German discounters Aldi and Lidl which have smaller products ranges, Asda was the least expensive supermarket for nine out of 12 months.
  Although supermarket giant Tesco w
  
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• Aldi reports best ever Christmas following strong demand for premium products

  06-01-2025 09:22 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Aldi has been celebrating its best ever Christmas after it benefited from many customers trading up to its premium own-label products. In the four weeks to... View Article
  
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• Aldi toasts ‘best Christmas ever’ as sales top £1.6bn

  06-01-2025 09:20 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Aldi has recorded its “best Christmas ever” as sales rose to £1.6bn thanks to shoppers trading up over the holiday period.
  The discounter reported a 3.4% increase in total sales in the four weeks to Christmas Eve, while its seasonal products jumped 10% year on year and its premium Specially Selected range surged 12%.
  Monday 23 December was the supermarket’s busiest ever trading day as it served nearly 3 million customers.
  In the run up to Christmas Day, Aldi said it sold
  
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• Waterstones plots a dozen new stores for 2025

  06-01-2025 09:01 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Waterstones boss James Daunt plans to open dozens of new bookshops this year following a “solid Christmas” trading.
  The chief executive, who also manages Barnes & Noble in the US, said the business opened 12 new stores in the UK last year and is looking to “do that or more in 2025”.
  It comes as Daunt revealed another successful festive season for Waterstones, boosted by the last weekend of trading before Christmas Day.
  He told The Financial Times that a Christmas on a
  
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• Uniqlo, Lush and Gymshark stop hiring via gig economy apps

  06-01-2025 08:44 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Uniqlo, Lush and Gymshark have stopped using freelance retail workers hired through apps including YoungOnes and Temper after a union raised employment right concerns.
  Trades Union Congress wrote to the retailers’ chief executives asking them to stop using freelance retail staff following concerns they were missing out on significant employment rights, The Guardian reported.
  The letter came as it was revealed last month that some retailers had recruited their temporary festive workers thro
  
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• London Designer Outlet hails 2024 ‘bumper’ year

  06-01-2025 08:44 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  London Designer Outlet (LDO) saw its sales increase by 5% to over £103 million in 2024 as it benefited from a 2% rise in footfall to... View Article
  
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• Evri delivered ‘record parcel volumes’ in peak Christmas trading period

  06-01-2025 08:44 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Evri has revealed that it delivered “record parcel volumes” over its peak Christmas trading period. This included its biggest week in its 50-year history when it... View Article
  
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• Zara opens significantly upsized store at Liverpool ONE

  06-01-2025 08:43 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Zara has opened a significantly upsized flagship store at Liverpool One. Situated on upper and lower South John Street, the store has increased in size by... View Article
  
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• New Look to speed up store closures following Budget tax raid

  06-01-2025 08:22 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  New Look is set to ramp up its store closure programme ahead of tax increases this April.
  Around a quarter of the fashion retailer’s 364 stores nationwide are understood to be at risk when leases expire, putting 8,000 jobs at risk, The Times reported.
  The business has restructured its store estate twice in the last six years and has downsized its portfolio from 600 UK stores in 2018.
  While some of its shops may have shuttered regardless, all of which are on relatively short leases that lin
  
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• How to get the most out of your Christmas gift vouchers

  06-01-2025 08:00
  
  Whether a physical version, or an e-card, check the T&Cs to make sure you extract maximum value from themThe first thing to do is read the small print (it could be very small if it is squeezed on the back). Continue reading...
  
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• Apparel brands see a 23.2% retention rate – how does your industry compare? 

  06-01-2025 06:06 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  In e-commerce, the sale is only half the battle. What happens after – the returns, retention, and loyalty journey – is where many brands either thrive or falter.
  According to Loop Returns’ 2024 Winter Benchmark Report, industries perform very differently across these metrics. For example, apparel brands achieve an average retention rate of 23.2%. But how do other verticals measure up, and what can they teach us about turning returns into opportunities?
  Here’s a deeper div
  
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• Daunt plots next chapter for Barnes & Noble and Waterstones

  06-01-2025 06:00 via ft.com
  Booksellers’ boss is eyeing expansion and a possible IPO in London or New York
  
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