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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Aug- 2022 -12 August
Superdrug and Savers to provide 25,000 UK jobs
A.S. Watson Group, the owner of Superdrug and Savers, has announced its commitment to create 200,000 job opportunities for 16-23 year olds globally, and of which 25,000 jobs will be provided across both retailers in the UK by 2030. The group will equip the young starters with “essential” skills to…
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12 August
John Lewis to retire ‘never knowingly undersold’ pledge
John Lewis has announced that it is set to reveal a new company slogan on 22 August, retiring its 97-year-old price pledge of “never knowingly undersold”. The retailer first revealed the pledge was under review in March 2020, a month after Sharon White joined as chair. The Guardian reported that…
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12 August
Topshop founder Sir Ralph Halpbern dies aged 83
Sir Ralph Halpern, the founder of Topshop who was described as a driving force behind British retail in the 1970s and 1980s, has died at the age of 83. Halpern began his career as a trainee at Selfridges, and would later go on to become “one of the most high-profile…
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11 August
Halfords cuts prices to help ease the rising cost of motoring
Halfords has announced it has launched new initiatives, including cutting its prices across all of its motoring products, in a bid to to help UK consumers with the rising cost of motoring. Halford said it comes as its own research found that one in six drivers are “trying to spend…
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11 August
Rishi Sunak commits to reducing business rates if elected PM
Rishi Sunak has vowed to slash business rates this autumn during the Conservative leadership debate at the Darlington Hippodrome theatre. The former chancellor committed to extending the current 50% reduction in his first budget as prime minister, saying that small retailers are the “beating hearts of all our communities”. Sunak…
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11 August
Mattress Online to open first fully branded site in Sheffield
Mattress Online is set to open its first fully branded store as part of its plans to expand into bricks and mortar trading. Having acquired the Skipton Bed and Sofa Centre earlier this year, the group has now added the site of Sheffield bed outlet, Eades and Co, to its…
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11 August
Marks Electrical Group revenues up 13.7% to £27m
Marks Electrical Group has reported a strong trading period in the first four months of FY23, with revenue growth of 13.7% to £27.7m. The company said the performance was delivered despite a “challenging market backdrop”. It’s performance was driven across all categories but particularly in televisions, vacuum cleaners, washers and…
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11 August
Retail leaders call on police to prioritise retail crime
Some 106 of the UK’s leading retail voices have reportedly written to Police and Crime Commissioners in England and Wales, calling on them to commit to “making retail crime a priority” in local policing strategies. The letters are said to express the retailers’ increasing concerns about the rising levels of…
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10 August
Heatwave helps boost retail sales 2.3% in July
Retail sales increased 2.3% in July as the heatwave experienced across the UK helped boost demand for “hot weather essentials”, according to the latest data from the BRC and KPMG retail sales monitor. UK retail sales increased 1.6% on a like-for-like basis from July 2021, when they had increased 4.7%.…
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10 August
Royal Mail faces FY loss as strikes get green light
Royal Mail has warned it could face a full-year loss as over 115,000 postal workers are set to partake in the biggest strike of summer, after calling for a “dignified, proper pay rise”. The Communication Workers Union (CWU), which represents Royal Mail Group workers, confirmed that workers will take strike…
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