News
News is Retail Sector’s central hub for breaking stories, market developments and company updates from across the UK retail industry. This category delivers authoritative, timely coverage on everything from trading performance and executive changes to store openings, brand activity and supply chain developments.
Retail Sector’s news coverage focuses on the business realities behind the headlines — providing retail professionals with context on how each development impacts operations, strategy and market confidence. Readers can expect clear, accurate reporting designed to keep decision-makers informed and competitive in a fast-moving retail landscape.
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Aug- 2018 -14 August
Mike Ashley plans to keep 80% of House of Fraser stores open
Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley has vowed to keep 80% of House of Fraser’s stores open, after he saved the department store chain from administration in a £90m buyout last week (Friday 10 August). When the department store entered a CVA in June, it planned to shut 31 of its…
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14 August
Asda, Argos, Sainsbury’s and M&S sign up for ‘Purple Tuesday’
‘Purple Tuesday’, the UK’s first day dedicated to ‘accessible’ shopping, will take place on 13 November and will see retailers such as Asda, Argos and Sainsbury’s introduce new measures to make the shopping experience more inclusive for disabled customers. The initiative is being coordinated by the disability organisation Purple and…
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13 August
Lush to offer free coffee
Cosmetics retailer Lush is to offer free coffee in an attempt to cut down on single use coffee cups. Customers in Lush’s Soho store will be eligible for the coffee if they bring along a reusable cup between 7am and 3pm in the four weeks commencing 14 August. The coffees…
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13 August
Retail footfall down 0.8%, shopping centres continue to suffer
Retail footfall fell by 0.8% in July when compared to the same time last year, despite the high street again seeing a slight rise. The figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Springboard show that high street footfall increased by 0.3% which was the third consecutive month of growth.…
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13 August
Household spending drops 0.9% in July
Household spending dropped 0.9% in July due to “disappointing growth” in real earnings, according to Visas’ UK Consumer Spending Index. The quickest fall in spend was registered in retail categories, decreasing by 1.2% year-on-year, and ecommerce expenditure fell by 0.5% after a marginal rise during June (0.4%). According to the…
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13 August
Amazon told to clarify ‘one-day’ delivery claims
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has told Amazon to clarify its ‘one-day’ delivery claims for Prime customers, after the regulatory body called it “misleading”. Around 270 customers reported not receiving their items until after the next day. The ASA said customers were “likely to understand that, so long as they…
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13 August
Ex-BHS staff to receive pension payouts
Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC), a specialist insurer of defined benefit pension funds, has completed a full pension insurance buyout of the BHS2 Pension Scheme. This buyout will cover £800m of the defunct retailer’s liabilities and all of the approximately 9,000 members of the BHS2 Scheme. The pension obligations of the…
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10 August
Arcadia terminates contract with Chinese partner Shangpin
Philip Green, owner of the Arcadia retail empire, has scrapped an expansion deal with Chinese franchise partner, Shangpin, that would have seen 80 stores open in the country. A spokesperson for Topshop Topman said the groups “have reached a mutual agreement to an early termination”, and have “enjoyed a successful…
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10 August
Superdrug brings HIV tests to the high street in UK first
HIV tests are available to purchase on the UK high street for the first time as health and beauty retailer Superdrug will now sell the BioSURE tests in its pharmacies. The self-testing kit retails for £33.99 and has been available online since 2015. It was the first legally approved test…
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10 August
Sports Direct saves House of Fraser in £90m eleventh-hour deal
Sports Direct has agreed to acquire House of Fraser for £90m in a deal that came just minutes after the department store chain entered administration. A Sports Direct statement read: “The group has acquired all of the UK stores of House of Fraser, the House of Fraser brand and all…
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