Retail news

• Amazon rolls out pilot programme on Covid testing for UK workers

  22-10-2020 09:09 via retailgazette.co.uk
  // Amazon to offer Covid-19 testing for its frontline workers
  // The programme involves research scientists, engineers, procurement specialists, operators & financial analystsAmazon is rolling out a pilot programme offering Covid-19 testing for its frontline workers in the UK.
  The online retail giant said a programme launched in the US is being expanded, involving research scientists, engineers, procurement specialists, operators and financial analysts.
  Amazon said the testing arrangements c
  
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• Omnichannel grocery: How connected retail experiences can unlock value across customer touchpoints

  04-02-2026 07:23 via retailgazette.co.uk
  After years of steady change, grocery retail is now experiencing a surge of new behaviours that is reshaping how customers shop, retailers operate, and brands measure success.
  At this time of accelerated change, grocers can no longer see their digital and physical stores as separate channels. At the demand of the consumer, the two must be united and seamless.
  “We’re at an inflection point in grocery retail as customer expectations change faster than most retailers’ systems can
  
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• Kingfisher appoints Stephen Daintith as a non-executive director

  04-02-2026 07:03 via theretailbulletin.com
  Kingfisher has appointed Ocado chief financial officer Stephen Daintith as a non-executive director with effect from 1 April. Daintith has been chief financial officer of  Ocado... View Article
  
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• Laura Jane Johnson: Challenger brand marketing that ‘pops’

  04-02-2026 07:00 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Popcorn Shed, as you might guess from the name, is a family-owned business that has been popping and growing since 2016.
  Founded by cousins Laura Jane Jackson and Sam Feller, the brand brings a challenger and startup mentality to the FMCG sector, serving up gourmet popcorn in over 27 inventive flavours.
  From classic salted caramel to quirky experimental flavours, Popcorn Shed has carved out a niche in a crowded snack market by combining creativity, authenticity and a strong sense of brand person
  
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• Absolute Best… Pop-up stores

  04-02-2026 07:00 via retailgazette.co.uk
  We’re back with another instalment of Absolute Best, this time on Retail Gazette.
  This week we are going to take a look at some of the best pop-up stores and installations.
  Clarins
  First up on our list is beauty firm Clarin’s Sweet Stop.
  The dessert-themed installation handed out complimentary flavoured matcha to visitors. Customers could also take part in a ‘Spin the Cake Mixer’ game, lip product tastings, and biscuit decorating.
  Visitors also received branded macrons wi
  
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• Aldi invests £22 million in price cuts

  04-02-2026 06:36 via theretailbulletin.com
  Aldi has invested £22 million in reducing the prices on hundreds of products as it looks to help customers “save across their weekly shop”. The price... View Article
  
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• Missguided fashion group Sumwon Studios sales triple

  03-02-2026 17:28 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Missguided fashion group Sumwon Studios saw sales triple in its latest annual results.
  The organisation’s full-year net sales soared to £235m ($300m) in 2025, from £78m ($100m) the year prior.
  The business said that its units sold shot up 225% to 25m over the period.
  Sumwon Studios said that its performance had been driven by responding directly to real-time shopper demand, enabling it to expand efficiently while keeping a focus on profitable growth.Related Story M&S kidswe
  
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• M&S kidswear director departs after six years

  03-02-2026 15:51 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Marks & Spencer kidswear director Alex Dimitriu has stepped down from the company after six years.
  The exec joined M&S in February 2020 to serve as its head of menswear buying, before being appointed business unit director kidswear in January 2023.
  Prior to this, Dimitriu served as a buying and design director for fashion brand Miss Selfridge, from March 2018 to February 2020.
  Additionally, she worked as buying, merchandising and design director for New Look from August 2016 to October 2
  
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• Co-op price-match ad banned after Aldi complaint

  03-02-2026 15:48 via retailgazette.co.uk
  The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has issued three rulings against convenience retailer Co-op after supermarket chain Aldi challenged a price-matching ad.
  The rulings were against an ad that appeared on the retailer’s website. The marketing drive included a webpage for the grocer’s Aldi price match scheme.
  Text on the advert read: “EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS, PRICE MATCHED TO ALDI” beside images of various groceries with a roundel and tick symbol with text that stated, &
  
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• Walmart’s market value hits $1tn

  03-02-2026 15:47
  US retail giant joins club dominated by tech groups
  
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• Watch: Specsavers renews Emmerdale sponsorship

