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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May- 2020 -15 May
Boohoo secures £200m through share placing
Boohoo confirmed it has successfully raised almost £200m in funding following the placing of 58 million shares. The online retailer raised £197.7m through the successful placing of 58,140,591 shares at 340p per share, in a placing led by investment banking boutique Zeus Capital. Following the fundraise, Boohoo will have an…
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15 May
Sainsbury’s expands Chop Chop delivery service to outside of London
Sainsbury’s has announced the expansion of its Chop Chop bicycle delivery service to 20 cities in the UK, as it rolls out the scheme outside of London for the first time. The service, which enables customers to order up to 20 products from the ‘Big four’ grocer via the Chop…
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14 May
Online retail sales soar to 10-year high amid Covid-19 crisis
Online sales growth surged to a 10-year high in April, up 23.8% year-on-year, amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. That’s according to the latest IMRG Capgemini Online Retail Index, which tracks the online sales performance of over 200 retailers. According to the report, the spike in sales was “overwhelmingly” driven by…
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14 May
Watches of Switzerland reports 5.9% increase in revenues in Q1 results
Watches of Switzerland has reported a 5.9% increase in group revenues to £819.3m in the year to 26 April, ahead of recently revised guidance. In the 46 weeks to 15 March 2020, group revenue increased by 15.8% across both the UK, which was up by 9.4% and the US, which…
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14 May
Tesco Boss Dave Lewis handed £6.42m pay package
Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis has been given a £6.42m pay package, including £4.8m in bonuses. Lewis, who is set to leave the big four grocer in September, has seen his pay increase by more than a third due to an increase in both annual and share price bonuses to…
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14 May
WH Smith sales plunge 85% amid lockdown
WH Smith has revealed that group total revenue plunged 85% in April in light of the ongoing pandemic. Following the nationwide and global lockdown, travel revenue plummeted 91% last month, while high street revenue tumbled 74%. It comes as the retailer closed most of its UK stores, excluding 203 Post…
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13 May
SCP acquires TM Lewin from Bain Capital
Private equity firm SCP has acquired Men’s retailer TM Lewin from Bain Capital for an undisclosed sum. TM Lewin currently has 66 stores in the UK with around 650 of its 700 members of staff placed on furlough. SCP has reportedly acquired the firm as a going concern and plans…
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13 May
UK economy shrinks by 2% as pandemic takes its toll
The UK’s economy shrank by 2% in the three months to 31 March 2020, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. This is according to new data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which also found that gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 5.8% during March, the largest fall…
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13 May
Sharpest decline on record as sales fall amid lockdown
Total retail sales tumbled by 19.1% in the four weeks ended 2 May, according to the latest BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor. This was a notable decrease against the 2.4% sales increase recorded the year prior, and the “worst decline recorded” since the monitor began in January 1995. Like-for-like retail sales…
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13 May
Dobbies reopens 54 UK sites amid Covid-19 pandemic
Garden centre chain Dobbies is to reopen all of 54 of its UK sites today (13 May 2020), following government guidelines to close amid the Covid-19 lockdown. The garden retailer, which temporarily closed its doors in March, said it has introduced a range of safety and social distancing measures, which…
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