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.
-
Jun- 2018 -5 June
Quiz defies high street blues with 30% growth
Fashion retailer Quiz has bucked a calamitous high street trend in the first half of 2018, announcing revenue growth of 30% from the previous financial year. Physical store sales grew by 12% and online sales by 158% compared with last year. The company also saw pre-tax profit rise slightly from…
Read More » -
5 June
Retail sales bounce back, jump 4% in May
Retail sales in May increased by 4.1% year-on-year, the highest growth reported since January 2014. According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG’s latest Retail Sales Monitor, the better weather and the bank holiday effect led shoppers to buy more garden furniture and summer fashion ranges, recovering some of…
Read More » -
4 June
Mothercare vote mishap puts CVA under threat
Mothercare’s plans for a company voluntary agreement (CVA) to stave off further problems, have been plunged into uncertainty after a mistake was made during the counting of votes last week. It was thought that the CVA would see Mothercare’s Children’s World company pay off its debts. But last week’s vote…
Read More » -
4 June
Shoplifting incidents increase 4% in a year
An OnBuy investigation which used data from the UK Police has revealed a 4% increase in shoplifting offences in this financial year. The figures were compared with previous years’ figures for England and Wales. The investigation showed a total of 378,725 shoplifting incidents reported to 42 police forces in England…
Read More » -
4 June
Poundworld sale rumoured to be edging closer
Poundworld is reportedly edging closer to a rescue deal with its owners TPG are rumoured to be finalising the terms of a sale to Alteri Investors. It was reported today that Alteri Investors, which is backed by private equity firm Apollo Management and is a former owner of Austin Reed,…
Read More » -
4 June
Retailers to be forced to report suspicious purchases to MI5
The new Home Secretary Sajid Javid has announced a policy that will see retailers forced to report suspicious sales such as large amounts of chemicals along with vehicle hire. Javid said that he is aiming to remove “safe spaces” for potential terrorists, with the government to make firms report suspicious…
Read More » -
4 June
Footfall drops 8.6% as sunshine fails to attract shoppers
The UK high street saw an overall 8.6% year-on-year drop in footfall despite the warm May bank holidays, figures show. According to Ipsos’ UK Retail Traffic Weathermap, London and the south east saw the sharpest decline with 13.3% fewer shoppers on the high street compared with the same period last…
Read More » -
1 June
Lush ‘anti-police’ campaign heavily criticised
Cosmetics retailer Lush has been shrouded in controversy after releasing window displays described by many on social media as “anti-police”. According to Lush the window displays are aimed at the undercover policing scandal and at highlighting the “current lack of progress of the Undercover Policing Inquiry and the granting of…
Read More » -
1 June
Mothercare relegated from FTSE 100
Troubled retailer Mothercare has been relegated from the FTSE 100 following financial woes that have seen it enter a CVA and close 50 stores. Analysts suspect that the relegation will see a further negative effect on share prices following the 48% share price drop it has already seen. The retailer…
Read More » -
1 June
Over 10,000 stores predicted to close in 2018, analysts say
A new report from the Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has predicted that 2018 will be the worst year on record for store closures, with more than 10,000 outlets disappearing from the high street. The ‘Retail At Bay 2018’ study also argues that the developing crisis in the retail sector…
Read More »