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- 2019 -18 December
97% of staff are against Boxing Day trading, says Usdaw
An overwhelming majority of shop staff are opposed to Boxing Day trading, according to a new survey from workers union Usdaw. A survey of over 12,000 shopworkers, 85% of them in retail, found that 97% think that shops should be closed the day after Christmas to allow them to spend…
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18 December
Pandora appoints former Bulgari exec as new CMO
Jewellery brand Pandora has appointed former vice president of global marketing and communication, Carla Liuni, as its new chief marketing officer. Liuni is set to join the business in March and will report to CEO Alexander Lacik and will be serving on Pandora’s executive leadership team. Prior to joining Pandora,…
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17 December
H&M sales rise in Q4
Fashion retailer H&M has reported a 9% increase in net sales to SEK61,704m (£4.98m) for the three months to 30 November 2019. Despite the sales growth, H&M said sales development for the quarter compared with the previous year was affected by Black Friday falling at the end of November. H&M…
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17 December
Footfall slows after Black Friday boost
Footfall across UK retail destinations dropped by 0.9% post Black Friday, according to the latest retail figures from Springboard. In the week between 8 December and 14 December, footfall faced an annual decline of 5%, in line with the “lull” in trading that Springboard anticipated for the period. These latest…
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16 December
Sports Direct profits soar in half-year results
Shares in Sports Direct jumped more than 16% to 418p in early trading today, after the retailer announced a 160% increase in profits to £193.4m in its half-year financial report. The sports fashion retailer said the profit growth was largely due to “improved” underlying EBITDA, which increased by 21.8% to…
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13 December
Record numbers hit local high streets for Small Business Saturday
A record number of attendees showed their support for the UK’s seventh annual Small Business Saturday last weekend (7 December 2019). 17.6m customers shopped on their local high streets to show support for the 5.8 million small and independent businesses across the UK. It was estimated that £800m was spent…
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13 December
New Look appoints Nigel Oddy as new CEO
High street retailer New Look has appointed Nigel Oddy as its new chief executive officer. Oddy joined the retailer in April and held the role of its chief operating officer. He was also the chief executive of House of Fraser, having spent seven years at the department store holding various…
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12 December
Dixons Carphone profits drop 60% in half-year results
Dixons Carphone has reported a 60% decrease in profit in its first half, following a group adjusted profit before tax of £24m compared with £60m from last year. In the year ending on 26 October, the business also reported a 1% decrease in like-for-like revenues in the UK and Ireland.…
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11 December
Co-op to open 30 new stores in lead up to Christmas
The Co-op has announced plans to open 30 new stores in the run-up to Christmas. An investment of more than £25m will see stores open across the UK throughout November and December, including sites at transport hubs, “key” city locations and residential apartments – creating up to 500 jobs. According…
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10 December
Mothercare losses widen amid declining sales
Embattled retailer Mothercare has reported statutory losses before tax of £21.2m in its half-year trading update, amid declining worldwide sales. For the 28 weeks to 12 October 2019, worldwide sales decreased by 8.4% to £452.3m, and international retail sales were also down 5.3% in constant currency. The retailer’s net debt…
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