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 -22 January
Holland & Barrett appoints new managing director
Health and wellness retailer Holland & Barrett has appointed Steve Carson to the newly created position of managing director. Carson was previously director of retail and customer operations at Sainsbury’s and Argos, responsible for around 840 stores. He will oversee the day-to-day running of Holland & Barrett, driving further growth…
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22 January
Dixons Carphone CEO steps down for Boots role
Walgreens Boots Alliance has appointed Sebastian James as senior vice president, president and managing director of Boots. In order to take up the role James has left his position as Dixons Carphone CEO, a position he has held since 2014. James will join the Walgreens Boots Alliance this summer before…
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19 January
December 2017 sees retail sales slump
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed that December 2017 had the weakest retail sales in over four years. The quantity of items bought in December decreased by 1.5% when compared with the stronger sales in November 2017. Although retail sales increased by 1.3% in December compared with the…
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19 January
Asda and Aldi ban energy drink sales to under-16s
Asda and Aldi have joined supermarket Waitrose in banning the sale of high-caffeine drinks to anyone aged under 16, the first of the ‘Big Four’ retailers to do so. The move will see an age restriction introduced on 84 products from 5 March in Asda. From this date customers wishing…
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19 January
Carpetright shares crash 41.9% amid profit warning
Specialist carpet retailer Carpetright has issued another profit warning prompting shares to fall by 41.9%, at the time of writing. Analysts expected profit figures of £15.6m for the year, but the firm revised its full-year profit guidance to between £2m to £6m. Sales for the post-Christmas period were significantly behind…
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19 January
Poundland owner Steinhoff plea for £176m life raft
The owner of Poundland, Steinhoff, has begun contacting potential lenders in search of €200m (£176m) in “interim liquidity support” to avoid going into administration. The company was at the centre of an accounting scandal towards the end of last year, and talks include a request for a temporary waiver on…
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19 January
Post Office joins convenience store for new 24-hour offering
The opening of a new Post Office on New Oxford Street in London has marked the first in the new strategy of the postal service. The new 24-hour branch is based inside The Convenience Store on 71 New Oxford Street. A further 25 openings are planned in London including in…
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18 January
Retailers warned the Darwin £10 note is almost extinct
The Bank of England has warned that it will withdraw legal tender status of the paper £10 note featuring Charles Darwin at 23:59 on Thursday 1 March 2018. With six weeks to go, all retailers that handle cash need to plan and prepare for the change. After the deadline, businesses…
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18 January
Co-op partners with Deliveroo to trial food delivery service
Co-op has teamed up with online food delivery service Deliveroo to trial a new service for its customers. The convenience brand is hoping to look at new channels to attract customers and to identify new opportunities to widen access to Co-op products. The partnership is a response to the growing…
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18 January
Retail has least business failures, figures show
The retail industry has the lowest number of business failures among all sectors in the UK, new data has revealed. Figures from UK and offshore company agents, Turnerlittle.com, revealed the top 10 industries with highest business “death rates”, and was put together using the Business Demography release, published by ONS…
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