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- 2023 -28 April
Gap to lay off 1,800 jobs as part of restructuring plan
Gap Inc is set to eliminate approximately 1,800 jobs from its global workforce as part of a broad restructuring plan, which is expected to save the retailer an extra $300m (£240.9m) annually. In a statement, the company said yesterday (27 April) that this is part of a plan outlined in…
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26 April
Majestic makes ‘biggest investment ever’ in staff pay
Majestic, the specialist wine retailer, has revealed it has made its “biggest ever investment” in colleague pay to recognise the “expertise and experience” of its store teams. All store colleagues have been awarded a basic pay increase that takes their hourly rate to at least £10.60, ahead of the National…
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25 April
Primark H1 sales rise 19% to £4.2bn
Associated British Foods (ABF), Primark’s parent company, has revealed that sales rose at the high street fashion retailer by 19% to £4.2bn in the half-year ended 4 March 2023. According to ABF, Primark’s adjusted operating profit also reached £351m with a margin of 8.3%, due to strong like-for-like sales that…
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24 April
Coronation weekend to boost footfall by 4%
The Coronation weekend is set to boost footfall by 4.0% compared to 2022 across all UK retail destinations, MRI Springboard has predicted. According to its analysis, high street retailers can expect a “significant” boost over the weekend, with footfall up 12.0% from 2022 on the bank holiday Monday following the…
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24 April
Peacocks to open new locations at former M&Co sites
High street fashion retailer Peacocks is reportedly looking to expand to more than 20 locations in former M&Co stores, according to Drapers. Peacocks is set to start trading in an old M&Co store in Stornoway, Scotland, in the coming months. According to Drapers’ report, the retailer is also in advanced…
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21 April
CBI hit with second rape allegation
The CBI is facing a second allegation of rape from a woman who claims she was assaulted by two male colleagues. According to the latest report from The Guardian, the offence took place at one of the CBI’s overseas offices and comes following reports of an alleged rape at a…
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21 April
Poundland owner sees revenues rise 23% in H1
Pepco Group, the owner of Poundland, has welcomed “encouraging” results in its second quarter and first half of trading despite ongoing inflationary pressures in the market. Group revenues in H1 rose by 22.8% year-on-year to €2.8bn (£2.5bn), driven by strong Pepco growth of 36.9%. In addition, like-for-like revenues were up…
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20 April
WH Smith revenues soar 41% amid rebound in travel
WH Smith has welcomed a strong performance in the first half of the year, with revenues rising by 41% to £859m, in part boosted by strong momentum in its Travel division, where revenues were up by 75% against the prior year. The group’s global Travel business benefited from a “significant”…
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13 April
BRC calls for business rates freeze amid Labour’s high street rescue plan
The British Retail Consortium has responded to Labour’s five-point plan to revitalise high streets by calling for a permanent freeze on business rates. Leader Sir Keir Starmer revealed the party’s high streets policy during a local election campaign visit to Great Yarmouth and said that the Labour government would “boost…
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11 April
Footfall surges 18.6% on Good Friday
Good Friday footfall (up to 5pm) has provided a welcome boost to retailers as it surged by 18.6% compared with the previous week, according to a new report by Springboard. The footfall in high streets was 26% higher than the previous Friday by 5pm and 8.5% higher than the week…
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