News
News is Retail Sector’s central hub for breaking stories, market developments and company updates from across the UK retail industry. This category delivers authoritative, timely coverage on everything from trading performance and executive changes to store openings, brand activity and supply chain developments.
Retail Sector’s news coverage focuses on the business realities behind the headlines — providing retail professionals with context on how each development impacts operations, strategy and market confidence. Readers can expect clear, accurate reporting designed to keep decision-makers informed and competitive in a fast-moving retail landscape.
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Jan- 2018 -16 January
Hackers and POS systems – how to stay safe
Targeting Point of Sale (POS) devices has become one of the more preferred approaches for attackers over the years as they seek to exploit any known vulnerability. The latest POS attack to make the headlines was of course the data breach suffered by major American retailers Forever 21 after malware…
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16 January
Shop Direct posts 6.3% Christmas growth, appoints interim CEO
Shop Direct, which operates Very, Littlewoods and Very Exclusive brands, revealed its total group revenue increased by 6.3% during the seven weeks up to December 2017. The performance was driven by 16.8% growth in the Very brand, in what the group says is its “largest and fastest growing retail brand”.…
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16 January
Greggs to open more stores following profitable 2017
Greggs is planning to open as many as 130 new stores across the country following a 7.4% total sales increase in 2017. Company-managed shops saw like-for-like sales increase by 3.7% over the year, and in Q4 sales were up by 3%. Greggs said the sales were driven by its “classic…
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16 January
JD Sports raises profit forecast after strong Christmas
Sportswear and outdoor retailer, JD Sports, has raised its annual profit forecast after continuing a strong performance through the second half of 2017 with an “encouraging” Christmas period. Group profit before tax for the year to February 3 is expected to reach £300m, ahead of analyst expectations of £270m –…
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16 January
Iceland pledges plastic-free products by 2023
Frozen food specialist Iceland has pledged to become the first retailer globally to completely remove plastic packaging from its own-brand products by 2023. The company plans to create a range of paper and pulp trays along with paper bags which are all fully recyclable. It has already removed disposable plastic…
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15 January
Card payment fees no longer chargeable by small firms
Small businesses will not be able to charge customers for using credit or debit cards, after new EU legislation took effect this week. HMRC announced that it will cease to accept payments by personal credit card as a result. The legislation, known as the revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2), will…
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15 January
Rigby and Peller loses royal warrant after revealing Queen’s bra measurements
Luxury lingerie retailer Rigby and Peller has lost its royal warrant after releasing a book containing the Queen’s bra measurements. The warrant was withdrawn after bra fitter and business owner, June Kenton, released a book called ‘Storm in a D-Cup’ . According to the BBC Kenton said there was “nothing…
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15 January
BHS.com continues online revival with sales increase
BHS.com, the online-only reincarnation of collapsed department store chain BHS, has seen a 43% increase in sales for the final quarter of 2017. The increase was boosted by strong performances in its home accessories, lighting and women’s sleepwear divisions, which saw sales increase by 43%, 57% and 107% respectively. The…
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15 January
Kering offloads 70% stake in Puma
Luxury goods group Kering has announced plans to sell a 70% stake in sportswear brand Puma amongst its shareholders. Post transaction, Kering would retain approximately 16% of Puma shares outstanding. Artémis, which holds 40.9% of Kering’s shares, would become a long term strategic shareholder of Puma with an ownership of…
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15 January
High street sees sharpest footfall decline in four years
New figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Springboard show footfall in the month of December suffered its sharpest decline since March 2013. Total UK retail footfall fell by 3.5% compared with December 2016, while the high street saw a sharper drop, down by 4.6%. Shopping centres suffered a…
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