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.
-
Jan- 2020 -17 January
Morrisons appoints new executive promotions
Morrisons has appointed Andy Atkinson as its group commercial director and David Lepley its group retail director. The news follows the appointment of Trevor Strain as its chief operating officer and Michael Gleeson as chief financial officer. Atkinson joined Morrisons in 2012 and has held the positions of group customer…
Read More » -
16 January
Primark sales jump in first-quarter results
Associated British Food (ABF) has reported a 4% increase in group revenue for the 16 weeks ended 4 January 2020, driven by strong trading from Primark over the festive period. Primark saw sales increase by 4.5% compared with the same period last year, and the group said the sales growth…
Read More » -
16 January
The Works CEO steps down despite ‘solid’ Christmas sales
The CEO of gifts and crafts retailer The Works has stepped down from his role, despite the company reporting “solid” like-for-like sales in its latest trading update. Kevin Keaney held the position of CEO at The Works for almost nine years, has decided to step down as CEO and from…
Read More » -
16 January
N Brown Group issues profit warning amid falling revenues
The owner of plus size clothing brands Simply Be and Jacamo, the N Brown Group, has issued a profit warning amid falling revenues. The group has revealed it now expects full-year profits to come in lower than previous expectations of £78-£84.1m at around £70m-£72m. In the 18 weeks to 4…
Read More » -
16 January
Halfords hails ‘strong’ Q3 sales performance
Halfords has reported a “solid” performance in its third quarter of trading, with total group revenue up 4.6%. In the 14 weeks ended 3 January 2020, like-for-like revenue was also up 1.3%. Retail cycling delivered “strong sales growth” in particular, with like-for-like sales increasing 5.9% in the period. Halfords said…
Read More » -
15 January
22,000 retail jobs lost in 2019 due to administrations
Almost 22,000 retail jobs were lost in 2019, according to new data from specialist finance broker firm ABC Finance. Some 1147 retail premises closed during the year, with the firm explaining that the most common causes for these closures included rising overheads such as rent on retail units, as well…
Read More » -
15 January
Moody’s downgrades M&S credit score to negative
Moody’s has downgraded Marks and Spencer’s outlook from stable to negative after it reported a 0.7% decline in revenues in its third quarter of the current financial year to £3bn. In referencing the decision Moody’s said that the “continued decline” in Marks and Spencer’s clothing and home like-for-like sales, which…
Read More » -
15 January
Very reports a 6.1% increase in revenues in the festive period
Online retailer Very has reported a 6.1% increase in revenues during the seven weeks to 27 December. The brand, which is operated by The Very Group, also reported sales growth across all four product categories, which included a 9.6% increase in sportswear, 5.7% increase in electricals, 1.4% increase in homeware…
Read More » -
15 January
Quiz sales tumble amid ‘challenging’ Christmas
Quiz suffered a “disappointing” period of Christmas sales, as group revenue fell by 9.3% over the seven week period ended 4 January 2020. The retailer said it experienced a reduction in footfall compared with the prior year, which resulted in stores and concessions revenue decreasing by 7%. The group also…
Read More » -
14 January
Games Workshop profits soar in half-year results
Games Workshop has reported a 44% increase in profits before tax to £58.6m for the six months ended 1 December 2019. This was fueled by a 27% increase in its trade operations, with “growth in all key countries”. During the period the number of trade outlets increased by c.200 accounts,…
Read More »
