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 -29 January
THG to cut 160 jobs across three departments
THG has plans to cut 160 jobs across its marketing, sales and warehouse departments, The Times has reported. It is understood that roughly 60 marketing and sales roles are due to be dismissed at the retailer’s online and tech business. In addition, the group plans to cut the remaining 100…
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26 January
Today’s news in brief-26/1/24
Superdry reported a challenging trading environment with half-year revenues down 23.5% to £219.8m. The wholesale division faced a significant decline of 41.1%, while the retail segment, though more resilient, was down 13.1%. Store revenue in the UK and Republic of Ireland saw a 10.2% decline due to unseasonal weather impacting…
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26 January
Rituals opens at two new locations
Luxury beauty and wellbeing brand Rituals has officially opened at Festival Place in Basingstoke, and Merry Hill in the West Midlands. The Dutch retailer offers a collection of body care, home fragrance, and skin care products, home items, and gift sets, to a range of luxurious bath and body products. …
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26 January
WH Smith sees strong start to year as Travel sales rise
WH Smith has delivered a strong performance in the 20 weeks ended 20 January, with total revenues up by 8%, largely boosted by its Travel division. Across its global Travel divisions, the group welcomed continued momentum since the start of the financial year. In Travel UK, total revenue was up…
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26 January
Retail theft hits highest rate in 20 years
Data from the Office for National Statistics shows that there were over 400,000 incidents of shoplifting in the year to September 2023, the highest level seen in 20 years. This is a 32% increase on last year and the first time the number has exceeded 400,000 since records began in…
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26 January
M&S makes two new executive appointments
M&S has announced the appointment of Rachel Higham as its new chief digital and technology officer and Mark Lemming as managing director of international. Higham is currently chief information officer at WPP and will join the business later this year. Prior to joining WPP, Higham was managing director for IT…
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26 January
John Lewis could cut jobs amid halved redundancy payouts
John Lewis Partnership has implied that it could make job cuts across the business after it slashed its redundancy payouts, The Telegraph has reported. It is understood that the employee-owned retailer told partners this week it was halving its current two-week redundancy pay per year of service policy as it…
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26 January
Superdry reports ‘challenging’ trading amid new CFO announcement
Superdry has revealed its half-year revenues are down 23.5% to £219.8m due to a “challenging” consumer retail market as it also announces the appointment of a new CFO. The wholesale division is down 41.1%, meanwhile the retail segment proved “more robust” in the first half but has also underperformed expectations…
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25 January
Today’s news in brief-25/1/24
Halfords reported that its Q3 total revenues were up 1.6%, with a 2.0% increase on a like-for-like basis. However, December sales were weaker than expected due to mild and wet weather impacting demand for winter products and footfall in stores. While October and November showed strong sales, the weaker December…
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25 January
Co-op launches sustainability pilot for farmers
Co-op has announced a pilot scheme to financially reward farmers in its beef supply chain for sustainable farming practices. In partnership with its supplier Dunbia, the convenience retailer outlined plans to rapidly decarbonise its supply chain in a new ‘Beef Sustainability Pilot’, which will see farmers rewarded for reducing their…
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