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- 2024 -6 September
H&M revives Cheap Monday with new collection
H&M has announced the relaunch of Cheap Monday with a new denim collection featuring American artist Nessa Barrett. As a result of this, Asos has become one of the exclusive retailers of the brand originally established in 2004. The new Cheap Monday collection will feature an assortment of denim, from…
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2 September
End of tax-free shopping hitting retail hard, warns Kurt Geiger CEO
Kurt Geiger’s CEO has warned that scrapping tax-free shopping for tourists is having a “massively negative effect” on retail in the UK. According to The Times, Neil Clifford said tourists were now travelling to other European countries for their shopping after the scheme was scrapped in 2021. Under the scheme,…
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Aug- 2024 -29 August
Halfords sees surge in demand for bikes amid Olympic success
Halford’s has seen a surge in demand for its bikes after Britain’s strong performance in the cycling events at the Paris Olympics inspired consumers. Figures from the brand show that over the course of the games in Paris, Brits visited the Halfords bike website over half a million times (552,282).…
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29 August
Retail footfall shows resilience despite riots
Footfall in the UK rose marginally by 0.9% from July to August in all UK retail destinations according to data from MRI. The performance was led by a 2.1% rise in shopping centre footfall followed by 2% increase at retail parks. Despite this, activity in high streets declined by 0.1%,…
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27 August
Modella Capital acquires Hobbycraft from Bridgepoint
Privately-owned specialist retail investment boutique Modella Capital has announced its acquisition of Hobbycraft, the largest arts and crafts retailer in the UK, from majority investor Bridgepoint for an undisclosed sum. Founded in Bournemouth in 1995 and acquired by Bridgepoint in 2010, Hobbycraft has grown to a nationwide business with over…
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23 August
Organic wine sales at Majestic almost double in a year
Majestic has revealed that its organic wine sales have almost doubled, rising by 94% over the year to July, as availability and demand for wines in its ‘planet-friendly’ category accelerated ahead of expectations. In August 2023, the retailer predicted that its organic wine sales would double within three years at…
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16 August
WHSmith rolls out café format amid food-to-go popularity
WHSmith has launched Smith’s Kitchen, a new own-brand café format that will offer dine-in and takeaway options, outside of travel locations. Smith’s Kitchen is the latest major food and drink launch this year, as WHSmith aims to expand its offering for customers and partners. According to the retailer, the new…
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12 August
Pret hands out body cams to staff amid rise in retail crime
Pret A Manger has dished out body cameras to its staff amid a surge in shoplifting cases and attacks on retail workers in the wake of the pandemic, according to the Telegraph. The coffee shop chain has reportedly launched a trial of the body-worn cameras in six of its London…
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9 August
Riots deter shoppers as footfall falls 4.8%
UK high streets appear to be feeling the full force of ongoing disorder over the past week with footfall declining by an average of -4.8% week on week from Sunday (4 August) to Wednesday (7 August) compared with an average decline of -2.7% in all UK retail destinations. The latest…
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7 August
Store staff ‘fear for their safety’, says Retail Trust boss
The Retail Trust has seen a spike in calls from retail workers “fearing for their safety” amid rioting across towns in England and Northern Ireland, according to its chief executive Chris Brook-Carter. Brook-Carter stated that the charity has seen an increase in the number of calls to its 24-hour helpline.…
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