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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May- 2025 -27 May
M&S to open 12 new stores in former Homebase sites
Marks and Spencer is set to open 12 brand new food stores on former Homebase sites across England, in a move that will create over 550 new jobs. The openings form part of M&S’s store rotation and renewal programme, which aims to create 420 “bigger, fresher” food stores and transform…
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27 May
Fresh food prices drive food inflation up 2.8% in May
Food inflation increased to 2.8% year-on-year in May, rising for the fourth consecutive month, driven by a surge in the cost of fresh food, according to the BRC-NIQ Shop Price Index. It found that Fresh Food inflation increased to 2.4%, against growth of 1.8% in April. This is above the…
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27 May
Monsoon owner sees FY losses widen to £7.5m
Monsoon and Accessorize owner, Adena Brands Limited, has reported a £7.5m loss before tax and an EBITDA loss of £2.4m for the year to 31 August 2024, due to “significant” cost inflation which was driven by the UK National Minimum Wage rise. The loss also comes as group sales for…
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27 May
OnBuy founder named chief executive of Comet
The founder and chief executive of OnBuy, Cas Paton, has been appointed chief executive of Comet following its acquisition by OnBuy last week. In an announcement on LinkedIn, Paton announced his appointment effective immediately. The recent acquisition is set to marks a new chapter for both companies. OnBuy, founded in…
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23 May
Today’s news in brief-23/5/25
Tesco UK CEO Matthew Barnes has stepped down after just one year in the role to pursue other opportunities. He will be replaced by Ashwin Prasad, Tesco’s current chief commercial officer, from 30 June. Prasad brings extensive retail experience, having been part of Tesco’s executive team since 2020. Meanwhile, Natasha…
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23 May
Co-op to roll-out smart electronic shelf labels
The Co-operative Group (‘Co-op’) has partnered with VusionGroup to replace paper shelf edge labels in store with electronic shelf edge labels, across its store estate. The convenience retailer is working with VusionGroup to roll-out the innovative technology across its near 2,400 stores. It said the electronic labels will offer enhanced clear, accurate and transparent product…
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23 May
Retail sales beat expectations in April
Retail sales volumes increased 1.2% in April 2025, up from a rise of 0.1% in March 2025, marking the fourth consecutive month of growth and easily beating forecasts of 0.2%. Food store sales increased 3.9%, mostly recovering from falls in February and March 2025. Supermarkets, specialist food stores such as…
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23 May
Very Group revenues dip amid ‘tough UK retail climate’
Very Group has reported a 3.8% decrease in total revenues to £1.60bn for the 39-week period ended 29 March 2025. Its UK revenues, which represents 88% of group revenues, also fell by 2.5% to £1.40bn, despite seeing a strong result within its Home category with growth of 8.9%, and 24.6%…
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23 May
Tesco UK CEO steps down after only a year in role
Tesco has announced that UK CEO Matthew Barnes has stepped down after only one year in the role to “pursue other opportunities”. The supermarket has announced that he will be replaced by Ashwin Prasad, Tesco’s current chief commercial officer, effective from 30 June. Prasad has been a member of Tesco’s…
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22 May
The Works ups profit guidance as turnaround bears fruit
The Works has upgraded its FY25 profit guidance and is expecting to deliver approximately adjusted EBITDA of £9.5m compared with £6m in FY24, following good progress with its turnaround strategy. The group is also targeting profit growth in excess of current market expectations of the £10m adjusted EBITDA in FY26.…
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