  03-02-2026 10:44 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Eye-care retailer Specsavers has renewed its sponsorship of ITV’s soap Emmerdale.
  The new idents are a continuation of the brand’s ‘mini soap within a soap’ creative platform and they expand on last year’s executions and feature familiar faces and new characters, including Bev and Barry.
  The idents were directed by Ollie Parsons, who has also worked on Specsavers Countdown, Neighbours and Emmerdale sponsorship campaigns.
  Victora Clarke, marketing director at Specsav
  
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• Kingfisher appoints Ocado CFO as non executive

  03-02-2026 10:43 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Kingfisher has appointed Ocado chief financial officer (CFO) Stephen Daintith as a non-executive director and a member of the company’s audit and nomination committees.
  The appointment, which will be effective from 1 April, will see Daintith succeed Jeff Carr as Kingfisher’s chair of the audit committee when Carr’s nine-year tenure ends in 2027.
  Daintith currently serves as Ocado CFO and worked as CFO for Rolls-Royce from 2017 to 2021.
  Kingfisher Chair Claudia Arney said: &ldqu
  
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• Weird Fish delivers record Christmas and full year performance

  03-02-2026 10:26 via retailgazette.co.uk
  British lifestyle, clothing and accessories brand Weird Fish has reported it strongest ever Christmas and fourth quarter (Q4) performance.
  In a financial report released today (3 February), the business said total sales in November and December increased by 18.4% to £13.5 million (2024: £11.4 million).
  Retail like‑for‑like sales for the 12 weeks to 28 December increased by 6.6%, online sales grew 12% year on year, and outlet performance was “particularly strong
  
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• More than a quarter of loyalty points go unspent, says new research

  03-02-2026 09:58 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Over a quarter (26.2%) of UK loyalty points go unused, and 11.9% of points expire unspent, according to the Antavo Global Customer Loyalty Report 2026.
  The research found consumers lose out on up to £3 billion worth of savings per year, despite the fact 68.6% of shoppers said promotions influence their buying behaviour and 41% use promotions almost every time they shop.
  The figures come as the cost of living ranked highest among Britons’ worries (54% of respondents listed the cost of
  
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• Sterling Home signs Vogue Williams to unveil new collection

  03-02-2026 07:00 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Scottish furniture retailer Sterling Home has teamed up with Irish broadcaster Vogue Williams to release an exclusive furniture collection.
  The new collection blends Williams’ style with her Irish heritage and an “approachable sense of luxury“.  It will only be available in the retailer’s Scottish stores.
  “This partnership brings together Vogue’s creative energy with our commitment to accessible, quality design,” said Euan Graham, director and 3rd-G
  
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• Q&A with Ashley Burkle, Director of Business Development at Identiv

  03-02-2026 07:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  Ashley Burkle is the Director of Business Development at Identiv, where she leads initiatives that help global brands implement secure digital identities across their product lines.... View Article
  
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• Wingstop UKI appoints former Ocado executive as group finance director

  03-02-2026 06:42 via theretailbulletin.com
  Wingstop UKI has appointed Alistair Fraser as group finance director, Fraser most recently led the finance function at BKUK, the master franchise for Burger King in... View Article
  
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• Rituals grows revenue after opening 200 stores in 2025

  03-02-2026 06:24 via theretailbulletin.com
  Rituals has reported a strong increase in revenue for 2025, its 25th anniversary year. The luxury beauty and wellbeing brand grew its net revenue by 16%... View Article
  
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• Dusk hails ‘record’ Christmas

  03-02-2026 06:22 via theretailbulletin.com
  Dusk has said it finished 2025 on an all time high with a record-breaking Christmas and strong sales throughout the year. The furniture retailer also reported... View Article
  
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• Booths names new CEO amid leadership shake-up

  03-02-2026 04:05 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Booths has appointed Nigel Murray as its new chief executive, following the decision by Edwin Booth to step down from the role while retaining his position as chairman.
  Murray will now lead the family-owned independent grocer’s newly formed executive team, which comprises of senior four roles reporting directly to the CEO, as the 178-year-old retailer looks to deliver its next phase of growth.
  As part of the changes, Emma Booth has been promoted to chief brand officer. Appointed to the boa
  
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• Comment: Shoppers’ growing appreciation of better food

