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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Aug- 2023 -4 August
Amazon sales and profits climb in Q2
Amazon has welcomed a strong second quarter of trading, with sales rising by 11% to $134.4bn (£105.8bn) in the period, up from $121.2bn (£95.4bn) the prior year, amid a record-breaking Prime Day and cost cuts across the business. North America sales rose by 11% to $82.5bn (£64.9bn), international sales by…
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3 August
Wilko set to appoint administrators
Budget household and garden retailer Wilko has announced that it has filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators. The news comes as, earlier this year, the retailer was considering selling the company in a bid to secure its future. The retailer, which operates roughly 400 stores across the country…
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3 August
Tesco becomes first supermarket to offer right to request flexible working
Tesco is granting colleagues new flexible working rights almost a year ahead of an expected change in the law from the government. The supermarket is giving its more than 300,000 colleagues, from the shop floor to its offices, the right to request a flexible working pattern from their first day…
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3 August
BoE raises interest rates to 5.25%
The Bank of England (BoE) has raised interest rates for the 14th consecutive time to 5.25% in a bid to combat inflation. The bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) sets monetary policy to meet the 2% inflation target. At its meeting ending on 2 August 2023, the MPC voted by a…
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3 August
July footfall drops for the first time since 2009
Footfall across UK retail destinations declined by -0.3% over the month from June to July 2023, marking the first time it dropped in the month since 2009. According to the latest data from Springboard, there was a month on month decrease in footfall in high streets of -1.7%, whilst in…
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3 August
Pets at Home revenues jump 7.9% to £436m
Pets at Home has announced that its group revenue rose 7.9% to £436.8m for the 16 weeks ended 20 July 2023. The company’s consumer revenues rose 10.2% to £568.2m supported by both volume and value growth. Its vet group revenue was up 16.3%, with a like-for-like increase of 16.6%, increasingly…
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3 August
John Lewis to train staff to deal with shoplifting violence
John Lewis is training its retail employees to tackle shoplifters following an increase in reports of the crime. In an interview with the BBC, head of security Nicki Juniper said John Lewis was “investing heavily in training” for security and shop staff. Juniper said: “Should they want to take part…
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3 August
Zalando sees adjusted EBIT rise to €144.8m in Q2
European e-commerce retailer Zalando has reported an 87% surge in adjusted EBIT to €144.8m (£124.6m) during the second quarter of the year. The group said that its profitability was boosted by better order economics amid bigger average basket sizes resulting in lower fulfilment costs. In combination, this also led to…
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3 August
ScS full-year profits to meet market expectations
ScS has said it expects to report that full year profits will be in line with market expectations, as the group’s cash position stands at £69.5m with no debt for the year ended 29 July. This comes as the group achieved strong like-for-like order growth of 6% from weeks 34…
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3 August
Next ups guidance by £10m following strong Q2
Next has raised its full-year outlook following a strong second quarter of trading, with profit before tax now expected to be £845m, £10m higher than its previous guidance. It comes as total sales in the second quarter rose by 6.9% against the prior year. Online sales rose by 10% over…
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