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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Jan- 2018 -11 January
Marks and Spencer sales take a hit over Christmas
The all-important festive season yield disappointing results for Marks and Spencer at the end of 2017 as sales fell 1.4% during the period. Like-for-like revenues fell 1.4% in the 13 weeks to 30 December, with clothing and homeware down 2.8% and food down by 0.4%. Steve Rowe, chief executive said:…
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10 January
Mayor greenlights £1.4bn Croydon regeneration scheme
The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has approved a major development as part of long-term plans to regenerate Croydon town centre. The redevelopment of the Whitgift shopping centre by a joint venture of Westfield and Hammerson will create nearly 1,000 homes, and provide the local community with new leisure facilities…
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10 January
Plastic bag charge set to affect all retailers
The 5p plastic bag charge could be applied to all retailers as part of new government plans to protect the environment. Prime Minister Theresa May is set to announce the 25-year environment plan on Thursday 11 to tackle “throw-away culture”. Currently, large businesses which have 250 or more employees are…
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10 January
‘Serious concerns’ over CFD retail investment tool
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has said it has ‘serious concerns’ over the way CFDs (contracts for difference) are sold to retail investors. The speculative tool has become popular with investors despite roughly 76% of users losing money through it in 2016. CFDs are being marketed as an alternative to…
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10 January
Moss Bros profit warning amid Christmas footfall drop
A disappointing performance during the Christmas period with drops in sales and footfall has forced Moss Bros to cut its profit forecast for the year. The menswear retailer said in a trading update for the 26 weeks to January 6 that, during the peak Christmas trading season throughout December, like-for-like…
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10 January
Ted Baker Christmas sales up 9%
Designer clothing retailer, Ted Baker, has reported strong sales growth of 9% over the Christmas period in 2017, boosted by an increase in online purchases. Online sales increased by 35%, accounting for 30.1% of the brand’s total retail sales for the eight-week period from 12 November 2017 to 6 January…
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10 January
Aldi and Lidl ahead in the ‘supermarket space race’
Insurgent discount supermarkets Aldi and Lidl have revealed large-scale land grabs for 2018, having submitted a combined total of 128 planning applications for new stores across the UK. The proposals are mainly for smaller convenience stores, designed to satisfy local demand and tap into the consumer move away from the…
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10 January
Tesco’s £1bn Christmas sales lift amid supermarket boom
Tesco recorded a 3.1% rise in sales in the three months ending December 31, according to the latest Kantar Worldpanel UK grocery market share figures. Comparatively Asda’s sales grew by 2.2%, Morrisons by 2.1%, and Sainsbury’s 2%. Kantar reported that Aldi and Lidl attracted nearly one million additional households to…
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9 January
Retail administrations increase in five-year-first
The number of retailers entering administration increased from 92 in 2016 to 118 in 2017, an increase of 28 percent, according to new analysis from Deloitte. This is the first increase in the last five years, as those administrations with more than ten stores rose from 11 in 2016 to…
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9 January
UK retail sales show marginal growth over Christmas
UK retail sales showed less growth over Christmas than they did last year, according to figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Retail sales increased by 0.6% on a like-for-like basis from December 2016, which was a decline compared to an increase of 1.0% from the preceding year. Over the…
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