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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Sep- 2021 -9 September
Costa Coffee to increase staff pay by 5%
Costa Coffee has announced that all 14,500 of its store team members in UK company-owned stores will receive a 5% pay increase. From 1 October 2021, all store team members will receive pay increases of at least 45p per hour, bringing minimum pay to £9.36 per hour from £8.91. The…
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9 September
61% of shop workers subjected to offensive behaviour, study finds
Some 61% of shop workers have experienced some form of offensive behaviour while working for their current employer, for whom the impact manifested as stress (45%), anxiety (43%) and a loss of self-esteem (19%), according to a recent survey of 1048 shopworkers by Foot Anstey. Foot Anstey said half of…
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9 September
B&M HY results to beat expectations
B&M European Value Retail S.A has revealed that whilst group revenues year to date have been “broadly in line with market expectations”, its performance has been strengthened by better than anticipated margins in its UK business. As a consequence, the group said it now expects adjusted EBITDA for the 26-week…
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9 September
Gear4music acquires AV online for £9.2m
Gear4music has announced that it has acquired AV Distribution Ltd, which is trading as AV Online, for an aggregate consideration of £9.2m. Separately, the group has also acquired the website domain name AV.com. The completion of the deal is dependent upon receiving approval from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) which…
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8 September
August online retail sales growth slows down
Online retail sales growth in August fell by 9.3% year-on-year, which was only a small improvement compared with July’s fall of 9.6%, according to the latest IMRG Capgemini Online Retail Index. The index revealed that August’s results were still “well below” the six (2.25%) and 12-month (21.37%) averages, but above…
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7 September
Tihara Smith opens its first store in Seven Dials
Seven Dials retail destination has announced that Caribbean-inspired lifestyle brand Tihara Smith has opened its very first brick and mortar store on 37 Neal Street. Smith was the winner of the ‘Start-Up with Seven Dials’ competition series, which gave budding entrepreneurs the chance to set up their first shop and…
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7 September
Oxford Street to launch sustainability initiative
Oxford Street has announced the launch of a sustainability campaign on 15 September as a part of its ‘Beyond Now’ scheme. Designed to provide shoppers with more sustainable retail choices, the programme will feature contributions from a number of brands operating on the iconic London street. A range of sustainable…
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7 September
Drive for net zero could harm high street accessibility, says Bira
The British Independent Retailers Association (Bira) has raised concerns over the impacts that local councils’ drive to achieve net zero could have on independent retailers. The industry body claimed that despite being “committed” to supporting its members in acting sustainable, it is “concerned” that schemes introduced by local authorities could…
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6 September
New Look appoints new non-executive chairman
New Look has announced that Mike Coupe will succeed Alistair McGeorge as non-executive chairman of the company, effective 29 September 2021. McGeorge stepped down after returning to New Look as executive chairman in November 2017 to “begin the Company’s turnaround strategy”. Coupe previously worked at J Sainsbury plc as CEO,…
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6 September
Nearly 50 high-street stores closed a day in H1, study finds
Over 8,700 chain stores have disappeared from UK retail locations in the first six months of 2021, equating to over 47 stores a day, according to the latest PwC research compiled by the Local Data Company (LDC). The research showed that in total, 3,488 shops opened compared with 8,739 closures,…
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