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 -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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11 January
B&M shrugs off Christmas retail woes with strong revenue growth
Bargain retailer B&M has reported a 12.1% increase in group sales revenue growth for the 13 weeks to 29 December 2018. UK sales revenue for the period also increased by 4.5% to £874.5m, compared with £837m last year, however, life-for-like sales decreased by 1.6%, against the increase of 3.9% in…
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11 January
Quiz issues profit warning
Fashion brand Quiz has issued a profit warning despite an 8.4% increase in group revenue in the six-week period from 25 November 2018 to 5 January 2019 against the comparable period last year. This was below anticipated revenues and resulted in a “higher than anticipated” level of discounting to clear…
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10 January
M&S sales drop amid ‘difficult’ market
Marks and Spencer has reported a 2.7% drop in its total sales for the 13 weeks to 29 December 2018. Its clothing and home sales saw a 4.8% decline and its food performed slightly better, but still saw a drop with a 1.2% decrease. The retailer said reducing customer confidence…
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9 January
Mothercare sales plunge 11.4% during third quarter
Embattled retailer Mothercare has reported an 11.4% drop in UK like-for-like sales in its Q3 trade update, which covered the 13 week period to 5 January 2019. According to the group the results reflect a combination of the “difficult consumer backdrop” and the “aggressive discounting activity undertaken in the prior…
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