Retail news

• Google Cloud and Nexi to build agentic commerce infrastructure

  03-03-2026 11:35 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Nexi Group has signed a memorandum of understanding with Google Cloud to develop infrastructure for agentic commerce across Europe.
  The partnership will combine Google Cloud’s AI and data capabilities with Nexi’s European payment network and acquiring expertise, with the aim to develop agentic AI that can manage shopping journeys and execute payments on behalf of consumers.
  Under the agreement, Nexi will back open-source commerce standards including the Universal Commerce Protoc
  
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• Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group builds stake in Puma

  05-03-2026 11:49 via ft.com
  Purchase of 5.77% stake via derivatives adds to billionaire’s investments in retail industry
  
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• Facial recognition technology comes to Britain’s supermarket aisles

  05-03-2026 11:39 via ft.com
  Theft and threats against shop floor workers have risen sharply since the Covid-19 pandemic
  
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• Primark announces leadership restructure with new CFO and chief executive

  05-03-2026 11:25 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Associated British Foods (ABF) has announced two senior leadership appointments, confirming Joana Edwards as group chief financial officer while formally appointing Eoin Tonge as chief executive of Primark.
  Edwards takes on the CFO role with immediate effect after serving as ABF’s interim finance director since March 2025. She will also join the ABF board as an executive director.
  The appointment formalises Edwards’ leadership of the group’s finance function following a year in
  
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• EE opens latest experiential store in London’s Oxford Street

  05-03-2026 10:48 via theretailbulletin.com
  EE is bringing its latest experiential store  format to London’s West End today. The opening of EE’s Oxford Street Experience Store will be marked by a... View Article
  
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• EE retail director Asif Aziz on leadership, purpose and what it means to be an exemplar

  05-03-2026 10:46 via retailgazette.co.uk
  It’s safe to say that Asif Aziz is one of the most recognisable and respected retail leaders within the industry. And for good reason. Since joining EE as retail director at the beginning of 2023, he’s overseen a decisive shift in how the brand approaches physical retail.
  The opening of the hugely successful EE Studio in Westfield London and the rollout of Experience stores across the UK are just a few examples of the innovation happening within EE under his stewardship.
  They mark a
  
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• Businesses cleared for Trump’s tariff turmoil refunds after court ruling

  05-03-2026 10:29 via retailgazette.co.uk
  A US federal judge has ruled that thousands of businesses are entitled to refunds for tariffs introduced by President Donald Trump last year, marking a significant development in an ongoing trade dispute that has implications for global retailers and suppliers.
  The decision follows a recent ruling by the US Supreme Court, which struck down a series of import tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
  On Wednesday, the US Court of International T
  
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• REHAB founders on new Selfridges residency and building a scalable supply chain

  05-03-2026 10:21 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Three years ago, REHAB was packing orders from kitchen tables and garages. Last month, the self-funded beauty brand opened its Prescription Bar at Selfridges, taking residence inside The Beauty Spot.
  The move marks both its retail debut and the next phase of a business that says it has grown 5,030 per cent since launch, remained profitable year on year and built a 70 per cent repeat purchase rate, all while expanding from haircare into bodycare and now skincare.
  For co-founders Vicky Ellis and A
  
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• Tesco Media appoints former Walmart executive to newly created role

  05-03-2026 09:51 via theretailbulletin.com
  Tesco’s media business has appointed Lauren Bolles to the newly created role of chief operations officer as it looks ahead to its next phase of growth.... View Article
  
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• Will 2026 be the year that the gig economy booms on shop floors?

  05-03-2026 09:35 via retailgazette.co.uk
  The gig economy has already transformed how goods reach customers. The likes of Deliveroo and Uber Eats have already transformed the fundamental employment of delivery riders, and on-demand couriers are now simply a familiar part of the modern retail ecosystem. But a new phase of gig work is moving to the shop floor.
  Across the UK, retailers are beginning to experiment with platforms that connect businesses with freelance workers. Rather than employing workers for fixed shifts, retailers can inc
  
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• Floral Street: Exploring the brand’s Bridgerton perfume sampling campaign

  05-03-2026 09:35 via retailgazette.co.uk
  British perfumery brand Floral Street was tasked by Shondaland and Netflix to create an exclusive scent for Bridgerton.
  The female-owned business worked on the project for two years.
  The scent the brand came up with for the collaboration was titled ‘Enchanted Masquerade’ (the name was possibly inspired by the masquerade ball the main characters attend at the start of season four).
  And it embodies the show’s Britishness, containing notes from flowers that one might find in any g
  
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• WH Smith reports ‘solid’ first half but warns of Middle East disruption

