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.
-
Jul- 2021 -5 July
John Lewis to build 10,000 rental homes
John Lewis is set to enter the residential homes market, after unveiling plans to build 10,000 new rental homes over the next ten years. According to the Sunday Times, the retail giant has already identified space to build 7,000 new homes across its own property portfolio, including disused department store…
Read More » -
5 July
House of Fraser staff to face switch to zero-hour contracts
Frasers Group has reportedly entered its House of Fraser staff into consultation regarding a switch to zero-hour contracts. According to Retail Week, the Mike Ashley-owned department store has commenced the process that will impact all store staff below management level. One source told the publication that the consultation began on…
Read More » -
5 July
Morrisons set for bidding war after accepting £6.3bn offer
Rivalling private equity firms are reportedly preparing to engage in a bidding war for Morrisons after it accepted £6.3bn takeover offer yesterday (4 July). The UK supermarket chain’s board of directors accepted a 252p-a-share offer from private equity firm Fortress, rejecting an earlier bid Clayton Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) which…
Read More » -
2 July
Weird Fish brings forward sustainability targets
UK lifestyle clothing brand Weird Fish has brought forward its ambitious sustainability targets of having 80% of its products using eco-friendly alternatives by 2023 to 2022, as more customers embrace its introduction of eco-friendly materials. Following the launch of its ‘The Only Way Is Ethics’ sustainability policy in 2019, in…
Read More » -
2 July
JD Sports shareholders vote out remuneration director
Shareholders at JD Sports have voted to remove the company’s remuneration director Andrew Leslie following the unpopular decision to award executive chairman Peter Cowgill a £4.3m bonus. The decision was made at the company’s AGM yesterday (1 July) after JD failed to convince enough institutional investors to vote for Leslie…
Read More » -
2 July
Boots owner posts strong Q3 results
Walgreens Boots Alliance, the owner of pharmacy retailer Boots UK, has reported a strong showing in its third financial quarter, as operating income from continuing operations totalled at $1.1bn (£799m) over the period. In comparison, the group posted a significant loss of $1.7bn (£1.2bn) over the same period a year…
Read More » -
2 July
450,000 businesses to be hit by tapered support measures
The retail sector is set to be hit by the tapering off of government support measures, with businesses now set to contribute 10% towards the cost of furlough following measures that came into effect yesterday (1 July). The move will affect an estimated 450,000 businesses, including many retailers, according to…
Read More » -
2 July
Ralph and Russo bought out of administration
Ralph and Russo has been bought out of administration by Retail Ecommerce Ventures (REV), who made an undisclosed bid amount to acquire the business and assets of the UK-based luxury brand. Paul Appleton of Begbies Traynor Group and Andrew Andronikou of Quantuma Advisory, who were acting as joint administrators, conducted…
Read More » -
1 July
Innovating retail spaces for a successful future
Whilst the growth of online consumer shopping was highly publicised during the prolonged periods of Covid-19 lockdown, the relaxing of the rules for non-essential retailers in England and Wales has led to a 174% rise in high street footfall. It’s a figure that shows the high street is certainly not…
Read More » -
1 July
Business committee chair questions CMA investigative takeover powers
The chair of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, Darren Jones, has written to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in relation to their powers to investigate takeovers. It follows the recent purchase of Asda using “significant amounts” of debt and the increased interest from private equity companies in…
Read More »
