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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Jul- 2021 -6 July
Sainsbury’s raises FY22 guidance amid rising sales
Sainsbury’s has raised its full-year guidance for the financial year ended March 2022, with its underlying profit-before-tax now expected to be at least £660m, up from the previously forecasted £620m, with progress weighted towards the first half. The news follows the supermarket chain’s Q1 trading statement for the 16 weeks…
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6 July
Usdaw ‘slams’ lifting of restrictions in shops
Usdaw has “slammed” the government’s announcement that it plans to lift safety measures in stores once the final Covid restrictions are lifted on 19 July. In a speech made yesterday (5 July), the Prime Minister confirmed that face coverings would no longer be mandatory in shops from that date, whilst…
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6 July
Asda names KFC executive as COO
Asda has confirmed that KFC’s chief marketing officer, Meghan Farren will join the group as chief customer officer (COO) in October. Farren replaces Anna-Maree Shaw, who returned to her native Australia in January 2021. Since her departure, Preyash Thakrar, Asda’s chief strategy officer has provided leadership support to the customer…
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6 July
M&S launches 25p banana bundles to reduce waste
Marks and Spencer has announced the launch of its new banana waste reduction scheme. The waste reduction scheme is to be introduced to all stores across England this week and allows customers to take home a cardboard bag of extra ripe bananas “at great value”, which minimises the amount of…
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6 July
Ocado H1 revenues jump 21.4% to £1.3bn
Ocado Group’s total revenues jumped 21.4% year-on-year to £1.32bn for the 26 weeks ended 30 May 2021. The end-to-end grocery firm also saw group EBITDA spike 41.2% year-on-year to £61m, up from £19.8m in H1 FY20. Despite reporting a loss before tax of £23.6m for the period, this represented a…
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5 July
Bestway FY20 losses climb 32% to £8.2m
Bestway Group, the owner of Bargain Booze, Wine Rack, and Central Convenience, saw its FY20 losses climb over 32% year-on-year to £8.2m. The wholesaler and retailer of beers, wines, spirits, tobacco, grocery, and confectionary products saw the increased losses despite group revenues rising 2.4% year-on-year to £388.5m for the year…
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5 July
Asda confirms hybrid working model for colleagues
Asda has confirmed that it will introduce a permanent hybrid working model for head office colleagues once social distancing restrictions are lifted. The group recently invested in its head offices to make sure it was Covid-secure with it remaining open with reduced capacity during the pandemic for those colleagues that…
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5 July
Hema to close its six UK stores
Dutch homeware retailer Hema has announced it has decided to close all six of its UK stores and exit the market in order to “place a stronger focus on its core markets”. The retailer, which first entered the UK in 2014, said it will close all six of its shops…
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5 July
JD Sports completes DTLR Villa transfer for £364m
JD Sports has announced that it has completed the transfer of retail group, DTLR Villa, which is an existing 98.6% owned subsidiary based in the US, to Genesis Topco for a total consideration of $504.4m (£364m). The group said it had always intended for DTLR to be part of the…
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5 July
Retailers call on PM to ‘support’ laws against retail violence
Some 100 of the UK’s “leading” retailers have written to the Prime Minister calling on him to support an amendment to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill that would tackle violence and abuse against retail workers. The letter, which was coordinated by the British Retail Consortium (BRC), comes as…
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