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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Apr- 2018 -13 April
Hobbycraft appoints Tesco CEO as chairman
Arts and crafts retailer Hobbycraft has has appointed Tesco UK CEO Matt Davies as its new chairman. Davies is currently CEO of Tesco’s UK and Irish business, but will step down at the end of April following its merger with Booker. He succeeds Archie Norman, who is leaving after over…
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12 April
WHSmith profits dip as high street arm struggles
WHSmith has reported a dip in its profits for the six months ending February 28, as its high street trading profit fell by 6%. The company saw a 1% fall in group pre-tax profits to £82m down from £83m in 2017. However WHSmith’s 700 travel stores, located in airports, railways…
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12 April
Mothercare reports drop in Q4 like-for-like sales
Embattled retailer Mothercare has revealed its UK like-for-like sales declined by 2.8% in the group’s Q4 results. However, online sales grew by 2.1%, with website sales growing by 7.2%. Online sales within the period represented 49% of UK sales, bringing the fiscal year to 43%. International retail sales were 3.7%…
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12 April
Carpetright to close nearly a quarter of stores, affecting 300 jobs
Carpetright is preparing to close nearly a quarter of its 300 stores in a restructuring plan as it struggles to avoid administration. Today (12 April) the company released a statement saying it had entered a Company Voluntary Agreement (CVA), which if approved, would lead to the closure of 92 outlets…
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11 April
High street store openings at lowest level in seven years
New high street store openings have fallen to their lowest level since 2010, new research suggests. A report by retail location strategists Local Data Company (LDC) for PwC, which studied 500 town centres across the country, shows that the number of new stores opened on the UK high street feel…
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10 April
Card Factory posts £14.6m drop in full-year profits
Card Factory has posted a £14.6m drop in its full-year profits which it has attributed to the weak pound and soaring wage costs. Pre-tax profits for the fiscal year ending January 31 were £72.6m, down 12.3% on the previous year. This is despite the card and gift retailer’s revenues increasing…
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10 April
Easter retail sales ‘didn’t measure up’: KPMG
Easter retail sales did not “measure up” to expectations, with overall UK retail sales increasing by 1.4% in March from last year, according to KPMG. New figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) show, on a total basis, sales rose 2.3% in March, against a decline of 0.2% in March…
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9 April
Mothercare latest to consider CVA store closures
Mothercare is reportedly considering the possibility of closing a third of its stores and reducing its rents through a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA). According to reports Mothercare would look to close around 47 of its 143 stores if a CVA is agreed with lenders. Mothercare would join a host of…
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9 April
Dominic Chappell to sue Philip Green
Former British Home Stores (BHS) owner Dominic Chappell said he plans to sue retail magnate Philip Green and contest a proposed boardroom ban by the Insolvency Service, in order to repair his “tarnished reputation”. On 28 March the Insolvency Service disqualified Chappel from running or controlling any company for up…
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9 April
Small firms hit by pension auto-enrolment scheme, claims FSB
Small firms and startups will be “hit the very hardest” by the doubling of auto-enrolment employer pension contributions, according to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). From 6 April 2018, the minimum amount employers must by law pay into workplace pensions increased by 2% of qualifying earnings, whilst staff contribute…
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