Retail news

• Loyalty that works

  25-02-2026 11:49 via retailgazette.co.uk
  For many retailers and brands, retaining their consumer base has been getting harder and harder. With constant competition from huge ecommerce platforms and social media platforms, retailers need new ways to entice shoppers.
  One way of doing so is a loyalty scheme. Loyalty schemes were designed to help businesses retain consumers by offering them perks for continued custom.
  And they’ve become very popular over the last few years. Everyone from Boots to Sephora to British Airways seems to h
  
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• Topshop’s return strategy is a huge gamble. Will it pay off?

  25-02-2026 15:32 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Five years on from its high street exit, what will success look like for Topshop’s John Lewis partnership?
  Last week, Topshop returned to the high street with a launch in 32 John Lewis stores nationwide, marking the brand’s most significant bricks and mortar debut since its collapse in 2021.
  In total, with Topman also debuting in seven locations, a curated range of around 130 styles across womenswear, menswear, and footwear will be available in-store.
  Established in 1964, Topshop beg
  
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• This week’s Absolute Best…Bridgerton collabs

  25-02-2026 13:57 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Hello dearest reader, welcome to this week’s Absolute Best. We’re taking a look at the best collaborations between the Netflix show Bridgerton and popular brands.
  Bridgerton first hit our TV screens in 2021 and the world has been enamoured by the show ever since. The latest season, which premiered last month, debuted with 39.7 millions views in its first four days of streaming, according to IMBD.
  Viewers just can’t get enough of the show, and for brands and retailers globally,
  
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• Why social media demands a strategic rethink 

  25-02-2026 13:56 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Something fundamental has shifted in how consumers discover and buy products, writes Paola Nannelli, CEO at Pulse Advertising.Social media has moved from the periphery of the customer journey to its centre. What was once a brand awareness tool has become a discovery platform, a trust-building environment, and increasingly, a point of sale. 
  American Eagle’s results illustrate this transformation: 790,000 new customers acquired in six weeks, denim sales up 34 per cent, products selling
  
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• Co-op Media Network: convenience store shoppers are ‘mission-led’

  25-02-2026 13:01 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Convenience store consumers are driven by “mission-led” behaviour, according to Co-op Media Network.
  The research, conducted in partnership with research consultancy Trinity McQueen, found these consumers often underestimated how much they would buy and were committed to making a purchase. They were also more open to guidance from in store advertising campaigns.
  As part of the study, the pair conducted post-purchase interviews and accompanied shoppers in three large and three small C
  
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• Rebuilding Retail in 2026: Why CDO Retail Exchange arrives at a critical turning point

  25-02-2026 12:09 via theretailbulletin.com
  The CDO Retail Exchange 2026 brochure has officially arrived, and its timing couldn’t be more critical for UK and EMEA retail. After two years of experimentation,... View Article
  
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• The Rise of Contactless Payments in Retail Post-Pandemic

  25-02-2026 11:42 via theretailbulletin.com
  The surge in contactless payments has transformed the retail landscape following the pandemic. Consumers now favour these methods for their safety and ease, prompting significant changes... View Article
  
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• The tuxedo rules men still get wrong

  25-02-2026 11:39 via theretailbulletin.com
  Black tie invites don’t usually come with much warning. One minute you’re replying “yes” to a wedding or a charity dinner, the next you’re staring at... View Article
  
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• Victorian Plumbing founder CEO departs after 25 years

  25-02-2026 11:03 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Victorian Plumbing founder Mark Radcliffe is set to step down from his role as CEO, as the bathroom specialist unveils a change in leadership.
  Radcliffe, who will stay on the board as a non-executive founder director, will be succeeded by the brand’s current group managing director Stephnie Judge on 1 April.
  Judge joined Victorian Plumbing in 2013 and was named as the business’s group managing director in 2020 after several promotions.
  Radcliffe is set to remain actively engaged with
  
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• Lucy and Yak opens fifteenth store

  25-02-2026 10:52 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Lifestyle brand Lucy and Yak will open its fifteenth store in Sheffield, South Yorkshire on 21 March.
  The store will be pink with a few pops of yellow and will feature a mural from a local artist (yet to be announced). It is fully accessible from street level.
  Lucy and Yak’s Sheffield store will serve as the brand’s flagship shop for circularity. As part of this, the business will open a new studio inside the store – the Re:Yak Hub – where customers will be able to repair
  
