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 -2 February
John Lewis customer director steps down amid role consolidation
John Lewis has announced it is consolidating its customer relations management, with Charlotte Lock taking on the newly created role combining its pan-partnership customer and capabilities teams. Lock takes over from Claire Pointon, who stepped down from the role of customer director. The John Lewis Partnership is bolstering its Customer…
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2 February
Return to office boosts weekday footfall in Jan
A return to the office has boosted footfall in January despite the effects of rail strikes over the month, Springboard has said, with footfall up by 10.7% against the prior year. This was greater than the annual uplift of 9.9% reported in December 2022 and marked the largest annual increase…
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2 February
Hotel Chocolat appoints new CFO
The british chocolate maker, Hotel Chocolat Group, has announced the appointment of Jon Akehurst as its new chief financial officer and as an executive board director, effective from May 2023. The appointment follows CFO Matt Prichard’s departure from the role on 31 January after nine years with the company. It…
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1 February
Tesco acquires Paperchase IP in pre-pack deal
Tesco has acquired the intellectual property and brand of embattled stationery retailer Paperchase for an undisclosed sum in a pre-pack deal. The brand’s 106 stores are not part of the deal leaving the future of its 820 members of staff in doubt. The news comes less than a year after…
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1 February
Shop price inflation hits record levels
Shop price annual inflation increased to a record high of 8.0% in January up from 7.3% in December, according to data from BRC NielsenIQ shop price index. This figure of 8% is above the three month rolling rate of 7.5%. Food inflation accelerated to 13.8% in January, up from 13.3%…
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1 February
CMA launches supermarket pricing review
The CMA is set to review unit pricing practices online and instore within the grocery sector, after deciding that customers “need confidence that they have the right information to make great choices and are getting fair deals”. Unit pricing shows how much a particular product costs by weight or volume,…
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1 February
Grocery Price inflation hits record 16.7%
Grocery price inflation hit a record 16.7% in the four weeks to 22 January 2023, according to Kantar, the highest level since it started tracking the figure in 2008. Overall take-home grocery sales rose by 5.7% during the 4 week period and by 7.6% over the 12 weeks. Aldi was…
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1 February
H&M confirms regional UK store closures
Fast fashion retailer H&M has confirmed that it will be closing a number of stores across the UK in Burton, Hartlepool, Maidenhead and Newport on the Isle of Wight. The decision follows H&M Group’s financial results which indicated a 87% year-on-year fall in operating profit to £64.5m in the fourth…
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Jan- 2023 -31 January
Tesco in talks to acquire paperchase out of administration
Tesco is reportedly close to acquiring stationery retailer Paperchase out of administration. According to Sky News, Tesco is in advanced talks to acquire the name and intellectual property of the embattled retailer in a deal that could be agreed as early as Today (31 January). Sky News cited that sources…
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31 January
Tesco to shake-up management and close counters, 2,100 jobs at risk
Tesco has announced a shake-up of its management structure alongside plans to shutter its remaining hot counters and delis, in a move that could place up to 2,100 jobs at risk. While the supermarket is set to introduce 1,800 new shift leader roles as part of its restructuring plan, it…
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