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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Jan- 2020 -30 January
Sports Direct battles order to hand ‘private’ documents to FRC
Sportswear retailer Sports Direct is fighting an order to hand over “private” documents to the UK’s accounting watchdog. According to a report by the Financial Times (FT), the retailer is attempting to overturn a High Court ruling from 2018 which ordered it to submit 40 company documents to the Financial…
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30 January
Amazon, Aldi and M&S Simply Food named UK’s ‘most loved’ retailers
Amazon, Aldi and M&S Simply Food have topped the charts as the UK’s “most loved” retailers, according to a new study of 96,000 consumers from market research firm Savanta. The study, which rated the top 100 retailers by how loved they are by consumers, also identified a direct correlation between…
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30 January
Frasers Group settles Belgian tax dispute
Frasers Group has announced it is in the clear with Belgian authorities over an outstanding tax bill that equated to £571m. Belgian authorities had been looking into a number of matters with the group, including ‘Matter 1’, which accounted for 73% of the total £571m owed. In its latest update,…
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29 January
SCS CEO to depart following Christmas sales rise
The chief executive of furniture retailer SCS, David Knight, is to step down. Knight joined the business 32 years ago and has decided to leave the group once a successor is in place. He has been given 12 months notice in accordance with his contract, he said he is prepared…
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28 January
Seasalt reports double-digit sales growth over Christmas
Cornish fashion retailer Seasalt has reported a 14% increase in overall sales for the five-week period ending 4 January 2020. The brand said the positive sales growth was recorded across all channels, with online sales up 13% and UK stores seeing a 15% sales increase year-on-year. International sales were also…
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28 January
Over 31,000 retailers report signs of ‘significant financial distress’
The number of retail businesses in “significant financial distress” grew to 31,615 in the fourth quarter of 2019, according to research by corporate restructuring firm Begbies Traynor. The firm also reported a 8% year-on-year increase in the number of online retailers facing financial distress. Begbies Traynor’s Red Flag Alert research,…
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27 January
10,000 retail jobs lost in 2020
Almost 10,000 retail jobs have been lost in 2020 amid a “torrid” start to the new year, according to the Centre for Retail Research. The research group revealed that 9,949 jobs have been lost in the first three weeks of 2020, amid store closures at Debenhams, GAME, HMV, Arcadia and…
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24 January
Hawkin’s Bazaar enters administration, 177 jobs at risk
Gift and toy retailer Hawkin’s Bazaar has entered administration, placing 177 jobs at risk. Tom Straw and Simon Thomas from Moorfields Advisory Ltd have now been appointed as joint administrators of the toy shop chain. Hawkin’s Bazaar was founded in 1973 and currently operates 20 stores across the UK and…
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23 January
Hotel Chocolat sales rise 11% amid costs increases
British chocolatier Hotel Chocolat has reported an 11% increase in sales compared to the prior year, in the 13 weeks ending 29 December 2019. The chocolate retailer also reported a 14% increase in revenues for the six months to 29 December. During this period, Hotel Chocolat opened nine new sites…
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23 January
57,000 retail jobs lost in 2019
Some 57,000 retail jobs were shed in 2019, according to the latest retail employment monitor from the British Retail Consortium (BRC). In the fourth quarter of 2019, there was a 1.8% year-on-year decline in full-time retail employees, which equates to the loss of 57,000 jobs since the same period in…
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