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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Dec- 2020 -1 December
Footfall surges for second week thanks to Black Friday
Footfall on Black Friday increased by 8.7%, helping to mark the first time since late August that the figures have increased in two consecutive weeks, according to the latest data from Springboard. The data shows that footfall in the UK rose by 4.8% across all retail destinations last week, which…
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Nov- 2020 -30 November
IRC names Britain’s best small shop of 2020
The Independent Retailers Confederation (IRC) has announced that Cornucopia, an independent gift and home retailer in Worcester, has been named Britain’s ‘best small shop’ of 2020. The store stocks British brands such as Emma Bridgewater and Repeat Repeat, as well as products with a Danish influence that originated with the…
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27 November
M&S reverses decision to open on Boxing Day
Marks and Spencer has announced that it will now close its stores on Boxing Day, having previously said it will keep 200 of its stores open. Following the Government’s announcement that restrictions will be temporarily relaxed for a five-day period from the 23-27 December, M&S added it it took the…
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24 November
Pets at Home ‘optimistic’ as sales rise in H1
Pets at Home has announced that group revenue grew by 5.1% to £574.4m in the half-year ended 8 October 2020, noting that the underlying pet care market remains “in good health” despite the pandemic. While the group saw pre-tax profit fall by 5.1% to £39.6m in the period, down from…
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23 November
Third of consumers to shop this Black Friday
More than a third of UK shoppers are planning to participate in this year’s Black Friday, with 36% stating they will make a purchase during the annual event, according to new research by KPMG. Its latest study polled 2,000 consumers about their spending intentions for Black Friday, and found that…
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20 November
Early Christmas shopping boosts retail in October
The Office for National Statistics has released its October report which showed that retail sales increased by 1.2% in the month, adding that it was the sixth consecutive month of growth in the industry. The year-on-year growth rate in the volume of retail sales saw a “strong increase” of 5.8%,…
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18 November
British Land profits slump 29% in half-year results
British Land has reported that underlying profit slumped 29.6% to £107m in its latest half-year results, down from £152m the prior year, attributable to the impact of Covid-19 on the retail sector. Simon Carter, incoming CEO of British Land said the results reflected the “challenges” in retail against the backdrop…
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16 November
76% of retail staff experiencing higher levels of abuse, Usdaw finds
Usdaw has announced that three quarters of retail staff have experienced high levels of abuse and said it “has been worse during the pandemic”. The retail trade union acquired the statistics from over 2,000 retail staff in its annual survey. The interim results for this year showed that 76% of…
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12 November
WH Smith swings to £226m loss
WH Smith has swung to a pre-tax loss of £226m in the 12 months ending 31 August 2020, down from a £135m profit reported last year. Group revenue for the retailer also fell 33% to £1.02bn in the period, down from £1.39bn the previous year. Liquidity increased to £200m, up…
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10 November
Pre-lockdown boost sees retail sales up 4.9%
UK retail sales increased by 4.9% on a total basis in the four weeks ended 31 October 2020, according to the latest BRC-KPMG retail sales monitor. In October, UK retail sales increased 5.2% against the 0.9% decrease the preceding year. During this period, like-for-like sales were measured excluding temporarily closed…
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