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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May- 2018 -3 May
Tesco distribution workers to strike over Pay Review
Workers at Tesco’s Dagenham distribution centre are striking for 24 hours due to a dispute over the 2017 Pay Review. In a statement Tesco workers union Usdaw said it “hopes that the company will now bring forward a suitable offer so that industrial action can be averted to avoid disruption”.…
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3 May
Hugo Boss reports ‘good start to 2018’ with Q1 sales growth
Hugo Boss has reported a “good start to 2018” in which it saw currency adjusted group sales up 5% to €650m (£572m). Hugo Boss in the three months to 31 March achieved strong sales growth in online (43%), Asia(11%) and Europe (4%). In Great Britain and the Benelux countries, it…
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2 May
Clothing retailers ban mohair following PETA investigation
Clothing retailers Arcadia Group, H&M and Inditex have banned the use of mohair in their products following a PETA investigation that found workers in farms mutilating and slowly killing goats. The animal charity believes that events at the farms are “violations” of South Africa’s Animal Protection Act, 1962. Yvonne Taylor,…
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2 May
House of Fraser CVA prompts closures amid 51% sale
House of Fraser has confirmed the sale of a 51% stake in its group, which may lead to the closure of some of its stores. Chinese retailer C.Banner has acquired the existing shares from current owner Nanjing Xinjiekou, giving it majority control. Nanjing will retain its minority stake. The value…
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2 May
Ocado announces partnership with Swedish retailer ICA
Online supermarket Ocado has announced a partnership with Swedish grocery retailer ICA to allow use of Ocado’s smart platform services. The announcement saw shares in the online supermarket raise by 5%, and will see Ocado provide solutions for ICA’s online grocery service, including a new website supported by Ocado’s online…
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2 May
Holland & Barrett reports ninth consecutive year of sales growth
Health and wellness retailer Holland and Barrett has reported its ninth consecutive year of like-for-like sales growth, rising by 4.5%. The group reported growth across all channels and markets. Revenue rose by 7.1% to £656m and operating profit rose to £114m, with online sales increasing by 23.6%. During the year…
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2 May
Sainsbury’s group sales up 9% but statutory profit plummets
Sainsbury’s has posted its preliminary results for the 52 weeks to 10 March in which its group like-for-like sales increased by 9% to £31.7bn, yet its statutory profit plummeted by almost £100m. Statutory profit for the ‘Big Four’ grocer was £409m a significant decrease from the £503m the previous year.…
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2 May
Fall in shop prices marks fifth year of deflation
Shop prices fell by 1% in April marking the fifth year of deflation for retail prices. According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Nielsen’s monthly Shop Price Index’s, this also represented the deepest period of deflation since last February. This drop fell in line with the pace of decline…
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1 May
Carpetright expects £9m profit drop
Carpetright has warned pre-tax profits will fall £9m for the year ending 28 April 2018. According to the carpet retailer this performance, combined with that of the previous nine months, will result in full year like-for-like sales falling by 3.6%. Like-for-like sales in Europe fell 8.3% in the final quarter,…
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1 May
Sports Direct pips JD Sports, acquires 20% stake in Finish Line
Sports Direct has acquired almost 8 million shares in US sports retailer Finish Line – the company set to be bought by its rival JD Sports. In a ‘Strategic US Investments’ update the company owned by billionaire Mike Ashley revealed it currently holds 7,957,800 shares in Finish Line, representing 19.3%…
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