  05-03-2026 09:09 via theretailbulletin.com
  WH Smith has reported a “solid” first half performance, with revenue up 5% year-on-year on a constant currency basis. However, the retailer has warned of potential... View Article
  
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• Boots chooses Bristol for second beauty‑only store

  05-03-2026 08:10 via theretailbulletin.com
  Boots has chosen Bristol for the opening of its second beauty-only concept store this spring. The move follows a debut store opening in London’s Battersea Power... View Article
  
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• Lidl GB appoints Roberto Eretta as chief operating officer

  05-03-2026 07:43 via theretailbulletin.com
  Lidl GB is to appoint Roberto Eretta as chief operating officer. He will succeed Maciej Tylkowski when he takes up an international position this summer. Eretta... View Article
  
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• Logistics UK’s head of trade policy on supply chain resilience in the Middle East conflict

  05-03-2026 00:06 via retailgazette.co.uk
  The UK retail supply chain is prepared for the Middle East conflict. But resilience isn’t cost-free, says Logistics UK head of trade policy. 
  This week, escalating tensions in the Middle East following the US strikes on Iran have renewed instability around the Strait of Hormuz, sent oil markets reacting sharply, shipping lines reassessing risk and once again placed global supply chains under scrutiny.
  But for UK retail, still recalibrating after Covid and Red Sea disruption, the quest
  
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• Boots to open first beauty-only store outside London

  04-03-2026 15:27 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Boots is set to open its second beauty-only concept store in Bristol this spring, bringing its “most innovative beauty retail experience” outside of London for the first time. 
  The store will offer an “elevated and experiential way” to discover the latest in beauty, according to the retailer.  
  The 11,000 sq ft shop will open in the centre of the Bristol Shopping Quarter at the Cabot Circus Shopping Centre.
  It comes after Boots opened its first standalone b
  
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• ‘Heartbroken’ BrewDog founder James Watt speaks out after £33m sale

  04-03-2026 13:54 via retailgazette.co.uk
  BrewDog co-founder James Watt has said he is “heartbroken” following the sale of the craft beer brand he launched in 2007, after Tilray Brands acquired the business in a £33m deal earlier this week.
  Writing on LinkedIn, Watt reflected on the end of his 17-year tenure building BrewDog from a startup into one of the world’s most recognisable craft beer brands, while acknowledging the business’s recent struggles and the disappointment felt by staff and investors.
  &ldqu
  
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• UK supermarket chain Iceland drops trademark dispute with Iceland

  04-03-2026 13:11
  Company promises ‘rapprochement discount’ for shoppers from country after decade-long action in EU courtThe UK supermarket chain Iceland has abandoned its decade-long trademark battle with Iceland and instead promised a “rapprochement discount” for shoppers in the country.After the budget grocery chain suffered its third legal loss last year, its executive chair, Richard Walker, said on Wednesday that it would draw a line under the dispute. Continue reading...
  
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• Greenwashing has just become a much more serious issue – are you ready?

  04-03-2026 11:38 via retailgazette.co.uk
  For retail brands, 2026 looks to be a continuation of the regulatory scrutiny of greenwashing that we have seen in recent years, writes Katrina Anderson, principal associate, and Rachel McDonnell, partner at national law firm Mills & Reeve.Rachel McDonnell
  Regulators now have unprecedented and enhanced powers to investigate and penalise misleading environmental claims – and beyond that, greenwashing could also be prosecuted under a new a criminal offence of failure to prevent fraud.
  Th
  
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• Iceland ditches decade-long trademark battle with Iceland and promises “rapprochement discount”

  04-03-2026 11:21 via retailgazette.co.uk
  UK frozen food retailer Iceland has ended its decade-long trademark dispute with the country of Iceland, with executive chair Richard Walker pledging a “rapprochement discount” for Icelandic shoppers instead of pursuing further legal action.
  The move comes after the retailer suffered its third legal defeat in the courts last year in its long-running effort to maintain exclusive EU trademark rights to the name “Iceland”.
  Speaking to the Financial Times, Walker said the com
  
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• Tesco reappoints media agency and revamps slogan in shake-up to marketing strategy

  04-03-2026 11:08 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Tesco has re-appointed EssenceMediacom as its media agency partner across the UK and Central Eastern European markets, following a closed review process run by Tuffon Hall Consultancy.
  The agency, which is part of WPP Media, will be responsible for media planning and buying services, as well as tech and data integration, using WPP’s Open platform and Open Intelligence capabilities.
  This news follows the supermarket’s launch of its new brand platform, “Need Anything From Tesco?&
  
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• Asda chairman plans to promote next CEO from within

