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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Feb- 2024 -9 February
Waterstones pre-tax profits plummet amid tech issue
Waterstones revealed that pre-tax profits fell to £11.2m in the year ending 29 April 2023 from £50.6m reported last year, as a technical issue led to a backlog of orders from bookshops. Waterstones has attributed its performance to a technical issue at its central distribution, following the introduction of a…
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8 February
Today’s news in brief-8/2/24
Farfetch has appointed Akshay Navle as a new director amidst shareholder discontent following the company’s sale to Coupang. Navle, who had previously served as chief product officer at Deliveroo and co-founded Maple, brought valuable experience to the company. Farfetch’s decision to remain silent on shareholder concerns hinted at ongoing turbulence.…
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8 February
Primark to upsize Metrocentre location
Primark is set to do an upsize of 14,100 sq ft of trading space for the Metrocentre location. The retailer first joined Metrocentre nearly 20 years ago, before relocating into its current site in 2010. Anchoring Exhibition Square, a key junction where Yellow, Blue, and Platinum Malls meet, the shopping…
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8 February
Shoppers say brands should help in financial crisis, study finds
Seven out of 10 UK adults believe brands should play a role in helping them navigate the cost-of-living crisis, but some 57% also feel that brands could do more to help consumers, according to new research by Universal McCann. According to the firm, the study analysed 2,000 UK consumers to…
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8 February
Watches of Switzerland sees Q3 revenues drop 1%
Watches of Switzerland has announced that its revenues fell 1% on a constant currency basis £397m, down from £407m, for the 13 weeks ended 28 January 2024. The company stated that trading in the run-up to and beyond Christmas was tougher than originally expected, particularly in the UK amidst slower…
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8 February
VF Corporation CFO steps down as group revenues drop to $2.96bn
VF Corporation, owner of Vans, The North Face and Timberland brands, has reported a 16% year-on-year decline in revenues to $2.96bn (£2.34bn) for the 12 weeks ended 30 December 2023 and has announced the exit of CFO Matt Puckett after almost nine years. Puckett will stay on until the group…
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8 February
Farfetch appoints new director following Coupang sale
Farfetch has appointed Akshay Navle as a new director following the sale of the company to Coupang. According to the retailer’s Companies House filing, Navle started his new role on 26 January. He is currently the COO of money transfer service company ZEPZ. Prior to that, he was chief product…
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8 February
Revolution Beauty eyes £1bn sales target amid turnaround strategy
Revolution Beauty has unveiled a new turnaround strategy amid plans to target sales of £1bn by 2030. The group said its ‘Reigniting the Revolution’ strategy will aim to deliver “long-term profitable growth in an attractive global beauty market, where Revolution Beauty has significant headroom to expand”. The plan is based…
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8 February
Kering revenues fall 4% in FY23 despite ‘stable’ sales
Kering, the group that operates Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and Bottega Veneta, reported that revenues declined 4% to €19.6bn (£16.7bn) in 2023, despite “stable” sales across its network of websites and stores. The luxury fashion group has attributed its performance to the “significant” impacts from changes in exchange rates and…
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8 February
Primark to invest £100m into UK stores
Primark has announced it is to invest more than £100m in its UK stores in 2024, as it marks 50 years on the Great British High Street. The news includes more than £75m of new investment in UK retail this year, building on plans it announced back in November 2022.…
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