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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Feb- 2023 -6 February
Trade bodies urge Govt to reform ‘broken’ apprenticeship levy
Four trade bodies within UK retail and hospitality, including the BRC, have called on the government to reform the “broken” apprenticeship levy system, as so far, £3.5bn has reportedly expired before businesses could make use of it. This call on the government comes as businesses were also unable to meet…
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6 February
Tesco exec Jason Tarry touted to replace Morrisons CEO
Tesco executive Jason Tarry has been identified as a potential replacement for Morrisons CEO David Potts, according to reports from This Is Money. Tarry is chief commercial officer at Tesco and has previously worked with Potts. He is also a former colleague of Morrisons chairman Sir Terry Leahy, who ran…
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3 February
Screwfix closes in on 1,000 store target with 87 new sites in 2022
Trade retailer Screwfix is on track to reach its ambition to open more than 1,000 stores across the UK, Republic of Ireland and France, following the opening of 87 stores in the past 12 months. The retailer opened 72 new stores in the UK, 10 in the Republic of Ireland…
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3 February
Apple Q1 revenues fall 5% $117.2bn
Tech giant Apple has announced that its revenues for the first quarter ended 31 December 2022 dropped 5% to $117.2bn (£104bn) down from $124bn (£111bn) in 2021. The company’s product sales fell to $96bn (£86bn) down from $104bn (£93bn) but its services sales increased slightly to $21bn (£19bn) up from…
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3 February
JD to open up to 350 stores per year under new growth plan
JD Sports has announced it is planning to open 250 to 350 new stores per year in underpenetrated markets under a new growth strategy for the group. The group said it has a capex of £500m to £600m per annum with 50% to 60% of spend focused on the store…
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3 February
Amazon profits halve despite strong holiday sales
Amazon’s full-year profits halved to $12.2bn (£9.9bn) in FY22, as international sales fell 8% year-on-year to $34.5bn (£28.1bn). This comes in spite of the group’s net sales increasing 12% during the holiday season of 2022 compared with the same period last year. In addition, the retailer’s operating income decreased to…
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3 February
Canada Goose lowers outlook as revenues slip
Canada Goose reported revenues of $576.7m (£471.3m), down 1.6% from the prior third quarter “largely due” to timing of wholesale shipments and lower revenue in Mainland China related to Covid-19 disruptions. However, it revealed its gross profit increased $2.6m (£2.1m) primarily due to gross margin expansion. It generated net income…
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2 February
BoE raises interest rates to 4%
The Bank of England (BoE) has announced that interest rates will be raised by 0.5%, bringing the base rate of interest to 4%, the highest level in 14 years. The increase, which is the tenth consecutive increase, was decided after the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted by a majority…
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2 February
Superdry boss denies plans to take business private
Superdry founder and CEO Julian Dunkerton has announced that he has no plans to take the company private following media reports it was a possibility. This statement now means that under UK takeover rules Dunkerton cannot make a bid for Superdry for six months unless another offer comes in for…
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2 February
ScS maintains outlook as it returns to growth
Furniture and flooring retailer ScS has revealed it expects to meet its full-year market expectations after it returned to growth in the 10 weeks to 28 January 2023. In an interim update, it said like-for-like order intake momentum “improved significantly” throughout the period and the group returned to growth of…
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