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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Apr- 2023 -26 April
Majestic makes ‘biggest investment ever’ in staff pay
Majestic, the specialist wine retailer, has revealed it has made its “biggest ever investment” in colleague pay to recognise the “expertise and experience” of its store teams. All store colleagues have been awarded a basic pay increase that takes their hourly rate to at least £10.60, ahead of the National…
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26 April
New Look axes further head office roles
Four department head roles have reportedly been made redundant at New Look, a month after reports first emerged that 70 head office roles were at risk, according to Drapers. Senior e-commerce trade manager Michelle Dobson, head of accessories, beauty and lifestyle buying Faye Walton, head of IT delivery Pete Mead…
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26 April
Card Factory acquires SA Greetings for £2.5m
Card Factory, the UK’s specialist retailer of greeting cards, has announced it has acquired the entire share capital of SA Greetings Corporation and its subsidiaries, SA Greetings, for £2.5m. With its head office located in Johannesburg, SA Greetings is the leading wholesaler of greeting cards and gift packaging in South…
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26 April
Amazon workers in Coventry start union recognition process
GMB union has confirmed that it has started the process for Amazon Coventry’s union recognition, following two weeks of strike action by workers at the fulfilment centre. Almost 700 Amazon Coventry workers are now GMB members, a number the union believes is more than half of workers at the site…
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26 April
Ted Baker CEO to step down after takeover
Ted Baker CEO Rachel Osbourne is set to step down from her position following the takeover by Authentic Brands Group (ABG), according to reports from Sky News. Osborne joined Ted Baker as finance chief in 2019, before being elevated to the top job in March 2020. The news comes as…
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25 April
Next to launch Joules ‘much earlier than expected’ but jobs at risk
Next has warned that some jobs may be at risk ahead of Joules’ total platform (TP) launch, which is set to go live “much earlier than expected” after Next made “significant” progress in delivering the online platform over the last year. The launch date for Joules on Next’s TP, which…
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25 April
Shopping sales at the O2 rise 44% in Q1
The O2, London’s multi-purpose venue, has reported like-for-like sales across outlet shopping up 44%, F&B sales up 26% and total footfall up 20% compared to Q1 2019. Easter half term also proved highly successful across the full destination, with like-for-like sales up 56% and footfall up 11% vs 2019. Outlet…
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25 April
Planet Organic founders acquire grocer out of administration
Bioren Limited, whose shareholders include the founders of Planet Organic, Renée and Brian Elliott, has beaten out competition from Sainsbury’s to acquire the majority parts of the business and its assets. The deal will see 10 Planet Organic stores continue to trade in locations throughout London, safeguarding 194 jobs in-store…
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25 April
Ocado to close warehouse risking 2,300 jobs
Ocado has announced that it is closing its fulfilment centre in Hatfield putting 2,300 jobs at risk. The retailer stated that it planned to redeploy as many staff as possible to a new centre in Luton. The centre in Hatfield, which is run as a joint operation with Marks and…
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25 April
Authentic Brands Group to acquire Vince IP
Authentic Brands Group (Authentic), has entered into a strategic partnership with Vince Holding Corp. (VNCE) to acquire the Vince brand intellectual property. Through the agreement, VNCE will contribute its intellectual property to a newly formed Authentic subsidiary, ABG Vince, of which Authentic will own a majority stake of 75%, while…
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