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.
-
Oct- 2019 -25 October
Gant CEO to return to Adidas as executive board member
Sports fashion retailer Adidas has appointed Brian Grevy as an executive board member, responsible for global brands. Grevy returns to adidas from global clothing brand Gant, where he has held the position of CEO since June 2018 and was chief marketing officer from 2016 to 2018. At Adidas, Grevy led…
Read More » -
25 October
Amazon Q3 profits fall 25% amid rising shipping costs
Online retail giant Amazon has reported a 25% fall in Q3 net income to $2.1bn (£1.6bn) despite a 24% increase in sales to $70bn (£54.5bn), as rising shipping costs dented its bottom line. For the three month period ending 30 September Amazon said its shipping costs surged 46% to $10bn…
Read More » -
25 October
Topshop appoints ex-M&S buying director as fashion head
Topshop has appointed former Marks and Spencer buying director, Gillian Ridley Whittle, as its new fashion director. Whittle began her career at Debenhams as head of buyer in 2000, where she moved on to Marks and Spencer after four years, where she began her role as head of buying of…
Read More » -
24 October
Shoe Zone revenues up in FY results despite ‘challenging’ second half
Footwear retailer Shoe Zone has reported revenues of £161.9m for the year to 5 October 2019, up from £160.6m in 2018, in its preliminary reports for the trading period. The retailer said trading conditions in the second half of the financial year were “challenging”, but its new ‘Big Box’ store…
Read More » -
24 October
Sports Direct appoints RSM UK as new auditor
Sports Direct has announced the appointment of RSM UK Group as its new auditor with immediate effect. It ends a six-week hunt for a new auditor, after Grant Thornton announced it was stepping down from the position on 13 August 2019. At the time, the firm said “following a review…
Read More » -
24 October
85,000 retail jobs lost in the last year
Third-quarter retail employment fell by 2.8% year-on-year, the equivalent of around 85,000 jobs, marking the 15th consecutive quarter of decline in the retail workforce. According to the latest figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC), full-time employment saw a decrease of 4.5% compared to the decrease in part-time employees of…
Read More » -
24 October
Debenhams poised to name Mark Gifford as new chairman
Debenhams is reportedly about to name Mark Gifford, former chief financial officer at House of Fraser, as its new chairman. According to Sky News, Gifford’s appointment as chairman of Debenhams holding company, Celine Holdings, could be revealed by the end of this week. His career included being the chief financial…
Read More » -
23 October
Nike CEO and president Mark Parker to step down in 2020
Sports fashion retailer Nike has announced that its CEO and president, Mark Parker, will step down next year. He will be succeeded by John Donahoe, who will be appointed as the company’s new president and chief executive officer, effective 13 January 2020. He will remain on the board of Nike…
Read More » -
23 October
Online retail sales drag in September
Online sales grew by a marginal 0.6% year-on-year in September, according to the latest IMRG Capgemini Online Retail Index. The firm said that despite the “extended period” of challenging results, September’s figures failed to match the already low six and 12-month rolling averages (respectively +2.3%, +5.3%), and plummeted well below…
Read More » -
23 October
Royal Mail strikes could cost retailers £8m
A possible Black Friday Royal Mail strike could force retailers to attempt to pass on 8.5 million parcels, or 105,000 van loads of parcels to other carriers – which could cost them around £8m in higher postal costs. That is according to management consulting company Bearingpoint, who revealed that if…
Read More »
