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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Mar- 2024 -5 March
Arc’teryx opens flagship in Covent Garden
Arc’teryx, the high-performance outdoor apparel brand, has now opened its new flagship store within the newly refurbished listed building at 41-42 King Street in Covent Garden. This follows previous success on Long Acre and represents a milestone within the brand’s brick-and-mortar journey. Arc’teryx’s new flagship store spans 8,000 sq ft…
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5 March
Deal activity in F&B recovered in 2023, Grant Thornton finds
Deal activity in the food and beverage sector rebounded last year compared with 2022, when dealmaking was put on pause due to the emerging cost of living crisis, according to new research from Grant Thornton. According to the firm’s research, there was an uptick in M&A activity across the sector…
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5 March
Issa brothers scale back EG Group investment to cut debts
Asda owners the Issa brothers have reportedly scaled back investment in their petrol forecourts business EG Group in a bid to reduce debts. According to the Telegraph, EG Group reduced its growth capex by 37% last year to £191m in what executives called a “controlled reduction” to maximise liquidity. The…
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5 March
Supermarket sales slow as retailers push branded promotions
Total Till sales at UK supermarkets slowed +5.3% in the last four weeks ending 24 February 2024, according to new data released today by NIQ. This is a slight slowdown compared with the +6.6% increase reported last month, a result of food inflation falling to 5%. However, grocery retailers capitalised…
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5 March
Currys invests £13m in staff pay boost
Currys has announced a further boost to pay with a new £13m investment which will see all hourly paid staff receive a higher hourly rate, alongside a bonus programme. Store-based employees will now be able to earn on average £12.33 per hour, with top performers on £13.95 an hour on…
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5 March
Ocado launches Best of British aisle
Ocado Retail has launched a new Best of British aisle to showcase UK produce. Unlike other supermarket British aisles which can include products manufactured in the UK with ingredients from around the world, Ocado’s aisle exclusively features products both grown and produced locally. Its selection is the largest of any…
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5 March
Greggs profits and sales soar in FY23
Greggs has reported pre-tax profits of £188.3m for the 52 weeks ended 30 December 2023, compared with £148.3m from the previous year. Its sales also increased 19.6% to £1.8bn and its underlying profit before tax excluding exceptional income was up 13.1% to £167.7m. The group opened a “record” 220 new…
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5 March
Retail sales underperform in February
UK total retail sales rose by 1.1% year-on-year during the four-week period ended 24 February, against a growth of 5.2% last year and below the three-month average growth of 1.4%, according to the BRC. The BRC has attributed the poor retail sales to February 2024 being “the wettest on record”. …
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4 March
Today’s news in brief-4/1/24
M&S emerged victorious against Michael Gove’s decision to block its redevelopment plans for its Marble Arch flagship branch. The High Court ruled that Gove’s decision was “unlawful” and had misinterpreted planning policy. This decision paves the way for M&S to proceed with its plans, which include demolishing the existing Art…
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4 March
White Stuff and Sisters and Seekers open at Liverpool One
Liverpool One has announced the signings of two new retail additions, White Stuff and Sisters and Seekers, as the destination continues to be the location of choice for many retailers. British lifestyle brand, White Stuff, has officially launched its regional flagship store on Liverpool One’s Peter’s Lane. The new 1,800…
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