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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Jan- 2018 -22 January
Co-op creates modern slavery job lifeline programme
The Co-op is creating a national scheme that allows employers to help survivors of modern slavery by offering them permanent employment within its business. The project is based on the Co-op’s Bright Future programme, which provides survivors with a four-week paid work placement leading to a non-competitive interview. If they…
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19 January
December 2017 sees retail sales slump
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed that December 2017 had the weakest retail sales in over four years. The quantity of items bought in December decreased by 1.5% when compared with the stronger sales in November 2017. Although retail sales increased by 1.3% in December compared with the…
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19 January
Carpetright shares crash 41.9% amid profit warning
Specialist carpet retailer Carpetright has issued another profit warning prompting shares to fall by 41.9%, at the time of writing. Analysts expected profit figures of £15.6m for the year, but the firm revised its full-year profit guidance to between £2m to £6m. Sales for the post-Christmas period were significantly behind…
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19 January
Poundland owner Steinhoff plea for £176m life raft
The owner of Poundland, Steinhoff, has begun contacting potential lenders in search of €200m (£176m) in “interim liquidity support” to avoid going into administration. The company was at the centre of an accounting scandal towards the end of last year, and talks include a request for a temporary waiver on…
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19 January
Post Office joins convenience store for new 24-hour offering
The opening of a new Post Office on New Oxford Street in London has marked the first in the new strategy of the postal service. The new 24-hour branch is based inside The Convenience Store on 71 New Oxford Street. A further 25 openings are planned in London including in…
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18 January
Co-op partners with Deliveroo to trial food delivery service
Co-op has teamed up with online food delivery service Deliveroo to trial a new service for its customers. The convenience brand is hoping to look at new channels to attract customers and to identify new opportunities to widen access to Co-op products. The partnership is a response to the growing…
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18 January
Costa predicts tough year ahead
Whitbread, the group which owns Costa and Premier Inn, has reported that a “tough UK high street environment and inflation” is expected to pose challenges for the sector over the coming year. Despite Costa sales growing by 7.2% – partly due to new store openings and Costa Express expansion –…
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18 January
Marks & Spencer closes Neasden distribution centre
Marks & Spencer has ceased operations at its Neasden clothing and home distribution centre, transferring staff to other sites in the M&S network. The group’s new Welham Green warehouse will be fitted out and tested during 2018 and is expected to start operations in the first months of 2019. The…
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18 January
Boots recalls bobby pins found to contain real fur
Boots has recalled a line of bobby pins from the hair accessory brand Scunci, after they were found to be made with real fur. The true material of the pins – which were marketed being ‘fur style’ – was discovered by anti-fur campaigner Ruby Miranda, who posted images of the…
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17 January
Seasalt reports record breaking Christmas sales
Cornish fashion brand Seasalt has reported a record year for Christmas trading, with overall sales up 52% for the five weeks leading up to 6 January 2018. Strong sales growth was recorded both online and in-store, with 72% online year-on-year growth and store sales up by 40%. Additionally, international sales…
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