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 -8 March
Owner of John Lewis and Waitrose reports 77% drop in annual profits
The John Lewis Partnership has announced a 77% drop in annual profits and has cut the annual bonus given to staff. Pre-tax profit for the year to 27 January fell to £103.9m while the employee-owned partnership’s bonus scheme fell to 5% of salary – down from 6% for 2017/18 and…
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8 March
Mother’s Day spending to reach £600m
Brits are set to spend £600 million on Mother’s Day this year, an increase of 3.4% from 2017, according to new research. Mintel research found that extra spending could be attributed to advertising making most mothers pressured to be perfect. Three-quarters (73%) of mothers agree that adverts make parenting look…
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7 March
Business in the Community launches ‘healthier workplace’ toolkit
Business in the Community (BITC), in association with Public Health England (PHE), has launched a new physical activity, healthy eating and healthier weight toolkit for employers. According to BITC one in four women and one in five men in England are defined as inactive, doing less than 30 minutes of…
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7 March
New Look announces CVA proposal, 980 staff at risk
Clothing chain New Look has announced company voluntary agreement (CVA) proposal that will look to close up to 60 stores, reduce rental costs and potentially make up to 980 staff members redundant. Under the proposal, the fashion retailer has identified 60 out of its total 593 stores in the UK…
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6 March
Consumer spending on ‘non-essentials’ increases
According to Barclaycard February 2018 saw increased sales of non-essentials, as consumers continued to prioritise their spending on the ‘experience economy’. Data from the group also revealed supermarket spending (3.2%) returned to levels previously seen over the past six months, after a spike of 4.4% in January 2018. Entertainment performed…
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6 March
Grocery purchases drive UK retail sales: BRC
Food sales continue to drive up sales in the retail sector, but non-food retailers suffered a fall in spending. Over three months to February in-store sales of non-food items declined by 2.4% on a total basis, and 3.3% on a like-for-like basis, according to figures released today by the British…
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2 March
New look seeks CVA to reduce rent by 60%
New Look has asked if its landlords can slash store rents by up to 60% in order to try and reduce its £1.2bn debt. The fashion chain is seeking a company voluntary arrangement (CVA), a legal agreement which would enable it to jettison loss-making stores and agree rent reductions with…
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2 March
UK gaming sales grew despite consumer spending struggles
UK gaming sales grew to a record £5.11bn last year, despite consumer spending decreasing, new figures show. Trade body UK Interactive Entertainment (Ukie) stated that the market grew by 12.4% due to “world-class content for an ever-expanding eager audience”. Overall sales of games software increased by 8.3%, as it remains…
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1 March
Mother’s Day spending spree set to lift high street sales
Spending analysis from Liberis, a leading small business finance provider, has revealed that British shoppers are expected to shell out over £5bn in extra Mother’s Day spending compared to 2017. On average, Liberis predicts high street retailers’ card transactions will increase by 8% compared to a normal weekend. Florists are…
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1 March
Carpetright shares dive following profit warning
Shares in Carpetright have dropped by more than a quarter following a refreshing profit warning. The group announced that trading conditions in the weeks since 19 January have ‘remained difficult’. Shares fell by 24% in early trading, having fallen by over 60% over the past 12 months. Like-for-like sales have…
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