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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Jun- 2024 -5 June
WH Smith maintains FY guidance amid rising travel sales
WH Smith has reported being in line with its expectations for the full year and claimed it is “well positioned” for peak summer trading, as total summer travel revenues in the 13 weeks to 1 June rose 9% on a constant currency basis. This comes as the retailer saw passenger…
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5 June
B&M posts profits of £498m
B&M has revealed that its statutory profit-before-tax rose 14% to £498m, up from £436m, for the year ended 30 March 2024. Furthermore, the group’s revenue jumped 10.1% to £5.5bn or 7.8% when excluding the 53rd week. Alongside this, the retailer posted an adjusted EBITDA of £629m, a 9.7% increase year-on-year…
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5 June
Asda appoints Lidl COO to lead store operations
Asda has appointed Matt Heslop to lead its stores and depots operation, including the 470 convenience stores in its newly-established Asda Express division. Heslop joins from Lidl where he is currently chief operating officer. He has spent over 20 years with the discount retailer in various senior operational roles. Asda said…
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5 June
Zara owner Inditex sees sales rise to €8.2bn in Q1
Zara owner Inditex has reported a 7.1% increase in sales to €8.2bn (£6.98bn) in the first quarter of 2024. The group’s gross profit also increased 7.3% to €4.9bn (£4.17bn) and gross margin reached 60.6%. Additionally, the group’s EBITDA rose by 8% to €2.4bn (£2.04bn) and EBIT increased 10.3% to €1.6bn…
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4 June
Today’s news in brief-4/6/24
UK retail sales experienced a slight increase of 0.7% in May, marking a modest improvement compared to the 3-month average growth of 0.3%, yet falling short of the 12-month average growth of 2.0%. Food sales saw a notable year-on-year rise of 3.6% over the three months leading to May, though…
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4 June
Co-op unveils new partnership with Bonmarché
Co-op and Bonmarché have unveiled a new partnership as value fashion outlet launches inside Co-op’s new-look Louth store. Louth’s Co-op, located in Northgate, Louth, has undertaken a 12-week programme of works and improvements, with the major makeover including the introduction of the 3,000 sq ft Bonmarché store which marks the…
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4 June
Asda trials generative AI with Harley partnership
Harley, a London-based company developing a real-time Generative AI (GenAI) platform for data-driven decision-making, revealed it has trialled a successful proof of concept with Asda, one of the UK’s leading retailers. Harley said its platform provides Asda’s leadership with live, actionable insights, enabling executives to “make quicker and more informed…
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4 June
WIT Fitness to relaunch with founders amid Frasers partnership
WIT Fitness is set to relaunch with its original founders, having been acquired by Frasers Group in January 2024.Following the acquisition, founders Sam Kitching and Daniel Williams will lead WIT in partnership with Frasers Group. Frasers said the return of the founders will “help restore the WIT brand and reconnect…
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4 June
Retailers reportedly scramble for Xmas stock amid surge in shipping costs
European retailers are reportedly scrambling to get their Christmas orders early amid higher shipping costs and trade route disruptions that are impacting holiday deliveries, experts have told the BBC. In the midst of the Israel-Palestine war, many Western firms’ vessels have been attacked by the Houthi rebels backing Hamas over…
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4 June
UK retail sales improve by 0.7% in May
UK total retail sales increased by 0.7% year on year in May, against a growth of 3.9% in May 2023. This was above the 3-month average growth of 0.3% and below the 12-month average growth of 2.0%. Food sales increased 3.6% year on year over the three months to May,…
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