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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Mar- 2018 -14 March
Zara owner Inditex sees 41% jump in online sales
The owner of Zara and Massimo Dutti, Inditex, saw online sales revenue grow by 41% in 2017, according to a trading update. In 2017, Inditex invested €1.8bn (£1.5bn) in further developing its integrated stores and online model and upgrading its technology Specifically, the rollout of radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology (used…
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14 March
Poundworld fined £1.1m for ‘out of control’ infestation
Discount retailer Poundworld has been fined £1.1m due to its Croydon store failing food hygiene protocols, with over 100 dead mice and a dead fox found in the premises. The retailer was found to have taped products up that rodents had eaten and put them back on sale, reports the…
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14 March
Adidas reports double digit growth across all ‘key’ regions
Sports retail giant Adidas has reported double-digit growth across all of its key regions over the last year, with sales in Western Europe rising 12.6% to £5.23bn. Overall net sales increased 14.8% to £18.8bn while gross profits rose 17.6% to £8.96bn. Adidas attributed the figures to growth in “key strategic…
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13 March
Oxford street pedestrianisation edges closer amid widespread support
Plans to transform London’s Oxford Street into a pedestrian-only zone has received widespread support, according to a consultation report. Transport for London (TfL) and Westminster City Council said that of the 22,000 responses 48% were completely happy for the plans to go ahead and another 16% were happy despite having…
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13 March
Study finds independent retail and leisure outlet growth is soaring
As multiple stores like New Look, Maplin and Toys ‘R’ Us close, a study by OnBuy.com has found that this has led to a rapid increase in the number of independent retailers. The study from the online retailer considered where multiple stores have declined in comparison to areas independent stores are…
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12 March
Retail footfall drops in February
Retail footfall decreased by 0.5% in February 2018, and is a major decline compared with the rate of 1.0% seen the previous year. According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) this figure is better than the three-month average of -2.0% and the twelve-month average of -0.7%. However, Greater London and…
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12 March
Quarter of major UK retailers likely to suffer ‘financial distress’
A new study of over 1600 larger UK retailers with total assets of £5m or over by Company Watch, a financial analytics firm, found over a quarter were financially vulnerable to rises in interest rate costs this year. Company Watch compares the financial strength of companies using its unique H-Score…
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12 March
Mass debt for Claire’s Accessories causing bankruptcy talks
US based retailer Claire’s Accessories has been reportedly preparing for bankruptcy, following a mass of debt and a heavy reliance on shopping centres. According to Bloomberg Claire’s is $2bn (£1.4bn) in debt, causing instability for the retailer. Claire’s Stores Inc is attempting to reach new customers at local supermarkets and…
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9 March
Valentine’s Day sales fall for fifth year in a row
Valentine’s Day like-for-like in-store sales fell by -1.6% in February, according to the BDO High Street Sales Tracker. The poor performance comes from a weak benchmark of -2.2% for the same period last year and is a further blow to a struggling high street which has seen the collapse of…
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9 March
Shoe Zone, Karen Millen ‘named and shamed’ over minimum wage
Karen Millen and Shoe Zone are among the firms that have been ‘named and shamed’ by the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) for failing to pay their employees the minimum wage. In a list of 179 companies, Karen Millen failed to pay £9,847.20 to 28 workers while…
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