Retail news

• Falling demand and rising costs will make 2024 another challenging year

  18-12-2023 07:58
  Weakening consumer demand likely to continue into Q1 24Difficult Q1 24 will be the lull before the storm of Q2 24 when a tsunami of costs will hit the sectorWidespread promotions and discounting will continue after Christmas
  18 DECEMBER 2023 — London, UK – Falling consumer demand combined with a barrage of rising costs is set to create a challenging six months ahead for the retail sector – according to the latest assessment by KPMG/RetailNext Retail Think Tank (RTT) members.Wi
  
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• M&S expands Amazon presence to the Netherlands with 1,000+ fashion products

  10-07-2026 20:38 via theretailbulletin.com
  M&S has extended availability on Amazon to the Netherlands as it looks to boost new channel growth and build trust as a global brand. Having begun... View Article
  
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• UK trade routes under pressure as port traffic patterns shift

  10-07-2026 17:56 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  New analysis of UK port data has revealed how freight traffic has shifted across the country as businesses continue to deal with disruption to global shipping routes.
  The research, from shipping container supplier Cleveland Containers, looked at Department for Transport figures covering freight volumes and vessel arrivals over the past five years.
  It found that disruption has not affected all UK ports in the same way, with some seeing more traffic while others have experienced declines.
  Clevelan
  
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• Lacoste awarded damages as French court bans Shein from counterfeiting products

  10-07-2026 17:53 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Lacoste has secured an interim court order against Shein in France, as part of an ongoing trademark dispute over products sold on the fast fashion platform.
  The ban, which remains subject to a final ruling, is intended to “prevent infringement of Lacoste’s renowned trademarks resulting from the sale of clothing, jewellery and fashion accessories on the Shein platform”.
  According to a statement released by the French court, the judge found there was “a likelihood of counte
  
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• FSA new rules to speed up lab-grown food applications

  10-07-2026 17:39 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has published new guidance to help businesses developing cell-cultivated foods and other novel products navigate the approval process in Great Britain.
  Produced with Food Standards Scotland, the guidance covers hygiene requirements, scientific evidence needed for market authorisation, advice on preparing applications and information on conducting taste trials.
  The documents form part of the Cell-Cultivated Products Sandbox Programme, a government-funded initiative
  
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• Ofcom makes it legal requirement for Big Tech to prevent scam ads

  10-07-2026 17:18 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Regulatory body Ofcom has called upon Big Tech firms to tackle scam ads on their platforms.
  The proposal, published today (10 July) will apply to some of the UK’s most widely used sites and apps, including social media and search platforms.
  Ofcom’s new plans will mean Big Tech will be legally required to put “robust measures” into place to address scam advertising.
  Measures featured in the plans include banning those who post scam ads and preventing them from creating new
  
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• Aldi renames Nordpak butter to show support for England team

  10-07-2026 16:29 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Ahead of the England vs Norway game on Saturday, discount retailer Aldi has unveiled a “reactive work” to show its support to the England team.The German supermarket chain has given its Nordpak butter packaging a rebrand, dropping ‘Nord’ from the label and replacing it with ‘ENG’.
  It was devised in collaboration with its agency partner McCann Manchester and will run across out-of-home, social media and in-store digital screens. Related Story Aldi team up with
  
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• Shein wins Chinese approval for long-awaited IPO

  10-07-2026 15:53 via ft.com
  China’s securities regulator grants permission for fast-fashion retailer to list its shares in Hong Kong after years of delays
  
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• ASOS debuts emerging designers collaboration with hand-crafted dress

  10-07-2026 13:24 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  ASOS has launched ARRANGE Bespoke, a new range that allows emerging designers to “reinterpret ARRANGE’s signature approach to occasion-wear”.
  The new line debuted at Paris Couture week, with a hand-crafted dress by Johannes Warnke, a student at Central Saint Martins.
  The dress was developed in partnership with ARRANGE’s design team and was hand sewn using surplus materials.
  According to the online retailer, this new collection marks a new chapter for the ARRANGE label.Rel
  
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• Lululemon to launch first store in India

