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.
-
Apr- 2023 -19 April
Matalan appoints new chief customer and omni-channel officer
Matalan has announced the appointment of Ali Jones as its new chief customer and omni-channel officer, effective from today (19 April). Jones, who was the customer and community director at the Co-operative from 2018 to 2022, will be responsible for establishing a new customer function within the retail group. According…
Read More » -
18 April
Well Pharmacy acquires Lexon wholesaler
Bestway Group subsidiary Well Pharmacy has announced the acquisition of Lexon UK Holdings and Asurex Limited, pharmaceutical wholesalers for an undisclosed sum. Lexon is a family-owned business which has been in operation for over 25 years. It operates “primarily” as a pharmaceutical wholesaler serving 3,000 retail pharmacy customers across the…
Read More » -
18 April
Bensons for Beds sales rise 9% in Q2
Nationwide bed and mattress retailer Bensons for Beds has reported like-for-like sales for the quarter to end of March rose by 9%, building on the 7% like-for-like sales growth in the previous quarter. Further progress has also been made in its digital offer, with sales over the quarter in the…
Read More » -
18 April
Superdrug to invest in 25 new stores
Health and beauty retailer, Superdrug, has announced plans to invest in 25 new stores this year, expanding its bricks-and-mortar retail footprint. It said the venture is expected to create over 570 jobs nationwide, creating a “seamless customer experience” and provide support for high streets and local communities. The investment is…
Read More » -
18 April
THG faces takeover bid as FY losses widen
THG has seen its operating loss more than double to £495.6m in the preliminary results for FY22, which closely follow rumours of a fresh takeover bid from US private equity firm Apollo. The group attributed its losses to a non-cash impairment of £275.4m, as well as costs relating to a…
Read More » -
18 April
B&M axes online home delivery offering
B&M has axed its online home delivery service after trialling the offering, according to coverage from Retail Week. According to Retail Week, the discount retailer was still offering home delivery through its website in January but discovered that the service was made unavailable in February. The service was first launched…
Read More » -
18 April
Food and drink inflation in supermarkets surges 17.2% in March
Overall food and drink inflation in supermarkets rose 17.2% in March, up from 16.5% last month, according to data from Which?. The price of porridge oats increased 35.5% across Aldi, Asda, Lidl, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose compared with last year. Alongside this the price of cheddar cheese rose…
Read More » -
17 April
M&Co to close 43 shops by end of April
Scottish chain store M&Co has confirmed the closure of 43 of its sites by the end of the month. The move comes after M&Co announced that the company will close all its 170 shops after going into administration a few months ago. It has since been bought by AK Retail…
Read More » -
17 April
Retail M&A deals up 30% since pre-pandemic times, study finds
The number of UK M&A deals targeting retailers has increased by 30% since before the pandemic, with 34 retail M&A deals announced in 2022 compared with 26 in 2019, according to research by international law firm, RPC. This marks only a marginal decline from 35 retail deals in 2021 –…
Read More » -
17 April
Asda to trial driverless deliveries in London
Asda has partnered with Wayve self-driving vehicles in a year-long trial that will give the supermarket the ability to autonomously deliver groceries to over 170,000 residents across 72,000 households in London. The Wayve self-driving vehicles will join Asda’s existing online delivery operation at the Park Royal superstore in West London…
Read More »
