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.
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Apr- 2019 -29 April
Retail rents fall as pressure on sector continues
High street shop prime rents fell by 1% in the first quarter of the year, according to real estate company CBRE’s latest Prime Rent and Yield Monitor. This indicated an acceleration of the falls reported in Q3 (0.4%) and Q4 (0.4%) of 2018. Shopping centre prime rents fell 1.3% over…
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26 April
Debenhams to close 22 stores with 1,200 jobs at risk
Department store chain, Debenhams has announced it is to close 22 stores putting 1,200 jobs at risk. The closures come as part of a revival plan for the department store laid out by lenders including Barclays and Bank of Ireland. Terry Duddy, Debenhams executive chairman, said: “Debenhams has a clear…
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26 April
Laura Ashley shares tumble 20% amid fresh profit warning
Laura Ashley has seen its shares tumble 20% in early trading after it issued a profit warning indicating figures will fall “significantly below market expectations”. While at the time of writing shares have recovered slightly and now sit at 9.6% down from opening, the news follows the release of its…
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26 April
Retail sales growth picks up for first time in five months
Retail sales grew for the first time since November 2018 in the year to April, according to the latest monthly Confederation of British Industry (CBI) Distributive Trades Survey. The survey of 110 firms, of which 55 were retailers, showed that sales volumes rose for the first time in five months,…
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26 April
Shop Direct protects 200 jobs with Raven Mill deal
Shop Direct has transferred its returns activity at its Raven Mill site over to logistics company Clipper Logistics in a move which will see 200 jobs safeguarded. The logistics firm will operate on behalf of Shop Direct at the 215,000 square foot site near Oldham, Lancashire. Clipper Logistics will operate…
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26 April
Amazon’s profits double in record results
Amazon.com has posted record profits of $3.6bn (£2.8bn) – up from last year’s $1.6bn (£1.2bn) – for the 13 weeks ended March 31 2019. The online retail giant’s net sales increased 17% to $59.7bn (£46.2bn) in the first quarter, compared with $51bn ($39bn) in 2018. Despite its record results, the…
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25 April
Shareholders approve JD Sports’ £90m Footasylum takeover
JD Sports has announced its £90.1m Footasylum takeover has been given the go-ahead by shareholders, after it was voted through at a meeting on 12 April. Over 78 million Footasylum shareholders voted for the JD Sports deal, which is said to represent around 75% of the retailer’s capital. Following the…
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25 April
CMA blocks Sainsbury’s-Asda merger
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has blocked the Sainsbury’s-Asda merger after finding it would lead to “increased prices in stores, online and at many petrol stations across the UK”. The merger was said to be worth around £12bn and would have seen the grocer’s leapfrog Tesco as the country’s…
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25 April
74,400 retail jobs lost in first three months of 2019
The retail sector saw a 2.4% year-on-year drop in the number of employees in the first quarter of this year, equating to a loss of 74,400 jobs. According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), this is a higher reduction than the 2.2% drop seen in 2018. The trade organisation said…
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25 April
Online retail sees ‘subdued’ growth in March
Online retail recorded growth of just 5% year-on-year (YoY) in March, compared with 18.9% last year, according to the latest IMRG Capgemini eRetail Sales Index. While still positive growth, the “subdued performance” fell significantly below the three (+7.5%), six (+7.1%) and 12- (+10.2%) month rolling averages. Breaking it down further,…
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