  10-07-2026 11:39 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Activewear giant Lululemon has revealed the location of its first store in India. 
  The new shop will be based in New Delhi’s DLF Promenade shopping mall. It will open in the autumn as part of the company’s franchise agreement with ecommerce firm Tata Cliq.
  The store will offer “high-performance products” for men and women, designed to support a wide range of activities including yoga, pilates, running, training, tennis, golf, and everyday movement. 
  It will also
  
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• UK government launches consultation on vape packaging

  10-07-2026 11:16 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  The Department of Health and Social Care has launched a new UK wide consultation on plans to introduce plain packaging and restrictions on flavour descriptions for vapes, as part of efforts to stop vapes from being marketed to children.
  The plans, published today [10 July], will limit the colour of vape devices to white, black and grey and limit packaging colours to white. There will be additional restrictions on imagery, text colour, branding and product information.
  This follows the Tobacco an
  
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• M&S expands Amazon fashion partnership to include the Netherlands

  10-07-2026 10:33 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Marks & Spencer has boosted its fashion offering on Amazon to include the Netherlands, following successful roll outs in France, Germany, Spain and Italy.
  As the high street giant accelerates its new channel growth ambitions, and looks to build trust as a global brand, Dutch customers can now shop at the M&S Brand Store (Amazon.nl)
  M&S Fashion has been available in the Netherlands since 2022, through marketplace channels including Zalando. In the past six months, M&S has seen gro
  
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• Two thirds of UK retailers only react once problems have already impacted commercial performance

  10-07-2026 10:14 via theretailbulletin.com
  Despite widespread investment in AI, most UK retailers remain stuck in reactive decision-making, according to new research from UiPath. The survey of 500 UK retail leaders... View Article
  
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• The Connected Store: Why digitalising the shop floor is now a survival strategy for UK Retail

  10-07-2026 10:14 via theretailbulletin.com
  Your next big retail test isn’t only online. It’s whether your physical stores can keep up with the speed, accuracy and visibility customers already expect everywhere... View Article
  
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• Aldi team up with artist to unveil giant Jude Bellingham portrait

  10-07-2026 09:21 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  To celebrate England reaching the quarter-finals in the World Cup, Aldi teamed up with food artist Nathan Wyburn to create a giant portrait of footballer Jude Bellingham, made from 998 chicken football players.
  The artwork took 10 hours to complete and celebrates Bellingham’s goals in the Mexico vs England match earlier this week.
  Shoppers will be able to purchase the breaded chicken football players from July 16.Related Story Wickes and Bauer Media unveil life sized human table football p
  
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• Retail footfall drops 3.4% in June as heatwave pushes shoppers indoors

  10-07-2026 09:08 via theretailbulletin.com
  UK retail footfall fell by 3.4% year-on-year in June as record breaking temperatures meant fewer people went out shopping. According to BRC-Sensormatic data, high streets bore... View Article
  
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• Wickes and Bauer Media unveil life sized human table football pitch

  10-07-2026 08:21 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Wickes have turned a store car park into a life sized human table football pitch out of the retailer’s products, as part of its 14 year partnership with Bauer Media.
  The activation saw presenters of The Dave Berry Breakfast Show on Absolute Radio, Dave Berry and Matt Dyson pick teams of 20 listeners to take part in a human table football match. Those who took part in the event were able to compete to win a share of £10,000 in Wickes gift cards.
  It was hosted by Absolute Radio present
  
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• New Look opens biggest ever concept store at Metrocentre

  10-07-2026 08:20 via theretailbulletin.com
  New Look has launched its biggest concept store to date at Metrocentre as it continues to roll out its “omni-hub” store format. The 11,000 square foot... View Article
  
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• Akeneo introduces the first truly agentic product experience platform

  10-07-2026 08:00 via theretailbulletin.com
  Akeneo’s Summer Release transforms the Akeneo Product Cloud from a system of record to a fully agentic platform, where fleets of agents coordinate with one another... View Article
  
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• M&S staff raise £14,900 for Young Minds at Leeds charity football tournament

  10-07-2026 07:59 via theretailbulletin.com
  M&S staff have raised £14,900 for youth mental health charity Young Minds after their performance at a 19-team charity football tournament at Powerleague Leeds Central last... View Article
  
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• UK footfall takes hit from record June heatwave

