Retail news

• Rituals to launch UK’s first ‘mind spa’ on Oxford Street

  12-05-2025 17:33 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Rituals is rolling out its first UK “mind oasis” on London’s Oxford Street this October.
  The initiative is set to blend “science-backed treatments with immersive design,” and will offer visitors a “bold new way to unwind,” according to the luxury wellbeing brand.
  The flagship will also feature an exclusive product range for shoppers.
  It follows the launch of Ritual’s “mind spa” concept in cities including Amsterdam, Paris, Barcelona, An
  
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• Next refuses to reveal how many workers are paid below real living wage

  12-05-2025 16:14 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Next is resisting calls from its major investors to report on how many of its 40,000 workers are paid under the real living wage of £12.60 per hour at its annual meeting later this week.
  Scottish Widows, Axa, and the Greater Manchester Pension Fund are among a group of institutional shareholders who manage more than £1trn of assets backing the resolution, This is Money reported.
  It comes as Next’s latest annual report showed its chief executive Lord Wolfson was paid £4.7m
  
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• In pictures: Inside Asda’s new standalone George store

  12-05-2025 13:52 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Asda opened the doors to its new standalone ‘George’ concept store this weekend at Crown Point Retail Park in Leeds.
  The supermarket chain is testing the new format in the former Asda Living store, which it hopes to replace the rest of the brand’s 30 locations across the UK with.Asda said the rebranded store aims “to deliver a fresh, fashion-forward shopping experience focused on the George clothing, home and general merchandise ranges, all in a standalone, modern retail
  
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• Measuring retail customer experience by Lisa Garthside, Principal Experience Consultant at Medallia

  12-05-2025 12:10 via theretailbulletin.com
  Medallia were delighted to recently host a roundtable discussion over dinner in conjunction with The Customer Experience Alliance (CXA). The discussion focused around unlocking the true... View Article
  
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• Asos launches next-day locker delivery in UK first with InPost

  12-05-2025 10:49 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Asos has become the first UK retailer to offer next-day delivery to parcel lockers nationwide following a new partnership with logistics firm InPost.
  The service is available to all of the online fashion giant’s customers, with its Premier members benefitting from free next-day delivery to any of InPost’s 16,000+ lockers and parcel shops across the country.
  The move is aimed at boosting convenience and flexibility for shoppers, allowing them to select InPost Lockers at checkout as th
  
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• Søstrene Grene to double UK stores by 2027

  12-05-2025 09:32 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Søstrene Grene is planning to double its UK footprint by 2027, targeting 100 stores nationwide.
  The Danish homewares retailer has three new store openings confirmed for summer this year, based in Canary Wharf in London, Harrogate in Yorkshire and Stirling in Scotland.
  It comes after the brand unveiled its Oxford Circus flagship in March, marking its fifth London location and its second in the capital’s shopping district after opening its first on Tottenham Court Road in Decembe
  
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• Boots chairman ups stake amid $10bn Walgreens takeover deal

  12-05-2025 09:26 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Boots chairman Stefan Pessina will increase his stake in the UK pharmacy group to nearly 50% amid the proposed £7.5bn takeover of the Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) by private equity firm Sycamore.
  Pessina, who currently holds a 17% share in WBA, is expected to significantly increase his stake in the group, The Times reported.
  Pessina’s plan to up his stake in the pharmacy group comes as details of Sycamore’s takeover are still being decided by advisors after the deal was first
  
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• Cleaning up greenwashing

  12-05-2025 09:10 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Sustainability data platform Provenance is working with leading retailers such as Holland & Barrett and Ocado to help them avoid ‘greenwashing’ as legislation has come into... View Article
  
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• Søstrene Grene to double UK store presence by 2027

  12-05-2025 09:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Søstrene Grene, the Danish lifestyle and homewares brand, has announced that it is planning to double its UK store presence by 2027. The family-owned brand has... View Article
  
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• Kim Kardashian’s Skims to open London flagship next summer

  12-05-2025 08:52 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Skims, Kim Kardashian’s shapewear brand, is set to open its first standalone UK store in the vacant Ted Baker flagship on Regent Street.
  The brand has signed a ten-year lease with The Crown Estate for the unit at 245-247 Regent Street, which has sat mostly empty since Ted Baker’s collapse last year.
  Skims, which counts Harrods and Selfridges among its UK stockists, will open its doors in the summer next year, The Times reported. Related StoryNike revenues drop in first quarter under
  
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• Disney Store to launch pop-up at Westfield White CIty

  12-05-2025 08:50 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Disney Store is to launch a pop retail destination at Westfield White City next month. The limited-time store will offer UK shoppers a further physical opportunity... View Article
  
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• Anthropologie to open first North West store at Liverpool ONE

  12-05-2025 08:45 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  The Anthropologie womenswear and homeware brand is to open its first store in the North West at the Liverpool ONE shopping destination. Due to launch in... View Article
  
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• Debenhams Group in talks over £175m refinancing deal

  12-05-2025 08:37 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Debenhams Group, formerly Boohoo Group, is in discussions about a debt package worth as much as £175m.
  The fashion giant has held talks about tapping the high yield market for £50m of the proposed total, The Telegraph reported.
  The retail group is also understood to have held discussions with several asset-backed lenders, which take security over property, stock and intellectual property in case of insolvency.
  It is expected the remaining £125m will come from refinancing an exi
  
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• Retail footfall boosted by spring sunshine and late Easter

  12-05-2025 08:36 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  UK retail footfall received a welcome boost in April from this year’s late Easter and warm weather. According to figures from the British Retail Consortium, total... View Article
  
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• UK food shops report ‘massive’ rise in pensioner shoplifting

  12-05-2025 06:00
  Kingdom Services boss says retailers seeing ‘different sort of shoplifter’ with more theft by people ‘who just can’t afford food’Food retailers have seen a “massive” increase in pensioner shoplifters over the last year, according to a leading store security firm, amid the rising cost of living.John Nussbaum, director of service for retail at Kingdom Services Group, has said his staff were seeing a “different sort of shoplifter now” as the cos
  
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