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• JD Sports unveils £200m share buyback programme

  25-02-2026 09:41 via retailgazette.co.uk
  JD Sports Fashion has revealed plans to return £200m of capital to shareholders via share buybacks in FY27.
  The move comes in line with the company’s capital allocation priorities, as well as its commitment to “continue delivering significant cash returns to shareholders,” JD Sports said.
  The programme will commence immediately and will initially involve the purchase of ordinary shares of £0.0005 each in the business, with an aggregate value of up to £100m.Rel
  
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• Lululemon to launch 100th store in EMEA

  25-02-2026 09:36 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Lululemon is gearing up to open its first store in Poland on 13 March.
  The new site, which will be based in Warsaw, marks the activewear company’s 100th store across Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), Drapers reported.
  The new shop will launch with the brand’s franchise partner Arion Retail Group.
  The news comes after Lululemon announced last year that it would be expanding its global brand presence in 2026, with a record number of six new market entries in a year, via its franc
  
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• Victorian Plumbing announces change of leadership as founder CEO prepares to step down

  25-02-2026 09:03 via theretailbulletin.com
  Victorian Plumbing has announced that its founder Mark Radcliffe will relinquish his role of chief executive but will remain on the board as a non-executive founder... View Article
  
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• Retail crime remains ‘endemic’ despite 20% fall in violence, as gangs cost sector £400m

  25-02-2026 08:10 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Violence and abuse against retail workers has fallen by around a fifth over the past year, but incidents remain near record levels, with staff still facing an average of 1,600 cases every day, according to the latest report from the British Retail Consortium (BRC).
  The BRC’s annual Crime Survey shows daily incidents dropped from roughly 2,000 in 2023/24 to 1,600 in the most recent financial year. Retailers have attributed the decline to heavier investment in security, improved co
  
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• Clarks managing director of EMEA exits the business

  25-02-2026 08:07 via theretailbulletin.com
  Olivier Motteau, Clarks managing director of EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) has announced he is leaving the business. Motteau joined the footwear brand in... View Article
  
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• Shein founder reaffirms China ties amid mounting scrutiny in Europe

  25-02-2026 07:55 via retailgazette.co.uk
  The elusive founder of fast-fashion giant Shein made a rare public appearance in China this week, pledging deeper investment in the country’s garment heartland as the company faces intensifying regulatory pressure overseas.
  Xu Yangtian spoke at the High-quality Development Conference in Guangzhou on Tuesday, hailing Guangdong province as the ‘fertile ground’ behind Shein’s global rise. The region, a manufacturing powerhouse and hub for China’s clothing production, r
  
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• JD Sports holds biggest ever careers event

  25-02-2026 07:45 via theretailbulletin.com
  A record 10,000 young people are attending JD Sports’ biggest ever careers event this week as the retailer looks to help young people get into work... View Article
  
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• Zadig & Voltaire appoints Dan Sablon as creative director

  25-02-2026 07:41 via theretailbulletin.com
  Zadig & Voltaire has appointed Dan Sablon as creative director of the fashion house. Formerly fashion director of Lui magazine and contributing editor at i-D Magazine,... View Article
  
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• As temps hit 18C, will a warm spring correlate with higher sales?

  25-02-2026 07:39 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Spring is technically still a few weeks away, but you wouldn’t know it from the pavements of south-east England.
  With temperatures nudging 16.6C in Essex and Kent this week, and a chance of 18C in the best of Wednesday’s sunshine, the UK has had its first genuine taste of warmth in 2026.
  The last time the mercury reached that level was mid-November. For retailers emerging from a bruising winter of tight consumer confidence and relentless cost pressure, the obvious question is, could
  
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• Uniqlo names Emma Raducanu as global brand ambassador

  24-02-2026 21:28 via theretailbulletin.com
  Uniqlo has named Emma Raducanu as its newest global brand ambassador. The British tennis player has joined the Japanese clothing brand’s existing roster of ambassadors which... View Article
  
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• Lush collaborates with Back to the Future

  24-02-2026 17:03 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Handmade cosmetics retailer Lush has collaborated with Universal Products & Experiences to launch a limited-edition Back to the Future bath bomb.
  The new product is made with a mix of orange and lemon oil and was crafted using precision 3D printers.
  Each bath bomb costs £8.00.Related Story What Lush did next after its social media boycott06/12/2022 x 3:28 PMLush concepts and collaborations manager Kalem Brinkworth said: “This product is about more than relaxation; it’s abou
  