  10-07-2026 01:01 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Footfall fell over the five weeks from 31 May to 5 July, amid the record heatwave in June. 
  Total UK footfall decreased by 3.4 per cent in June year-over-year (YoY), down from -2.6 per cent in May, according to the latest BRC-Sensormatic data.
  High street footfall dipped 6.2 per cent YoY in June, from -1.5 per cent the month before.
  Retail park footfall dropped by 0.3 per cent in June YoY, from -0.5 per cent in May.
  Additionally, shopping centre footfall slumped by 2.5 per cent YoY in June,
  
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• Bodycare appoints Charles Denton as CEO to lead UK expansion

  09-07-2026 23:06 via theretailbulletin.com
  Bodycare has appointed Charles Denton as chief executive and chairman, and announced a ramping up of its UK expansion. Founded in Lancashire in the 1970s, the... View Article
  
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• Desert Island Stores: Marisa Poster, co-founder of PerfectTed

  09-07-2026 20:04 via theretailbulletin.com
  In his latest Desert Island Stores interview, Glynn Davis chats with Marisa Poster, co-founder of matcha brand PerfectTed.  The store you remember from childhood? Eli Zabar... View Article
  
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• Waterstones signs for new 300,000 sq ft distribution centre in Staffordshire

  09-07-2026 19:57 via theretailbulletin.com
  Waterstones has signed for a new 300,000 square foot distribution centre in Staffordshire to support its expansion plans. The new site at Indurent Park Burton will... View Article
  
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• Sephora opens first Scottish store in Edinburgh’s St James Quarter

  09-07-2026 18:28 via theretailbulletin.com
  Sephora has opened its first store in Scotland at Edinburgh’s St James Quarter as part of a summer of expansion that will see four new stores... View Article
  
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• John Lewis and Specsavers top customer satisfaction index

  09-07-2026 15:47 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Retail has traditionally dominated the UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI), however for the first time since its inception in 2008 banks and building societies have overtaken the sector.
  Nationwide scored 87.3 out of 100, the building society was followed by John Lewis (87.1), first direct (86.0) and Specsavers (85.0).
  The Institute of Customer Service attributed this improvement in the banking sector to the growing emphasis placed on customer satisfaction, loyalty and retention.
  The best-per
  
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• Grocery’s next battle: why rivals may have to work together to survive

  09-07-2026 14:54 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  For decades, competition has been at the heart of the grocery industry. Retailers have fought for market share, while suppliers have protected their margins, and logistics networks have often been treated as closely guarded advantages.
  But according to IGD head of supply chain James Rothwell rising costs and growing pressure on businesses are forcing a rethink.
  The latest research from IGD argues that food supply chains are entering a new era where companies will have to “do more with less
  
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• Asda boosts Express technology with new partnership

  09-07-2026 14:51 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Asda has signed a multi-year partnership with technology firm Evolve to upgrade internet connectivity across its 500 Express stores.
  The retailer said the faster and more resilient connections will support payment, IT and security systems, with more than 450 stores due to be upgraded this year.
  The investment comes as retailers become increasingly reliant on digital systems, with Asda’s Express stores using technology to support payments, digital media and food-to-go operations.
  Evolve sai
  
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• Opinion: Poor AI Shopping experiences could put £9bn of UK retail yearly revenue at risk

  09-07-2026 14:49 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  by Trustpilot senior UK marketing director Steph Gillies
  Between customers finding products and services via artificial intelligence tools, brands creating AI-focused experiences, and AI being mentioned far more often in customer reviews than previously, it’s clear that AI is rapidly reshaping retail.
  However, research by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr), commissioned by Trustpilot, reveals that clunky or frustrating AI experiences put roughly £9bn of UK online r
  
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• Yours Clothing launches new e-gift card returns option

  09-07-2026 12:51 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Inclusive fashion retailer Yours Clothing will enable online shoppers to receive a refund via a just launched e-gift card, with reward members receiving bonus points for doing so.
  The launch forms part of a wider customer experience investment by AK Retail Group and is being rolled out across its portfolio of fashion brands, including Long Tall Sally, BadRhino, M&Co, Evans and PixieGirl.
  A statement from the brand said: “The latest enhancement reflects Yours Clothing’s continued
  
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