Retail news

• Greggs first half performance impacted by weather

  29-07-2025 10:11 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Greggs has posted a drop in first half profit after sales growth was hit by warm weather in June. In the six months to 28 June,... View Article
  
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• Card Factory snaps up Funky Pigeon from WHSmith

  29-07-2025 08:48 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Card Factory has agreed to acquire online personalised greetings card business Funky Pigeon from WHSmith for £24m.
  The deal values the platform at an enterprise value of £26m and is expected to complete before the end of the year, subject to regulatory approval.
  The Bristol- and Guernsey-based business operates the funkypigeon.com website, specialising in personalised cards and attached gifting services. It generated around £32m in annual revenue and £5m EBITDA on average
  
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• Hotel Chocolat opens new flagship store at Manchester Arndale

  29-07-2025 08:46 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Hotel Chocolat has launched one of its biggest stores to date at Manchester Arndale. Situated on Cross Street, the 7,288 square feet flagship will sell the... View Article
  
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• Card Factory acquires Funky Pigeon from WH Smith

  29-07-2025 08:46 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Card Factory has agreed to acquire online personalised greeting cards business Funky Pigeon from WH Smith for £24 million. The retailer said the move will accelerate... View Article
  
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• Greggs first half profit slumps as June heatwave hits sales

  29-07-2025 08:39 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  British bakery chain Greggs has reported a 14% drop in first-half pre-tax profit, citing challenging market conditions including a slow sales period during June’s heatwave.
  The sausage roll maker posted a pre-tax profit of £63.5m for the 26 weeks to 28 June 2025, down from £74.1m in the same period last year.
  Total sales rose 7.0% to £1.03bn, driven by new shop openings and like-for-like sales growth.
  Chief Executive Roisin Currie highlighted the impact of “challeng
  
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• Co-op’s Levy Share to support UK’s first prisoner apprenticeship programme for rail skills

  29-07-2025 08:39 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  The Co-op has collaborated with City & Guilds Foundation to support the UK’s first prisoner apprenticeship programme for rail skills. The two organisations have teamed up... View Article
  
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• UK high street battles rising food prices and cautious shoppers

  29-07-2025 08:28 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Shop price inflation accelerated again in July, driven by a sixth consecutive monthly rise in food prices, according to new figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and NIQ.
  The latest BRC-NIQ Shop Price Index shows overall shop price inflation rose to 0.7% in July, up from 0.2% in June. Food inflation rose to 4%, up from 3.7% the previous month and ahead of the three-month average of 3.5%.
  Fresh food inflation remained steady at 3.2% but the prices of essentials such as meat and tea cli
  
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• Aldi remains ‘highest-paying’ supermarket as it boosts staff pay to over £13 an hour

  29-07-2025 08:00 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Aldi is set to become the first supermarket to pay its store assistants at least £13 an hour as it boosts pay for the second time this year.
  The German discounter, already the highest-paying in the UK, will increase its minimum hourly rate to £14.33 for those working within the M25 from 1st September 2025.
  The increase is on top of an earlier pay rise in March, which saw store colleagues paid a minimum of £12.75 an hour nationwide, and £14.05 an hour within the M25.
  
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• Rising UK food prices turn cash-strapped shoppers away from high street

  29-07-2025 07:00
  
  BRC says food prices rose by 4% in July from 2024, while CBI blames economic uncertainty for people not spendingBritain’s largest retailers struggled to entice shoppers back to the high street in July as the rising cost of meat and butter drove up food prices, adding to the pressure on household finances.According to the latest snapshot from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) food prices rose by 4% in July from a year earlier, up from 3.7% in June and above the three-month average of 3.5%
  
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• Co-op launches prisoner apprenticeships to tackle skill shortages

  29-07-2025 01:01 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Co-op is launching the first rail engineering apprenticeships in collaboration with City & Guilds Foundation.
  The initiative, which will be launched at the centre of excellence skills hub at HMP Highpoint, aims to tackle the UK’s rail engineering skills shortages while lowering reoffending rates, which currently cost the UK economy over £21bn per year.
  From August, the programme will enable prisoners to complete full apprenticeships and their end-point assessments before release.
  
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