High Street
The latest news, updates and analysis on the the British High Street and 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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Sep- 2020 -25 September
Thousands of ‘traditional’ retail jobs in danger, says Next boss
Next boss Simon Wolfson warned that thousands of “traditional” retail jobs are now in danger under the chancellor’s new “viability” focus. Speaking in an interview with BBC News’ business editor Simon Jack, Lord Wolfson said he did “not want to underestimate the difficulty” for “a lot of people who work…
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22 September
Footfall rises despite ‘rule of six’
Footfall across all retail destinations in the UK rose by 2.4% over the last week, despite the government’s new ‘rule of six’ social distancing measure, according to data from analytics company Springboard. High street retailers saw a footfall increase of 5.2%, while shopping centres and retail parks saw a decrease…
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21 September
Government launches £95m recovery fund for high street
A new £95m government-funded scheme will support 68 “historic” high streets in England to recover from “declining footfall” and the impact of the pandemic. The initiative, High Streets Heritage Action Zone (HSHAZ), will work with local authorities to convert disused buildings into new shops, workplaces and community spaces. HSHAZ will…
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21 September
Aldo UK sold to BIG
Aldo UK confirmed it has been sold to the Bushnell Investment Group (BIG). Administrators from accountancy firm RSM were appointed to the footwear retailer back in May. During this time, Aldo has managed to trade during the economic downturn resulting from Covid-19 and has opened three new sites. According to…
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16 September
H&M to return to profitability in Q3
H&M has announced it expects to return to profitability after experiencing a “better-than-expected” recovery during the third quarter of the year. For the 13-week period ending 31 August the Swedish clothing retailer said it expects before-tax profit of approximately SEK2b (£176m). The group said the recovery was the result of…
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15 September
Creditors approve New Look CVA
New Look has announced that a CVA proposal launched last month has been approved by the majority of its unsecured creditors in a vote that was held today (15 September). Following the vote, the retailer will have a three-year rent holiday across 68 of its sites, as well as rent…
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15 September
Next takes majority stake in Victoria’s Secret
Victoria’s Secret owner L Brands has announced it has formed a joint venture with Next which will see the retailer acquire the majority of Victoria’s Secrets’ assets. The new joint venture will operate all Victoria’s Secret stores in the UK and Ireland, subject to agreeing terms with landlords. Next will…
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15 September
New Look landlords to reject CVA
New Look’s biggest landlords have reportedly rejected the retailer’s CVA plan in a move that will “throw its survival into doubt”. British Land and Landesc are now set to vote against its latest rescue plan in a vote that will be held later today (15 September), according to Sky News. …
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14 September
Arcadia Group ‘extremely sorry’ amid notice pay U-turn
Arcadia Group has agreed to pay the full salaries of head office staff facing redundancy, after backtracking on its initial plan to pay staff their furloughed salaries. Arcadia, whose high street brands include Topman, Topshop and Dorothy Perkins, initially planned to pay head office staff 50% of their notice pay,…
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11 September
Games Workshop shares jump amid soaring sales
Games Workshop saw shares jump almost 20% in early trading yesterday, after posting strong preliminary trading results for the three months ended 30 August 2020. Its current estimates show sales of c.£90m, compared with £78m for during the same period last year. Operating profit for the before royalty income also…
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