Department Stores
The latest news, updates and analysis on the department stores segment of the the UK retail industry. Sign up to the Daily Briefing and let Retail Sector’s business journalists keep you in the picture.
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Jan- 2021 -25 January
Boohoo acquires Debenhams intellectual property for £55m
Boohoo has announced it has acquired all of the intellectual property assets of Debenhams in a £55m deal. The online fashion retailer expressed its intent to rebuild and relaunch the Debenhams platform, which in result will help further the group’s stated ambition to lead the fashion eCommerce market, and grow…
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22 January
Selfridges endures ‘most difficult year’ thanks to 2019 performance
Selfridges has endured the “most difficult year” in its 113-year history, but was able to weather the storm. The chain of luxury department stores was reportedly kept afloat through growing sales in 2019 and investing in e-commerce. Anne Pitcher, managing director at the group, confirmed to the Times that the…
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22 January
John Lewis repays £300m to the Treasury early
John Lewis has announced it has repaid £300m early to the Treasury and the Bank of England Covid Corporate Financing Facility, which was due for repayment on 15 March 2021. The retailer was hit heavily by the impact of Covid-19 and store closures for several months, however the Partnership believes…
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13 January
Debenhams to shutter six stores, 320 jobs affected
Debenhams has announced that six of its sites will no longer reopen this year, as part of the group’s ongoing winding down and stock liquidation process. In a statement released today (13 January), the group confirmed the move will affect 320 roles within its business. Debenhams said that while it…
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13 January
John Lewis Partnership to enforce face coverings in stores
John Lewis Partnership has announced it will tighten its Covid-19 rules by insisting that all customers wear a face covering (unless medically exempt or under the required age). To help ensure customers wear the face coverings, marshals will be positioned at the entrances of all supermarkets and will have disposable…
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7 January
B&M revenue soars 23% in Q3
The UK’s largest variety goods value retailer, B&M, has reported a growth in revenue of 22.5% for the 13 weeks ended 26 December 2020. The group announced that the £60.5m rise in total group revenues when compared to the same period last year has contributed to an expected adjusted EBITDA…
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Dec- 2020 -7 December
Frasers Group in Debenhams takeover talks
Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group has entered discussions involving a possible takeover of Debenhams, the group confirmed today. It comes as Debenhams collapsed into administration last week, placing 12,000 jobs at risk, after talks with JD Sports over a potential rescue deal failed. The department store chain will continue to trade…
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2 December
John Lewis halts international business plans
John Lewis has announced that it is shutting its international business operations only weeks before Christmas, according to The Times. The department store chain is believed to have decided that its international business is too expensive and will stop taking new orders from 9 December. The decision is said to…
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1 December
Debenhams fears collapse as JD exits rescue talks
JD Sports has confirmed it has pulled out of rescue deal talks for Debenhams earlier today (1 December). The sports retailer is said to have been closing in on a deal up until the end of last week and was the firm’s last remaining bidder, which is in administration. Retail…
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Nov- 2020 -30 November
Arcadia collapse could throw JD’s Debenhams takeover into doubt
A potential collapse at its largest concession holder Arcadia could reportedly throw the takeover of Debenhams by JD Sports into doubt. According to the Sunday Times, JD’s board were due to confirm whether they were going to go through with the acquisition by the end of last week (27 November)…
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