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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May- 2023 -5 May
Holland and Barrett acquires FitTech startup Avie
Holland and Barrett, has announced the acquisition of start-up FitTech company Avie as part of its strategy to extend its reach beyond retail. Co-founded by Charlie Leggate and Kit Logan, and backed by Entrepreneur First, Avie uses health and activity data and behavioural science to help users achieve their health…
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4 May
Nisa to open a further 400 stores in expansion drive
Nisa, the wholesale and independent retail specialist, is set to open a further 400 stores this year as part of its “ambitious” recruitment drive. It comes after the wholesaler opened 473 new stores in 2022 and has seen a strong start to the year with 130 stores having been recruited…
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3 May
Hotel Chocolat appoints new chair
Hotel Chocolat Group plc, a direct-to-consumer premium chocolate brand, has announced the appointment of Stephen Alexander as the company’s non-executive chair, effective on 5 May 2023. Alexander has held numerous chair roles of public and private equity-backed companies, predominantly in the consumer sector, for more than 20 years, including Dairy…
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3 May
Card Factory profits jump 368.5% to £52.4m
Card Factory has seen its profit before tax rise 368.5% to £52.4m, up from £11.1m, for the year ended 31 January 2023. The company also revealed that its revenues rose 27% to £463.4m, up from £364.4m last year, for the same period. Alongside this increase store revenue grew 7.6% on…
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2 May
Bank holiday sees footfall rise 12.9%
The bank holiday weekend saw footfall ramp up “significantly” from Friday onwards, with an increase in footfall over Saturday and Sunday of +12.9% from the week before last, according to mRI Springboard. The average week on week % change from Sunday to Thursday was only +0.9%, but averaged +10.3% over…
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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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