News
The latest news, updates and analysis on the the UK retail industry. Covering every segment of the market, Retail Sector’s business journalists keep you in the picture.
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Sep- 2018 -12 September
More than 75% of retail payments now made by card
Retail purchases made by card accounted for 76% of all retail sales made in 2017, according to the latest annual Payments Survey from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) . The trade association said this has partly been driven by UK customers increasingly using cards for lower value payments, traditionally dominated…
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12 September
Game reprimanded by ASA for ‘misleading’ advert
Game has been reprimanded by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) after a complainant claimed an advert suggested the company only accepted trade-ins depending on the age of a game. The advert showed a man handing down a game to his son whilst telling him the history behind his ownership of…
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11 September
JD Sports sees revenues and profits soar in ‘record result’
JD Sports has recorded a “record result” in the 26 weeks to 4 August as it posted double-digit growth in both revenues and profits. The sports and fashion retailer’s revenues increased by 35% to £1.8bn and also saw pre-tax profits jump 19% from £102.7m to £121.9m. JD Sports also reported…
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11 September
Debenhams releases statement amid closure rumours to calm investors
Debenhams has released an official statement in response to rumours it was preparing to shutter stores and enter a CVA following the reported appointment of advisory firm KPMG. The department store said “following recent media speculation” it would issue its preliminary results on 25 October 2018 saying it expected a…
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11 September
Amazon Prime users set to more than double in the next decade
Analysts predict the number of Amazon Prime subscribers will more than double in the next decade rising from 101 million at the end of 2017 up to 275 million. Citigroup analysts say “Prime members are growing 35% to 40% per annum” with analyst Mark May raising his 12 month price…
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10 September
Summer weather drives GDP and retail growth
The joint hottest summer ever and the World Cup helped the UK experience both GDP and retail growth. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said GDP increased by 0.6% in the three months to the end of July. Retail trade also saw growth of 2.1%. The retail trade contributed 0.11…
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10 September
August footfall down 1.6% despite some retail park growth
Retail footfall dropped by 1.6% in August despite seeing rare retail park growth in the East and South West of the UK. The figures are according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Springboard’s footfall and vacancies monitor with August seeing a sharper decline than the 0.8% experienced in July,…
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10 September
Asda axes price guarantee
Asda has announced it is to abandon its price guarantee, which saw shoppers refunded the difference if a competitor sold an item cheaper. The supermarket is the last of the big three to axe the plan, a month after Tesco and two years after Sainsbury’s, said the scheme was no…
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10 September
CVA and closure rumours loom as Debenhams appoints KPMG
Debenhams has reportedly appointed audit advisors KPMG to explore restructuring plans, prompting rumours of stores closures and a CVA. The Sunday Telegraph reported that the advisory firm had been assigned to draw up a turnaround plan which could result in a number of job cuts. The department store chain recently…
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7 September
August high street sales one of ‘worst on record’ as shoppers steer clear
August high street sales have been described as “one of the worst on record” by accountancy and business advisory firm BDO. According to the firm’s High Street Sales Tracker (HSST) for August, UK high street sales declined 2.7% year-on-year – making it the worst August decline for three years. BDO…
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