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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Jun- 2020 -22 June
Bira welcomes extension of government protection scheme
Bira has “welcomed” the Government’s decision to extend protection for businesses from aggressive debt collection until September. The extended measures will prevent struggling retailers from being evicted with the current protection originally due to expire on June 30. The association said the decision was made by the Government after Bira…
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22 June
John Lewis announce nine further store reopenings
John Lewis has announced plans to reopen nine more stores on Thursday (25 June), following the “successful reopening” of an initial 13 stores last week. The stores which will reopen their doors to customers on 25 June include; Cribbs Causeway, Leeds, Liverpool, Milton Keynes, Newcastle, Peter Jones, Southampton, Tunbridge Wells…
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22 June
Mothercare seeks new lenders amid franchising plans
Mothercare has confirmed it remains “on track” to become a “profitable” international franchise operation, with plans to operate in around 40 international territories. In its latest update, the retailer confirmed that discussions are ongoing with existing franchise partners in efforts to “establish a more sustainable and less capital-intensive business” going…
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19 June
UK consumer confidence rises in June
GfK’s long-running Consumer Confidence Index increased by six points to -30 in June. The measure for the general economic situation of the country during the last 12 months has improved by one point to -59, but is still 27 points lower than in June 2019. Expectations for the general economic…
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19 June
Amazon UK boss to step down
The manager of Amazon UK has confirmed he is stepping down from the role, and is now set to assume the role of director at the Natural History Museum. Doug Gurr is currently the country manager of Amazon UK, and previously acted as president of Amazon China from 2014 to…
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19 June
92% of shopworkers oppose longer Sunday working hours, says Usdaw
Some 92% of retail staff in England have opposed large shops opening for more than six hours on a Sunday, as the government considers deregulating Sunday trading. According to a survey by shopworkers trade union Usdaw, 66% of the 11,000 retail staff said they feel they are pressured to work…
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19 June
Retail sales bounce back in May, says ONS
The volume of retail sales volumes “partly rebounded” in May, according to the latest statistics from the Office of National Statistics (ONS). Sales volumes saw an increase of 12% when compared with the “record falls” experienced the previous month, but sales were still down by 13.1% on February, before the…
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18 June
Employers given 30 days to ‘confess’ to furlough abuses
Legislation is currently being fast-tracked to allow HMRC to reclaim any furlough money overpaid to employers, or not spent on wages as intended. Although we do not have the final version of the legislation, employers should start addressing their minds to the claims they have made to date as soon…
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18 June
UK inflation hits four-year low
The UK’s inflation rate dropped to 0.5% in May, down from 0.8% in April, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). According to the ONS, falling prices for motor fuels and a variety of recreational and cultural goods resulted in the largest downward contributions to inflation…
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18 June
Allsaints launches CVA proposal
Clothing retailer Allsaints has revealed the launch of a CVA proposal that aims to restructure both its UK and US store portfolio and move to a turnover-based rent structure due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Allsaints said the move comes despite year-on-year revenue growth for five successive years.…
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