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 -21 March
Carpetright prepares for store closures in CVA plan
Carpetright is exploring a possible company voluntary agreement (CVA) which would allow it to to speed up the closure of underperforming stores. The beleaguered flooring retailer has announced it is seeking an insolvency deal to allow it to continue trading while it negotiates rent reductions and debt restructuring. The number…
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20 March
Amazon targets vacant Toys R Us premises
Amazon is understood to be considering buying sites from Toys R Us, just days after the toy retailer announced plans to wind up its US business. According to Bloomberg sources close to Amazon say that it has taken an interest in Toys R Us’ estate, which will soon be reduced…
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20 March
Conviviality CEO resigns amid £30m tax bombshell
Conviviality has announced its CEO Diana Hunter has stepped down with immediate effect as its struggles stay afloat following the late discovery of a £30m tax bill. In a statement the off-licence retailer said Hunter will remain with the company for a period to provide transition support, and non-executive chairman…
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20 March
Instagram launches in-app shopping for UK users
Photo-sharing social media app Instagram has expanded its shopping capabilities to UK customers, so users are able to make purchases without leaving the app. Ecommerce designers, BigCommerce Merchants, have expanded its collaboration with Instagram to make shopping on Instagram available to merchants beyond the United States to also include Australia,…
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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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