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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Jul- 2018 -20 July
Inquiry into BHS directors could be reopened
The inquiry into the former directors of BHS could be reopened following the discovery of new information by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), Retail Sector has learned. The chief executive of the Insolvency Service Sarah Albon, requested more information from the FRC regarding the conduct of the retailer’s directors. The…
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20 July
Poundworld to shutter all remaining stores
Poundworld will close all 190 remaining stores by 10 August after administrators Deloitte failed to find a buyer for the business at a price which satisfied them. A total of 2,339 staff will be affected in this final wave of store closures, and the firm announced yesterday that all distribution…
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19 July
Poundworld distribution centres for the chopping block
The administrators of Poundworld, Deloitte, have announced that the retailer’s distribution centre operations will be closing on Friday 20 July. They also announced the closure of a further 78 stores, which will see 907 employees lose their jobs when the stores shutter on either Thursday 26 July or Sunday 29…
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19 July
Morrisons introduces ‘quieter hour’ for autistic shoppers
Supermarket chain Morrisons has introduced a weekly ‘quieter hour’ in support of autistic shoppers who struggle with music, lights and noise. Morrisons will implement the scheme in its 439 stores across the UK on Saturdays from 9 to 10, where music will be turned off, lights will be dimed, the…
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19 July
Store closures lead to slump in demand for retail space
New research has found that 70% of chartered surveyors in London saw a notable slump in demand for retail space over the last quarter, in light of recent closures by Poundworld and M&S. The research by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said that demand for retail space is…
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19 July
Debenhams woes hit Sports Direct profits
Sports Direct has seen a 73% drop in pre-tax profit despite an increase in revenue thanks to its investment in struggling department chain Debenhams. In its preliminary results for the period ending 29 April, Sports Direct said pre-tax profits were £77.5m, down 72.5% from £281.6m the previous year. It said…
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19 July
‘Phantom hours’ costing UK businesses £37m a week
A survey of shift workers in the retail, hospitality and leisure industries has found staff to be overstating their working hours by an average of almost half an hour a week. Staff rota scheduling firm Rotaready, which conducted the survey, said these ‘phantom hours’ are costing UK businesses as much…
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19 July
Amazon Prime Day crash drives shoppers elsewhere
Amazon Prime Day’s website issues produced a ‘halo effect’ for UK retailers, as online businesses saw a recorded a 13% uplift in sales on the day. While Amazon was experiencing technical difficulties with its website and boycotts over alleged poor treatment of its warehouse staff, the 17% increase in the…
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19 July
Frozen food retail continues to grow
Frozen food value growth continues across almost every category, according to latest statistics in the 52 weeks to 18 June 2018. Data gathered by Kantar Worldpanel revealed 5.4% value growth year-on-year for the retail frozen food market, meaning the total value of the segment is now more than £6.1bn. The…
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18 July
Hotel Chocolat reports another strong year of growth
Chocolate retailer Hotel Chocolat has a reported a 12% increase in revenue for the financial year ending July 1 2018. The business opened 15 stores in the year, which contributed 6% to the retailer’s year-on-year sales, added 200,000 new online buyers and has developed a number of new products for…
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