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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Sep- 2018 -13 September
John Lewis hit by 99% drop in H1 profits
The John Lewis Partnership has reported a 99% slump in its underlying profits to £1.2m in the first six months of the year, which the company described as “challenging times”. The significant drop in profits comes despite a 1.6% uptick in revenue to £5.4bn attributed to the increased online grocery…
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13 September
Sports Direct rules out Debenhams takeover
Sports Direct has quashed speculation that it could increase its 30% stake in embattled department store Debenhams with a buyout deal. Senior non-executive director Simon Bentley caused confusion when he told reporters that a House of Fraser and Debenhams merger had “been discussed” by the board during its AGM on…
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12 September
Inditex H1 sales surpass €12bn for first time
Spanish fashion retailer Inditex has reported record sales and profits during the first half of the year as revenue surpassed €12bn (£10bn) for the first time. The retailer that owns the Zara, Pull&Bear and Stradivarius brands also posted record profits during the six months to 1 July as net income…
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12 September
Game reprimanded by ASA for ‘misleading’ advert
Game has been reprimanded by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) after a complainant claimed an advert suggested the company only accepted trade-ins depending on the age of a game. The advert showed a man handing down a game to his son whilst telling him the history behind his ownership of…
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11 September
JD Sports sees revenues and profits soar in ‘record result’
JD Sports has recorded a “record result” in the 26 weeks to 4 August as it posted double-digit growth in both revenues and profits. The sports and fashion retailer’s revenues increased by 35% to £1.8bn and also saw pre-tax profits jump 19% from £102.7m to £121.9m. JD Sports also reported…
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10 September
Summer weather drives GDP and retail growth
The joint hottest summer ever and the World Cup helped the UK experience both GDP and retail growth. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said GDP increased by 0.6% in the three months to the end of July. Retail trade also saw growth of 2.1%. The retail trade contributed 0.11…
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10 September
August footfall down 1.6% despite some retail park growth
Retail footfall dropped by 1.6% in August despite seeing rare retail park growth in the East and South West of the UK. The figures are according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Springboard’s footfall and vacancies monitor with August seeing a sharper decline than the 0.8% experienced in July,…
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7 September
August high street sales one of ‘worst on record’ as shoppers steer clear
August high street sales have been described as “one of the worst on record” by accountancy and business advisory firm BDO. According to the firm’s High Street Sales Tracker (HSST) for August, UK high street sales declined 2.7% year-on-year – making it the worst August decline for three years. BDO…
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7 September
Wilko appoints Neil Feakins as customer insight and data director
Homeware retailer Wilko has appointed Neil Feakins as as its new customer insight and data director. Feakins has expertise in both insight and data analytics from independent global marketing and media consultancy Ebiquity and industry experience in enabling propositions for customers. This new role is expected to “rally existing Wilko…
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7 September
Booksellers Association tells Amazon to ‘pay a proper share of taxation’
The Booksellers Association (BA) has called for Amazon and other online retailers to be given a taxation overhaul, after it claimed “bookshops have closed because of Amazon”. MPs were warned by the association that Amazon was “putting numerous competitors out of business” and demanded “large scale internet retailers pay a…
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