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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May- 2020 -20 May
Johnsons Shoes Company enters administration
Johnsons Shoes Company, which operates 12 stores under the brands Johnsons Shoes and Bowleys Fine Shoes, has entered administration due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Ian Defty and Richard Toone from insolvency and restructuring firm CVR Global have been appointed as administrators, and have opted to keep all…
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19 May
Topps Tiles reports losses of £4m in half-year results
Topps Tiles has reported pre-tax losses of £4m for the half-year period ended 28 March, down from the profits of £5.2m it made during the same period in 2019. First half like-for-like sales declined by 6.1%. Excluding week 26, when all stores were closed due to Covid-19, like-for-like sales decreased…
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15 May
Consumer spending slumped over 30% in April
Consumer spending contracted by 36.5% year-on-year in April, according to new data from Barclaycard. The research revealed that spending on essential items declined by 7.5%, which can largely be attributed to a 58.9% reduction in fuel spend. Supermarkets, meanwhile, continued to see a boost in sales – climbing 14.3% as…
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11 May
Mike Ashley and Peter Cowgill in race to acquire Office
Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley and JD Sports owner Peter Cowgill have both been revealed as bidders for footwear retailer Office. According to Sky News, it comes as the chain seeks funding to support it through the current coronavirus pandemic. Two other unnamed parties who have also expressed an interest…
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11 May
Trouble ahead for retail vacancy rates, warns BRC
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Local Data Company has said the new BRC-LDC Vacancy Monitor has revealed that the rate of store vacancies increased to 12.2% in March. The monitor also reported a 0.3% decrease in vacancy rates in shopping centres to 14.1% compared with 14.4%. The South West…
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5 May
Government launches £6.1m fund to help high streets through pandemic
Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) are set to receive a £6.1m funding boost to help high streets and town centres through the Covid-19 pandemic. According to high streets minister Simon Clarke, hundreds of local business partnerships across England will share the fund to spend on projects that will help their local…
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Apr- 2020 -29 April
Shop prices fall 1.7% as non-food items suffer
Shop Prices fell by 1.7% in April, compared with the 0.8% decrease seen in March, making it the highest rate of decline since January 2017 according to the BRC-Nielsen Shop Price Index. Non-food prices fell sharply by 3.7% in April compared to a decline of 1.9% in March. This is…
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28 April
Games Workshop to restart online sales amid Covid-19 lockdown
Games Workshop has revealed plans to restart online orders and trade sales in Europe and North America this week, amid the wordwide Covid-19 lockdown. The majority of its stores continue to remain closed. However, a small number have re-opened in China, the Netherlands and Scandinavia in line with local guidance…
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27 April
JD Sports to delay full-year results
Sports fashion retailer JD Sports has revealed plans to delay its full-year results to 7 July 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to impact the UK. In March the Financial Conduct Authority (‘FCA’) announced a temporary relief for listed companies that are due to report financial results during the current…
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24 April
UK consumer confidence remains steady despite nearing record low
GfK’s long-running Consumer Confidence Index has remained at -34 for April, only five points away from the record -39 low seen in July 2008. The measure for the general economic situation of the country during the last 12 months dropped by four points to -44 during the period, which is…
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