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- 2019 -21 January
Mike Ashley among bidders eyeing HMV
According to reports, Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley is among bidders seeking to purchase HMV, which recently announced its second administration in six years. The music and film retailer officially fell into administration during the festive period, and was denied a £3.35m government tax cut before it entered administration according…
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21 January
Retail job losses to increase by 27,000, analysis suggests
Online retailers are having a “profound effect” on the commercial property market as the value in retail property is set to fall by 15.9% this year, new research has predicted. Furthermore, job losses and store closures have been forecasted to increase by 26,918 and 3,764 respectively compared with 2018 across…
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17 January
Game reports Christmas sales growth amid ‘challenging trading climate’
Video game retailer Game has reported a 2% increase in life-for-like sales (LFL) for the seven week Christmas trading period ending 5 January 2019. LFL sales in the UK also increased by 1.1% for the 23 weeks to 5 January, and remained broadly flat over the Christmas period at -0.3%.…
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16 January
Jack Wills drafts in advisers
Fashion retailer Jack Wills has reportedly appointed accountancy firm EY to scrutinise and advise on its financial position. According to Sky News, EY – who are led by HSBC – have been brought in to assess its finances and help negotiate revisions to its borrowing covenants. The news comes just…
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16 January
The Works upbeat after strong Christmas revenue growth
Arts and crafts retailer The Works has reported a 15% increase in revenue in its half-year trade update, with like-for-like (LFL) sales also up 3.8%. The company said it continued its sales momentum into the Christmas trading period, delivering a “record sales performance despite tough comparatives”, and achieved LFL sales…
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15 January
M&S store closures to affect 1,045 jobs
Marks and Spencer has confirmed 17 stores which are set to close within its plans to shutter over 100 stores to “reshape” its estate and become more relevant to customers. These closures are expected to affect 1,045 jobs and the retailer said it will enter a period of consultation with…
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15 January
The Entertainer stockpiling toys for no-deal Brexit
Toy retailer, The Entertainer has announced it is stockpiling an extra 100 containers of toys in order to prepare for a no-deal Brexit. The Entertainer’s managing director Gary Grant said the stockpiling meant that the toy retailer had sent double the usual amount of stock to the UK, to ensure…
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14 January
Richemont Europe blames French ‘social unrest’ for sales slowdown
Swiss retail group, Richemont Europe, has blamed French “yellow vest” protests for a slowdown in its sales. The group, which owns Cartier, Dunhill and Net-A-Porter, said it had seen a 5% rise in total sales for the quarter ending 31 December. Despite the sales figure being in line with analysts…
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14 January
Footfall drops for 13th consecutive month in December
Footfall declined for the 13th consecutive month in December, despite heavy discounting by retailers during the festive period. Overall footfall declined by 2.6% in the month, although this is a lesser decline compared to the previous year when it fell sharply by 3.5%. High street footfall declined by 2.1%,…
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14 January
New Look reveals plan to slash debt to £350m
High street retailer New Look has announced it has reached an ‘in principle’ debt-for-equity swap proposal with key stakeholders to reduce its debt by 80%. The fashion chain is seeking to cut its debt from £1.35bn to £350m and issue new bonds to raise £150m in capital. It also expects…
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