Economy
The latest news, updates and analysis on the economy and how it is affecting 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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Jul- 2018 -4 July
Sainsbury’s Q1 sales growth stutters as groundwork laid for merger
Sainsbury’s has seen a slump in its total sales growth down to 0.8% from 1.3% in the last quarter of the 2017-18 financial year Like for like sales growth dropped 0.7% down to 0.2% compared with the last quarter of last year. Grocery sales growth in Q1 this year saw…
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Jun- 2018 -29 June
Boots shares plunge 10% following Amazon medicine service acquisition
Shares in the parent company of pharmacy chain Boots, Walgreens Boots Alliance, have plummeted by 10% this morning following news that Amazon has acquired medicine delivery company Pillpack. The American startup made $100m last year and will now see Amazon take over late next year, with the price of the…
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28 June
London retail properties boost Crown Estate to £329m
The Crown Estate, the Queen’s main source of income, has announced a increase in return to the Treasury of £329.4m, boosted by its central london retail property. On a like-for-like basis income was up 4% when compared with the £316.7m returned in 2016/17. The Crown Estate said that business “continued…
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28 June
Head office jobs more likely to face axe than shop floor following national living wage rises
New research has found that those working in head office are more likely to lose their jobs as the result of an increase to the national living wage. Research by Foot Anstey found that 52% of companies would rather keep front line staff and make cuts to head office headcount.…
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27 June
One in four companies hit by ‘domino effect’ of another’s insolvency
Some 26% of UK companies have suffered a hit to their finances following the insolvency of a customer, supplier or debtor in the last six months, according to new research from R3, the insolvency and restructuring trade body. The research found the financial impact of the insolvency of another business…
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27 June
‘Serial returners’ cost retailers £7bn a year
New research from Barclaycard has revealed that retail returns made by British shoppers amount to a loss of £7bn a year for retailers. Some 47% of clothing goods purchased are returned by consumers – while they spend on average £313 on online clothes shopping each year, they end up sending…
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26 June
British grocery market sees two years’ consecutive growth
Britain’s grocery sector has grown for two consecutive years, according to the latest grocery market share figures from Kantar Worldpanel for the 12 weeks to 17 June 2018. The figures published today, 26 June, showed supermarket sales have risen for 25 consecutive months and now stand at 2.1% compared with…
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26 June
EXCLUSIVE: Mattressman accounts ‘disaster’
Mattressman has revealed that it entered a Company Voluntary Agreement (CVA) due to “inaccurate management accounts”, which led the company to believe it was profitable in Q1 and Q2 of 2017, Retail Sector can reveal. However in March this year it was found that it was losing money during that…
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25 June
More than 130 jobs cut as Mattressman enters CVA
Mattressman has announced it is to enter a Company Voluntary Agreement (CVA) which will see the closure of 14 of its 25 stores. The store closures will see 136 jobs cut as the bed retailer looks to “downsize” and begin a “restructuring process”. Mattressman looked to be in rude health…
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22 June
Chanel reveals profits for the first time
Fashion brand Chanel has released its profit figures for the first time in its 108-year history. Chanel saw an 18% rise in profit on last year, rising to £1.35bn and sales up by 11% to £7.5bn on the previous year. The brand, known for its luxury jackets, perfumes and handbags…
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