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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Jan- 2020 -8 January
Sainsbury’s Christmas sales slip as Argos struggles
Supermarket giant Sainsbury’s has posted a 0.7% decline in like-for-like sales for the 15 week period ending 4 January as toy and gaming sales at Argos struggled. The decrease comes despite grocery sales increasing by 0.4%, with online grocery sales also up 7.3%. Sainsbury’s reported that clothing sales also performed…
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8 January
Shoe Zone profits slip due to ‘government imposed’ cost increases
Shoe Zone has reported a decrease in profits before tax to £9.6m, down from £11.3m the previous year, attributed to “government imposed increases” in its operating costs, primarily through the impact of increasing business rates. For the year ended 5 October 2019, the shoe retailer reported a 0.9% increase in…
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8 January
Greggs to give workers £7m bonus after ‘phenomenal’ year
Total sales at Greggs increased by 13.5% in its full year results, amid a “phenomenal” year of “strong sales”. Company-managed shops saw like-for-like sales increase by 9.2% for the year ended 28 December 2019, while quarterly like-for-like sales increased by 8.7%. The bakery chain now expects its full year underlying…
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7 January
UK supermarkets experience lowest festive sales growth in five years
UK supermarkets have experienced the lowest sales growth over the Christmas period in five years, with sales growing by 0.5% in the last four weeks, according to new data. The data, from data analytics company Nielsen, found that grocery sales reached their peak at £6.2bn over the two weeks to…
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7 January
Morrisons sales suffer over Christmas period
Morrisons has been hit by an “unusually challenging” festive period, it has announced in its latest trading update. Like-for-like sales, including fuel, were down 2.8% in the 22 weeks ended 5 January. Total sales were down 2.9%, including fuel. The supermarket giant said that conditions during the period “remained challenging”…
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7 January
Kingfisher appoints new chief customer and digital officer
Kingfisher has appointed Jean-Jacques Van Oosten as its new chief customer and digital officer. Van Oosten joins Kingfisher from The LegoGroup, where he held the role of chief digital officer. He has also held positions at REWE, Travis Pekins, Tesco and Kingfisher, where he was group IT director from 2005…
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6 January
HMV to close three stores and warns of more if rent negotiations fail
HMV has confirmed that three of its stores will close this month and has warned that a further 10 could close if rent negotiations with landlords fail to secure improved terms. In a statement released over the weekend the music retailer revealed it will be closing its Bury St Edmunds,…
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6 January
Mountain Warehouse reports ‘record’ trading over festive period
Mountain Warehouse has reported “record” Christmas trading with sales up 16.2% to £95.8m in the 13 weeks to December 2019. The group, which specialises in selling outdoor clothing and equipment, saw online sales jump during the period 21.6%, and also reported a bumper Black Friday, which was its busiest day…
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6 January
Debenhams announces 19 store closures
Debenhams has announced the closure of 19 of its UK stores, resulting in 660 job losses. The department store, which entered administration in April last year, launched its CVA in the same month. The closures are due to take place during the next fortnight, with stores closing from 11 January,…
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6 January
Aldi sales top £1bn amid ‘record’ Christmas
Supermarket giant Aldi saw sales soar over the festive period, with sales topping £1bn for the first time. In the four weeks ended 24 December, total sales increased 7.9% year-on-year. These “record” results were driven by a strong growth in beer, wine and spirit sales, as well as a “surge”…
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