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
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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18 January
The Works losses widen to £7.8m amid ‘challenging’ market conditions
The Works has fallen to a pre-tax loss of £7.8m in its half-year results, following a period of “persistently challenging” market conditions. In the half-year ended 29 October, the retailer reported a pre-IFRS 16 adjusted EBITDA loss of £8.5m, widening from a loss of £6.4m the prior year. However, it…
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18 January
Currys profits to exceed expectations despite revenue dip
Currys expects full-year profits to be above expectations despite UK&I revenues dipping 3% during the 10 weeks ended 6 January. During the quarter, the electronics retailer also recorded a 6% drop in like-for-like sales in the Nordic region and a 4% drop in Greece. Despite this, the company said it…
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17 January
Today’s news in brief-17/1/24
In a surprising turn of events, inflation in December exceeded economists’ predictions, rising to 4%, contrary to the forecasted decrease to 3.8%. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that the upswing was driven by increases in fuel and tobacco prices. Notably, alcohol and tobacco division prices surged by 12.8%,…
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