  02-02-2026 22:53 via theretailbulletin.com
  While visiting my family in Doncaster before Christmas we popped into the food hall of the newly-expanded Marks & Spencer store, which very much gave me... View Article
  
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• Here’s how we can save Britain’s high streets | Letters

  02-02-2026 17:26
  Readers on regenerating town centres and making high streets attractive community spaces again High streets have been changing throughout my lifetime (I’m 82 and had a high-street business for more than 20 years) and they have somehow survived with precious little government help (Labour risks election wipeout unless it improves Britain’s high streets, study finds, 28 February). In my postwar rural Essex village, we had three butchers, two newsagents, two bakers, two ironmongers, thr
  
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• Rituals’ revenues rise as brand marks 25th anniversary

  02-02-2026 15:39 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Rituals Cosmetics saw sales increase in its latest annual results, as it celebrated its 25th anniversary. 
  The beauty retailer recorded a net revenue of £2.10bn (€2.43bn) in FY (full year) 2025, up 16% year on year (YOY).
  The company’s EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) came in at £471.8m (€545m), representing a margin of ca. 22.5%. 
  Rituals reported “record-breaking growth” across France, Italy and the UK dur
  
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• The ‘lipstick effect’ now has a counterpart in the cake aisle

  02-02-2026 14:39
  Consumers buying upmarket treats is a boost for supermarkets and suppliers alike
  
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• Urban Outfitters and Dreams under fire for using gig economy app

  02-02-2026 13:24 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Fashion brand Urban Outfitters and bed retailer Dreams have been criticised for using the gig economy app Temper to take on workers, with some earning below minimum wage, according to reports.
  Trade union the TUC is calling on the Government to bring forward promised reforms to protect gig economy workers amid fears those hired by apps, including Temper, miss out on significant employment rights such as sick pay, rest breaks, holiday pay and a minimum hourly rate, The Guardian reported.
  The TUC
  
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• The jab effect: How weight-loss drugs are reshaping retail

  02-02-2026 10:51 via retailgazette.co.uk
  For a growing number of UK consumers, the weekly food shop has become smaller, but more considered.
  Weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro suppress appetite, reduce calorie intake and are changing how people eat day to day.
  According to data from IGD, sales of these GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide) medications rose from 3.1% to 4.2% of UK adults between June and September 2025, with 11% now saying they would consider taking them.
  And the trend is starting to ripple through the groce
  
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• Saks Global ends tie-up with Amazon

  02-02-2026 10:49 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Department store chain Saks Global is reportedly ending its partnership with online retailer Amazon.
  A source said on Friday (30 January) that Saks would close down its “Saks on Amazon” store front to focus on areas of its company “it sees as spurring more growth,” Reuters reported.
  The tie-up initially arose after Amazon invested £347.2m ($475m) to support the multi-brand luxury retailer’s acquisition of Neiman Marcus in 2024.Related Story Job cuts loom at LK
  
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• Faire teams up with Spring Fair to launch national survey

  02-02-2026 10:17 via retailgazette.co.uk
  UK retail bodies Faire and Spring Fair have unveiled a new campaign, encouraging independent retailers to make their voices heard.
  The marketing drive ‘Voices of Retail’ puts retail firms at the “centre of the conversation” and asks them to help shape the future of the industry.
  As part of the campaign, Spring Fair and Faire will launch a national survey asking for insights from companies across the UK and will use the findings to compile a report. To take part, retailers
  
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• Dusk’s record December marks strong end to 2025

  02-02-2026 10:14 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Online furniture and homewares retailer Dusk said it nine-month revenue was up 26% to £140.9 million, compared with the same period last year.
  In a financial statement, released today (2 February), profitability reached record levels in December 2025, following a strong Black Friday.
  Founded in Yorkshire and launched in 2016, the business sources its own ranges of homeware, furniture and furnishings. Its strong Christmas trading followed a record FY (full year) 2025 performance, with reven
  
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• Job cuts loom at LK Bennett ahead of store closures

  02-02-2026 08:51 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Redundancies are reportedly looming at fashion retailer LK Bennett as its shops gear up to close by the spring.
  A total of 89 staff members could lose their jobs as the brand’s stores are set to trade for a maximum of three months before closing, Drapers reported.
  The news comes after LK Bennett was acquired by investment firm Gordon Brothers on Thursday (28 January) under a deal that saved the brand and its intellectual property, but did not include its shops.
  LK Bennett employs 145 worke
  
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