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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Mar- 2019 -18 March
M&S to add full range of food products to more standard stores
Marks and Spencer has announced it is planning to add its full range of food products to its standard stores as it targets the family shopping trip. Currently only 12 of the retailer’s stores offer all 6,500 items in its food range, with the retailer’s Simply Food convenience stores deemed…
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14 March
Mamas & Papas signs wholesale deal with John Lewis
Mamas and Papas, the leading nursery brand, is partnering with John Lewis and Partners to supply a curated range of products on Johnlewis.com and in-store. The initial range will include best-selling travel items, including its award-winning Ocarro and Armadillo pushchairs and its new Flip XT3 design. In addition to offering…
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11 March
Debenhams in talks to secure £150m lifeline
Embattled department store Debenhams has confirmed it is in “advanced negotiations” to secure £150m funding from its lenders just a week after it issued another profit warning. The company saw a drop in sales for the half year to 2 March, leading it to say the profit expectations it announced…
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8 March
Mike Ashley moves to take control of Debenhams
Mike Ashley has announced plans to remove all the directors at Debenhams, except Rachel Osborne who was appointed in September, and appoint himself to the board in an executive role. Ashley, who holds a 30% stake in the department store chain, pledged in a stock exchange announcement on Thursday evening…
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7 March
John Lewis profits fall to £160m
John Lewis has slashed its employees’ annual bonus to 3% as the department store recorded a 45.4% drop in underlying profits to £160m from £292.8m the year before. In the company’s unaudited results for the year ending 26 January 2019, it attributed its drop in profits to the “significant” operating…
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5 March
Debenhams issues fresh profit warning
The statement Debenhams made in January to say it was on track to deliver profits in line with last year’s expectations is “no longer valid” as the department store chain reported a drop in sales. The group’s like-for-like sales fell by 5.3% in the 26 weeks to 2 March 2019…
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4 March
Former Debenhams and John Lewis director to launch own brand
Jo Hooper, a former womenswear director at John Lewis and Debenhams is set to launch her own clothing brand. Named Nrby, the new brand will launch with a pop-up store in London’s Belgravia area according to reports by Drapers with a website said to be launched later this week. Nrby’s…
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Feb- 2019 -19 February
John Lewis shortlists six start-ups for its innovation programme
The John Lewis Partnership has shortlisted six retail start-ups to its innovation programme JLAB, who could “transform how we shop in the future”. Over 160 new start-ups and more established businesses entered John Lewis’ ‘experiential retail challenge’ with the chance of being selected to develop their ideas with the company.…
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18 February
Philip Day eyes M&S and House of Fraser stores
Retail entrepreneur and Edinburgh Wooden Mill boss Philip Day is reportedly in talks to acquire a small number of Marks and Spencer and House of Fraser stores that are set to close. According to the Sunday Telegraph, Day is aiming to turn the stores into branches of his Days department…
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13 February
Liberty London ‘could be sold for £300m’
The owner of Liberty London has reportedly brought the luxury department store to market for a potential £300m price tag. According to Sky News, private equity firm BlueGem Capital Partners – the store’s largest shareholder – is said to be looking to offload its share in the department store and…
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