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 -24 January
WHSmith sales fall, but airports and stations climb
High street sales for book retailer WHSmith were down 5% in the 20-week period to 20 January. Like-for-like sales in the company’s high street stores dropped by 4%, which was in line with its expectations, while total sales year-on-year remained flat, and like-for-like sales were down by 1%. The company’s…
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23 January
Mark Gifford resigns as Game’s CFO
Video game retailer Game has announced the resignation of its chief financial officer Mark Gifford. Gifford informed the board of his intention to leave so that he can focus on his other business and personal interests. An executive search has commenced to identify a suitable successor to his position. Commenting…
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22 January
Small businesses struggle with poor ATM provision
More than 200 communities in Britain have poor ATM provisions, or no cash machines at all, affecting small businesses. Which? Research has stated it is “worried that proposals from LINK – the UK’s largest cash machine network – to lower its fees by 20% could lead to mass closures of…
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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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