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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Jul- 2018 -20 July
Poundworld to shutter all remaining stores
Poundworld will close all 190 remaining stores by 10 August after administrators Deloitte failed to find a buyer for the business at a price which satisfied them. A total of 2,339 staff will be affected in this final wave of store closures, and the firm announced yesterday that all distribution…
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19 July
Poundworld distribution centres for the chopping block
The administrators of Poundworld, Deloitte, have announced that the retailer’s distribution centre operations will be closing on Friday 20 July. They also announced the closure of a further 78 stores, which will see 907 employees lose their jobs when the stores shutter on either Thursday 26 July or Sunday 29…
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19 July
Store closures lead to slump in demand for retail space
New research has found that 70% of chartered surveyors in London saw a notable slump in demand for retail space over the last quarter, in light of recent closures by Poundworld and M&S. The research by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said that demand for retail space is…
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19 July
Debenhams woes hit Sports Direct profits
Sports Direct has seen a 73% drop in pre-tax profit despite an increase in revenue thanks to its investment in struggling department chain Debenhams. In its preliminary results for the period ending 29 April, Sports Direct said pre-tax profits were £77.5m, down 72.5% from £281.6m the previous year. It said…
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19 July
‘Phantom hours’ costing UK businesses £37m a week
A survey of shift workers in the retail, hospitality and leisure industries has found staff to be overstating their working hours by an average of almost half an hour a week. Staff rota scheduling firm Rotaready, which conducted the survey, said these ‘phantom hours’ are costing UK businesses as much…
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18 July
Hotel Chocolat reports another strong year of growth
Chocolate retailer Hotel Chocolat has a reported a 12% increase in revenue for the financial year ending July 1 2018. The business opened 15 stores in the year, which contributed 6% to the retailer’s year-on-year sales, added 200,000 new online buyers and has developed a number of new products for…
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17 July
Another 40 Poundworld stores to shutter
The administrators of Poundworld, Deloitte, have announced yet another wave of store closures bringing the total number of shuttered stores to 145 so far. The latest closure of 40 stores will result in redundancies for 531 employees when the properties shut on Tuesday 24 July 2018. The news follows the…
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17 July
Usdaw hits out at M&S for second time after 351 management roles cut
Trade union Usdaw has said that it will continue its campaign to be recognised as a representative for M&S workers after saying the company has not been allowing it to represent workers. Following the announcement that 351 management roles were to be cut at M&S, Usdaw national officer Dave Gill…
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17 July
Sir John Timpson to advise government on high street future
Sir John Timpson has been appointed to chair a panel of experts to advise on how to improve the future of the British high street by high streets minister Jake Berry MP. Along with the rest of the panel, the chairman of shoe repair and key cutting chain Timpson, will…
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16 July
The Works to open 50 stores per year and plans to IPO
Discount retailer The Works has unveiled plans to float on the London Stock Exchange and open 50 new stores each year, as it defies falling high street footfall. The Works is planning a £100m listing on the stock market which will give management and shareholders a £36.7m payout. Along with…
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