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.
-
Jan- 2018 -3 January
Next boosts profit forecast by £7m after stronger Christmas sales
Clothing retailer Next has raised its full year profit forecast by £7m after delivering a stronger than expected Christmas sales period. The period yielded a 1.5% increase in full-price sales from November 1 to December 24, attributed to strong online sales for winter clothing as customers prepared for the cold…
Read More » -
3 January
Retail entertainment reaches ‘all-time-high’ in 2017
The size of the UK’s retail entertainment market reached an all-time high of £7.24bn in 2017 driven mainly by digital streaming services, according to new data. In figures compiled by the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA), the market segment saw combined sales growth of 8.8% across music, video and games, compared…
Read More » -
2 January
Festive footfall disappoints despite increase on New Years Day
Footfall dropped by -10.5% on New Year’s Eve compared with the previous year, according to new retail footfall data. Springboard, a provider of automated footfall monitoring services, reported footfall dropped significantly and unexpectedly on New Year’s Eve across the UK, declining by -10.5% over the 24 hours and by -7.2%…
Read More » -
2 January
Co-op to open 100 new food stores in 2018
The Co-op has confirmed plans to open 100 new food stores across the UK in 2018, creating an estimated 1,600 jobs. It comes as part of the £160m investment programme for the community retailer that includes new stores and major refurbishment for a further 150 outlets. More than 20 new…
Read More » -
Nov- 2017 -23 November
Retail associations respond to ‘encouraging’ Autumn Budget
A number of retail associations have responded positively to the Chancellor’s Budget which was revealed yesterday (22 November). The British Retail Consortium (BRC) and NFU Mutual reacted to the announcement that the move from RPI to CPI indexation will be brought forward by two years to 2018, allowing for a…
Read More » -
21 November
Online retail growth lower than average in pre-Black Friday lull
Despite showing a year-on-year growth of 12.6%, online retail sales figures in October were lower than average suggesting a pre-Black Friday lull. According to the latest figures from the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index, this was lower than both the average YoY growth rate of 14.3% for the last 3…
Read More » -
21 November
Retail to lose £4.5bn by neglecting ‘grey pound’, says report
Older people’s charity, Anchor, is highlighting the “dire” need for the high street to reinvent itself as a new report predicts up to £4.5bn annual losses by 2030 as retailers fail to attract the grey pound. The report entitled ‘Older generations to rescue the high street’ by the Centre for Future Studies, commissioned…
Read More » -
20 November
Retail bosses call on Chancellor for ‘shoppers’ budget’
Leading CEOs from across British retail are today backing Phillip Hammond, the Chancellor, to deliver a “shoppers’ Budget” including decisive action in his upcoming Budget to relieve the business rates burden. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) says that without action in the Budget on Wednesday (22 Nov), retailers alone face…
Read More » -
20 November
Christmas spending set to rise, says Accenture
Despite concerns around Brexit, spending on Christmas purchases is likely to increase in the UK this year, with more than a third (37%) of consumers planning to spend more than they did last year, according to the latest Accenture Holiday Shopping Survey. Now in its fourth year, the survey examined the buying…
Read More » -
14 November
£100m Regent Street redevelopment confirmed
The Crown Estate, which owns the freehold on the majority of London’s Regent Street, has announced a £100m redevelopment plan for Morley House. The redevelopment forms part of the organisation’s ongoing £1bn regeneration of Regent Street and will be taken forward in collaboration with main contractor, Kier Construction, and development…
Read More »
