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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Mar- 2023 -29 March
Asda profits fall 24% to £886m amid attempts to mitigate inflation
Asda has revealed its full-year profits declined 24% to £886m during the 52-week period ending 31 December due to its attempts to mitigate inflationary pressures for customers. It revealed total sales (excluding fuel) increased by 0.1% year-on-year to £20.45bn amid a “strong upturn” in performance in H2, with like-for-like sales…
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29 March
Aviva acquires Southampton retail park
Aviva Investors, the global asset manager of Aviva plc, has revealed it has acquired the Hedge End Retail Park in Southampton, alongside the separate purchase of an Asda superstore in Hayes, Middlesex. It said the two deals continue Aviva Investors’ desire to act as a strategic buyer of real estate…
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29 March
American Golf appoints new CEO
International Leisure Group in conjunction with Endless LLP has announced Nigel Oddy as its newly appointed CEO. Oddy will succeed Gary Favell from 11 April 2023 and assume responsibilities for ILG, including Europe’s leading golf retailer, American Golf. Before joining American Golf, Oddy most recently held the position of interim…
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29 March
Unbound Group shares surge amid possible takeover
Unbound Group saw its shares surge on Tuesday (28 March) after the clothing company announced a possible cash offer by WoolOvers Group, a knitwear company which targets the same demographic. Under the terms of the offer, Unbound shareholders would receive a 10.5 pence in cash and 1 contingent value right…
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29 March
Next profits jump 5.7% to £870m amid anticipation of future decline
Next has announced that its pre-tax profits rose 5.7% to £870m, up from £823m, for the year ended 31 January 2023. This number was £10m above the retailer’s guidance which it put down to strong sales in both its retail and total platform businesses. Furthermore, the company’s total trading sales…
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29 March
Next acquires Cath Kidston for £8.5m with job losses expected
Next has agreed to acquire the brand name, domain names and intellectual property of Cath Kidston for £8.5m, with job cuts expected as the group is wound down and its remaining stores close. The group said the cathkidston.com domain will be licenced back to the administrators for a period of…
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29 March
Boots welcomes ‘record’ beauty sales over Christmas period
Boots has revealed that for the three months to 28 February, Christmas trading brought a “record-breaking” performance for its beauty category which saw retail sales grow 16%. The business reported its eighth consecutive quarter of market share growth across all categories, with beauty performing the best for the quarter. Skincare…
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28 March
Supermarket sales up 8.6% as grocery inflation hits 17.5%
Take-home grocery sales increased 8.6% over the most recent 12 week-period as grocery price inflation reached record levels. According to the latest figures from Kantar, grocery price inflation reached 17.5%, adding £837 to the average household’s annual bill, with prices rising fastest in eggs, milk and cheese. Across the retailers,…
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28 March
Matalan appoints new CEO and chair
Leading omnichannel fashion and homeware retailer Matalan has announced the appointment of Jo Whitfield OBE as CEO of the company and Karl-Heinz Holland as chair. Holland previously spent 23 years at Lidl Group, six of those as CEO. He also served as CEO of DIA Group, a leading network of…
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28 March
Ocado Q1 sales rise 3.4% to £584m
British online supermarket Ocado retail has reported that its Q1 2023 sales increased to £584m, marking a 3.4% rise over the same quarter last year, according to its trading statement for the 13 weeks to 26 February 2023. It said that an increase in the number of new consumers using…
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