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• IKEA to open a Decathlon in its Croydon store

  24-02-2026 14:59 via theretailbulletin.com
  IKEA is piloting a partnership with Decathlon through the opening of a standalone Decathlon shop in its Croydon store this spring. Spanning 1,188 square metres, the... View Article
  
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• JD Sports hosts biggest-ever careers event

  24-02-2026 14:56 via retailgazette.co.uk
  A record 10,000 young people are set to visit JD Sports’ biggest-ever two-day careers event in Manchester. 
  Running today and tomorrow (24 to 25 February), JD Up has opened its doors to 28 departments and hundreds of potential retail career pathways at Manchester’s Central Convention Complex.
  The sports fashion group is offering the free event to students from over 70 schools in Greater Manchester as part of its commitment to social mobility, demonstrating how starting a job in
  
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• Shein founder emerges from shadows to hail Chinese roots

  24-02-2026 13:53
  Xu Yangtian says help from Communist Party and regional province was vital to fast-fashion retailer
  
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• ‘We’re losing accessibility’: America says goodbye to the mass-market paperback

  24-02-2026 11:03
  The so-called ‘pocket book’ sold in supermarkets is being phased out across the US, the latest sign of an ongoing shift in how people are choosing to readShelly Romero has early memories of going to her local supermarket and picking pulp fiction off the shelves. “We were very working class; my mom was working two jobs sometimes,” she recalls. “The appeal of books being cheaper and smaller and able to be carried around was definitely a thing.”For generations of
  
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• Asda Opticians unveils £2.5m store investment

  24-02-2026 11:01 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Asda Opticians has unveiled a £2.5m investment programme and two senior leadership appointments as part of its 2026 strategy.
  The investment, which was revealed at the opticians’ annual conference this month, will support the continued development of the supermarket’s optical estate, enhance clinical services, and strengthen staff training and progression opportunities across the business.
  Key elements of the investment include refitting 18 optical units, upgrades to diagnostic
  
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• Hobbycraft owner considers sale of arts and crafts chain

  24-02-2026 10:56 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Hobbycraft owner Modella Capital is understood to be mulling a potential sale of the arts and crafts retailer, after an approach from a prospective buyer.
  The private equity firm is gearing up to appoint advisers to manage interest from potential buyers, according to a report from Sky News. 
  It comes after Modella Capital snapped up Hobbycraft from Bridgepoint in summer 2024.Related Story Hobbycraft’s Christmas sales jump as shoppers embrace handmade gifts13/01/2026 x 9:20 AMThe ident
  
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• In pictures: Inside Clarins’ Westfield pop-up

  24-02-2026 10:51 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Beauty and skin-care brand Clarins has unveiled its latest pop-up experience, ‘Radiance’ in Westfield, London, showcasing the brand’s Double Serum foundation.
  Designed by creative brand experience agency Backlash, the experience ran from 20 to 22 February and was located on the ground floor of the shopping centre.
  Visitors to the pop-up could get colour-matched, visit the firm’s photo booth and win prizes. The first 50 visitors were granted a free goodie bag. Related Stor
  
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• Dunelm launches app to enhance customer experience

  24-02-2026 10:49 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Dunelm has launched a new mobile app, offering a growing range of features for customers “looking to enhance their shopping experience”.
  The app, which is available for iOS and Android, acts as an “easy and convenient companion for all Dunelm shopping journeys,” incorporating its AI-powered search, recommendations and browse functionality, which has been driving a more personalised experience on the Dunelm website, according to the retailer.
  Shoppers can use the app to en
  
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• Sephora UK to open first West End store

  24-02-2026 10:41 via retailgazette.co.uk
  Real estate investment trust Shaftesbury Capital has announced that Sephora UK will be opening its first West End store later this year in Carnaby Street.
  The new shop can be found at 5-7 Carnaby Street and will feature a new boutique format.
  It will span over 4,400 square ft in total (2,600 square ft of trading space) and will feature an array of brands, many of which are exclusive to the beauty retailer.
  Consumers can expect to find curated edits, expert advice and speedy service, as well as &
  
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