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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Jan- 2024 -19 January
Birkenstock revenues rise to €1.49bn
Birkenstock has reported a 20% increase in revenues to €1.49bn (£1.28bn) for the year to 30 September 2023, boosted by European sales which increased 18%. Its EBITDA also rose 11% to €483m (£414m) and also recorded an adjusted EBITDA margin of over 30%. However it expects a modest headwind to…
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19 January
M&S to invest £30m in Scottish stores
M&S has unveiled plans to invest £30m in bricks and mortar stores across Scotland. The retailer’s investment will deliver more than five new store openings and expansions over the next 18 months. These plans include a £15m investment in M&S Aberdeen Union Square which will almost double in size and…
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19 January
DFS downgrades sales guidance for FY24
DFS has downgraded its sales guidance for the year, after reporting that gross sales dropped 5.6% year-on-year during the 26 weeks ended 24 December 2023. The sofa retailer has attributed its muted performance to “the record hot weather in September and early October when footfall and demand proved to be…
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19 January
Wickes to provide flexible hours for store management roles
Following a six month pilot across 14 stores, Wickes is set to make all store management roles open to flexible working. It comes as the retailer partnered with Timewise to undertake research on the roles of store managers, operations managers and duty managers to understand the barriers to “design, trial…
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19 January
Retail sales drop 3.2% in December, ONS says
Retail sales volumes are estimated to have fallen by 3.2% in December 2023, from a rise of 1.4% in November 2023, the ONS has revealed. December’s decrease was the largest monthly fall since January 2021, when Covid-19 restrictions affected sales. Looking at the quarterly picture, sales volumes fell by 0.9%…
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18 January
Today’s news in brief-18/1/24
Sainsbury’s general merchandise commercial director, Paula Nickolds, is departing to become CEO of The White Company. During her three-year tenure, she strengthened brands like Argos, Habitat, and Tu. Sainsbury’s also announced a focused restructuring of its Operating Board. Graham Biggart will assume commercial responsibility for General Merchandise and Clothing, with…
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18 January
Rituals to open in Caledonia Park
Beauty and wellbeing brand Rituals will be joining an array of companies opening a new store in the Caledonia Park Designer Outlet on 18 January. To celebrate, Rituals will be hosting a launch event taking place on Saturday 20 January 2024 for their consumers. Maria Averkina, asset and development manager…
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18 January
Paula Nickolds to leave Sainsbury’s to become CEO of The White Company
Sainsbury’s has revealed its General Merchandise Commercial director, Paula Nickolds, is set to leave the business to become CEO of The White Company. Over the past three years, Sainsbury’s said Nickolds has led much progress across its ‘Brands that Deliver’ strategy, making Argos, Habitat and Tu “considerably stronger” and more…
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18 January
N Brown Q3 revenues drop 9.3% but guidance remains unchanged
N Brown has revealed that its group revenue dropped 9.3% to £226m for the 18 weeks ended 6 January 2024 compared with the same period last year. Despite this the company reiterated that its full year adjusted EBITDA remained unchanged. However, the 9.3% drop continues a trend of revival for…
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18 January
Dunelm sees sales rise to £872m in H1
Dunelm has reported strong sales growth in the first half of the year, with total sales increasing by 4.5% to £872m for the 26-week period ended 30 December 2023. It also recorded continued sales growth in Q2 in a challenging market, with total sales increasing by 1.0%. Its gross margin…
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