News
News is Retail Sector’s central hub for breaking stories, market developments and company updates from across the UK retail industry. This category delivers authoritative, timely coverage on everything from trading performance and executive changes to store openings, brand activity and supply chain developments.
Retail Sector’s news coverage focuses on the business realities behind the headlines — providing retail professionals with context on how each development impacts operations, strategy and market confidence. Readers can expect clear, accurate reporting designed to keep decision-makers informed and competitive in a fast-moving retail landscape.
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Apr- 2021 -29 April
French Connection FY21 revenue drops 40.4%
French Connection saw its revenues plummet 40.4% year-on-year to £71.5m in the 12 months to 31 January 2021. The fashion retailer and wholesaler’s underlying losses for the period also expanded to £11.7m, from £2.9m the year before, as Covid-19 caused store closures and a reduction to wholesale demand. The group…
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28 April
Travis Perkins completes Wickes demerger
Travis Perkins has announced that it has completed the demerger of Wickes Group following an approved shareholders general meeting. Following on from the demerger, the shares of Wickes were admitted at 8.00 a.m. today (28 April 2021) to trade on the main market of the London Stock Exchange. The group…
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28 April
Sainsbury’s swings to £261m loss as Covid costs rise to £485m
Sainsbury’s has slumped to a pre-tax loss of £261m, down from a profit of £255m the year before, after it was hit by £485m in Covid-19 related costs during the full-year period ending 6 March 2021. Alongside the Covid-related costs, the group also attributed the loss to costs arising from…
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28 April
Shop prices fall in April as non-essential retailers reopen
UK shop prices continued to drop in April as non-essential retailers reopened after lockdown, according to the BRC-Nielsen shop price index. In order to entice consumers, retailers decreased shop prices by 1.3% over the period, compared to the previous drop of 2.4% in March. However, the fall in non-food prices…
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28 April
Sequential Brands offloads Heelys brand
Sequential Brands Group, the owner of a portfolio of consumer brands in the active and lifestyle sectors, has announced the sale of its Heelys brand to BBC International for an $11m (£8m) cash consideration. Founded in 2000, Heelys is a patented product that features a removable wheel in the heel…
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28 April
Dixons Carphone to scrap airport shopping business
Dixons Carphone is set to close its airport shopping business, just months after the UK government announced plans to remove airside tax-free shopping. In a trading update, the electrical retailer said that it did not expect passenger numbers to “recover sufficiently” to compensate for the removal of the tax. This…
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27 April
Furniture Village appoints new board member
Furniture Village has announced the appointment of Mike Broughton, the group’s IT and business development director, to its board of directors. Broughton has held senior IT positions for global corporations across multiple sectors, with his career highlights including roles at William Hill, Asda Walmart, Dixons Carphone, FSA and Barclays Bank.…
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27 April
Grocery sales rise 5.7%
Take-home grocery sales rose 5.7% for the 12 weeks to 18 April 2021, according to data analytics and brand consulting company Kantar. The group’s figures also show a 6.5% growth for the four-weeks prior to 18 April, reflecting increasing consumer confidence in physical retail. Kantar found that the over-65 community…
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27 April
Consumer confidence rises due to ‘roadmap’ out of lockdown
During the first three months of 2021, consumer confidence saw a record quarterly rise thanks to the government’s “roadmap” out of lockdown, according to the latest Deloitte Consumer Tracker. In the firm’s survey of 3,000 UK consumers between 19 and 22 March 2021, while most of the country was still…
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27 April
Waitrose announces two-year Deliveroo partnership
Waitrose has announced a two-year partnership with Deliveroo, following a successful trial period between the two groups. The deal will see the supermarket chain expand its service on Deliveroo by 110 new shops across the UK, bringing the total by the end of the summer to 150. Some 400 new…
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