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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Mar- 2018 -20 March
B&M fights Kylie Minogue in bed linen branding dispute
Bargain retailer B&M has refuted a legal claim made by Kylie Minogue against it for selling two products named ‘Kylie’, calling her “greedy”. B&M also claimed that the Australian singer is not even the most famous Kylie and pointed to reality star Kylie Jenner. Home furnishings designer Ashley Wilde and…
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19 March
Pets at Home stops Easter rabbit sales
Pets at Home’s has made the decision to stop the sale of rabbits and adoption of rabbits at its 440 stores during this Easter Period. The retailer is instead holding a series of free workshops this Easter. Attendees can get up close and personal and learn some fun facts about…
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19 March
Next expected to post profits drop, say analysts
Analysts have predicted that clothing chain Next will be latest retailer to report a fall in profits this Friday. It is expected that the 154-year-old company will report earnings of £725m – an 8% drop in annual pre-tax profits compared with last year’s figure of £790m. However, analysts also said…
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19 March
H&M gender pay disparity
Clothing retailer H&M’s latest gender pay report has shown the gap in both median and mean figures is well below those of both the UK retail and wider industries. The company’s median pay gap was 3.94%, compared with the retail average of 9.3% and the UK average of 18.4%,…
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19 March
Hammerson rejects Klépierre takeover bid in ‘less than 24 hours’
French real estate investment fund Klépierre has confirmed its takeover bid of Hammerson was rejected in “less than 24 hours”. In a statement, Klépierre said on 8 March it made a proposal “on a non-adversarial basis” to the Hammerson board with the intention of starting “a constructive dialogue”. The offer…
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16 March
Conviviality surprise £30m tax bill prompts business review
Off-licence retailer Conviviality has announced it is reviewing the business while holding “constructive” negotiations with lenders, as part of the measures it is taking to handle its £30m tax bill. Earlier this week, the company said that the bill due for payment to HMRC on 29 March had only been…
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16 March
Nike brand president retires, CEO responds to workplace behaviour complaints
The brand president of sportswear manufacturer Nike, Trevor Edwards, has announced that he will be retiring from the company in August 2018 as the company faces down reports of workplace complaints. There is no suggestion that Edward’s resignation and the company’s response to workplace complaints are related. An internal memo…
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16 March
Topman removes shirt ‘mocking’ Hillsborough disaster
Topman has come under fire for selling a red football-style shirt that some Liverpool fans believe mocks the 1989 Hillsborough football stadium disaster, where 96 football fans died during a match. The shirt has the number 96 on the back with the words ‘What goes around comes around’ underneath. It…
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16 March
Currys PC World criticised for ‘rip off’ add-on charges
Currys PC World has been criticised for pushing customers into paying up to £40 extra for pre-setup laptops that they did not request. More than 100 customers complained to consumer watchdog Which? about the practice. Despite ordering the laptops online or in store for an advertised price, consumers were then…
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15 March
Surface Pro with LTE Advanced review
The Surface Pro with LTE Advanced is the latest edition of Microsoft’s hybrid tablet-laptop brand. It features a sim card slot that allows for extensive online connectivity when not connected to a wifi network, and has been completely redesigned from its previous iterations. The hardware It’s a professional piece of…
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