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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Sep- 2023 -13 September
Westminster Council greenlights £90m Oxford Street revamp
Westminster City Council has formally approved the £90m Oxford Street overhaul, granting £7.7m for the first phase of design work, with construction expected to start in the Autumn of 2024. The news comes after WCC and the New West End Company (NWEC) formally signed a Memorandum of Understanding agreement to…
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13 September
John Lewis to add 20 new brands to Autumn collection
John Lewis is aiming to become the high street and online destination for contemporary fashion by adding 20 new brands to its Autumn collection. The move is part of the company’s strategy to increase the frequency of fashion spend and build its market share with a younger demographic. Each new…
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12 September
Poundland acquires up to 71 Wilko stores
Poundland owner Pepco Group has announced today (12 September 2023) that it has agreed with PwC to take control of up to 71 Wilko store leases. Lease assignments are expected to be completed in early Autumn, enabling these stores to join Poundland’s existing 800-plus UK estate and trade through the…
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12 September
Aldi announces biggest round of price cuts on fruit and vegetables
Aldi, the UK’s cheapest supermarket, has recently lowered the prices on an extensive range of fruit and veg products. This week, shoppers can enjoy even lower prices on items including bananas, apples, spinach and courgettes, as well as on a range of specially selected products such as cotton candy grapes. …
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12 September
Wilko to close all remaining stores, 12,500 jobs at risk
Collapsed retail chain Wilko will close all of its 400 stores by early October after a rescue bid failed to materialise, placing 12,500 jobs at risk. Administrators PwC said it informed all staff that they will sadly commence the closure of all wilko stores, the two distribution centres and the…
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12 September
Wage growth starts to outpace rate of inflation
Pay growth has caught up with the rate of inflation for the first time in nearly two years, as wages surged at a record rate in the last quarter, official figures have shown. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), earnings, excluding bonuses, rose by 7.8% between May and…
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12 September
Primark owner ups guidance after 15% sales surge
Primark owner Associated British Foods (ABF) has raised its profit guidance after seeing better than expected results. The company now expects an adjusted operating profit “slightly better” than its previous expectation of “moderately ahead” of its £1.4bn profit last year. It also expects Primark sales to be around £9bn for…
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12 September
A.F. Blakemore unveils new leadership team to leverage retail strength
A.F. Blakemore has announced changes to the leadership team to consolidate retail knowledge across its SPAR portfolio. Under the new leadership, Matt Teague is promoted to managing director, retail to lead both SPAR divisions, combining Blakemore Retail and Blakemore Trade Partners. CEO Carol Welch said: “It is recognised that through…
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12 September
Grocery price inflation drops to 12.2%
Grocery price inflation has dropped to its lowest level in over 12 months at 12.2% for the four weeks to 3 September 2023, according to the latest data from Kantar. Take-home sales from the grocers rose by 7.4% compared with the same period in 2022, a slight increase on the…
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12 September
Wickes revenues hit £827.7m in H1 as DIFM sales recover
Wickes revenues grew 0.7% to £827.7m in the 26-week period to 1 July, following a sales uplift of 5.8% in ‘Do It For Me’ (DIFM) activity. The group’s adjusted profit before tax and SaaS IT investment costs hit £34.8m compared with £41.3m in H1 2022, as cost inflation exceeded revenue…
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