  04-03-2026 11:06 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Asda chairman Allan Leighton has claimed that the government has become “more and more difficult” to deal with and less supportive of business, as he plans to promote the retailer’s next CEO from within.
  Leighton said that decisions made in Westminster were resulting in a bigger impact on businesses than when he first ran Asda during the 1990s, the Telegraph reported.
  The chair said: “Politics and government have a much more bigger impact on what happens today than they d
  
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• NEW PODCAST: Euroshop 2026, the best bits with Toshiba

  04-03-2026 11:03 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Euroshop 2026 is once again behind us, and this year over 81,000 visitors descended on the show from 141 countries.
  The show, which takes place in Düsseldorf, Germany, featured over 1,840 exhibitors from 61 nations. It’s a dizzying affair with so much to do and see, and it’s easy even for those in attendance to see just a tinyportion of the innovation on offer.
  That’s why, in this episode of the Retail Gazette Unpacked podcast, we sit down with Martin Ward, senior retail
  
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• NEW PODCAST: Euroshop 2025, the best bits with Toshiba

  04-03-2026 11:03 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Euroshop 2026 is once again behind us, and this year over 81,000 visitors descended on the show from 141 countries.
  The show, which takes place in Düsseldorf, Germany, featured over 1,840 exhibitors from 61 nations. It’s a dizzying affair with so much to do and see, and it’s easy even for those in attendance to see just a tinyportion of the innovation on offer.
  That’s why, in this episode of the Retail Gazette Unpacked podcast, we sit down with Martin Ward, senior retail
  
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• £25 for a cookie? What the baffling luxury bakery boom tells us about Britain

  04-03-2026 11:00
  Amid a cost of living crisis, pricey patisserie is all the rage – and not just in London. Our reporter goes on a crawl to find out if a tart can really be worth £45There was a time when you could get a stuffed vanilla cream slice or a neon-pink Tottenham cake for about £1 on the leafy, residential corner of Hackney, east London, where I stand today. But the branch of Percy Ingle bakery that was here for nearly 50 years is gone. In its place sits Fika, a cafe where a cinnamon bu
  
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• Scribbler: How to use the right balance of humour to cut through the noise

  04-03-2026 10:37 via retailgazette.co.uk
  For smaller retailers, cutting through the noise is not about outspending bigger rivals or chasing every new channel. It is about being memorable.For greeting card and gift retailer Scribbler, that memorability has long come from humour – funny, on-trend and unapologetically rude (but never accidentally so). 
  Humour is a powerful differentiator, but it is also one of the easiest things for a brand to get wrong. Push too far and you alienate customers.Play it too safe and you fade into
  
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• How can retailers use micro-influencers?

  04-03-2026 10:37 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Creators no longer need to have hundreds of thousands of followers to land a brand partnership.
  Brands and retailers are selecting ‘micro-influencers’ to help support their campaigns and reach their target audiences.
  Micro-influencers often only have small followings but will be deeply embedded in the community their content focuses on, making them an attractive prospect for an ambassadorship or campaign appearance.
  Retailers such as Disney Store, ASOS, PrettyLittleThing, Superdrug a
  
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• L’era’s founder on how TikTok livestream contributed to the brand’s success

  04-03-2026 09:55 via retailgazette.co.uk
  TikTok has become a go-to for many brands as a point of sale.
  According to E-marketer, TikTok Shop accounts for nearly 20 per cent of the social commerce market in 2025.
  Another study from Sprout Social found that UK TikTok shop sales accounted for 2.14 per cent of all global TikTok shop sales.
  It also highlighted that TikTok Live was popular with consumers, with the brand Hair Syrup processing 1,900 orders in just one 10-hour TikTok Live session, which amounted to a 66 per cent spike in sales.
  
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• Are driverless warehouse vehicles the next big boost to retail? Nvidia thinks so

  04-03-2026 09:54 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Nvidia has placed a major bet on the future of autonomous logistics, backing UK self-driving technology firm Oxa in a £77m Series D funding round aimed at accelerating the deployment of driverless vehicles across industrial environments such as warehouses, ports and airports.
  The investment includes £37.5m from the National Wealth Fund and backing from NVentures, alongside existing investors including IP Group, Hostplus and bp Ventures.
  The funding
  
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• Inside Warner Bros’ new experiential Harry Potter Oxford Street flagship

  04-03-2026 09:31 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Warner Bros is set to open a 21,000 sq ft Harry Potter flagship store on London’s Oxford Street, bringing a major immersive retail experience to one of Europe’s busiest shopping destinations.
  The two-floor store, scheduled to open this autumn on the corner of Oxford Street and Tottenham Court Road, will feature recreated locations from the Harry Potter films, interactive displays, photo opportunities and exclusive merchandise.
  The entertainment giant said the site will act as an &ldq
  
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