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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Jan- 2019 -21 January
Vans and North Face owner raises FY forecasts amid revenue boost
VF Corporation (VFC), Vans and The North Face owner, has reported a Q3 4% total revenue growth in its EMEA region and has raised its FY 2019 expectations. In the three months ending December 2018 its Vans brand experienced a global increase of 27% and an 10% increase in its…
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21 January
Retail job losses to increase by 27,000, analysis suggests
Online retailers are having a “profound effect” on the commercial property market as the value in retail property is set to fall by 15.9% this year, new research has predicted. Furthermore, job losses and store closures have been forecasted to increase by 26,918 and 3,764 respectively compared with 2018 across…
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18 January
Moodys lowers Debenhams and New Look ratings
Financial services firm Moodys has changed the outlook for both New Look and Debenhams from stable to negative amid both retailer’s current financial troubles. Debenhams posted a poor Christmas trading update and is currently holding discussions to refinance its £320m revolving credit facility. The department store reported a 3.4% drop…
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18 January
John Lewis & Partners announce management shake-up
John Lewis & Partners has announced that Dino Rocos, partner and operations director, will retire at the end of May 2019 after 43 years with the business, According to the group, from the end of January until he retires Rocos will report directly to Patrick Lewis, group finance director for…
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18 January
New Look’s Belgium outfit files for insolvency
The board of New Look Retail Group has announced its Belgium arm (NLB) has filed for insolvency following a review of its financial and trading position. NLB, which currently operates six stores in Belgium, said its board concluded it is “unable to continue trading”, and has decided to therefore wind…
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17 January
StubHub reprimanded over rescheduling refunds
Online ticket retailer, StubHub has been reprimanded by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), after it had advertised that “every order is 100% guaranteed” with its ‘FanProtect’ scheme, however the ASA found that “refunds did not apply to rescheduled events”. The issue was raised when a complainant challenged whether the fact…
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17 January
Game reports Christmas sales growth amid ‘challenging trading climate’
Video game retailer Game has reported a 2% increase in life-for-like sales (LFL) for the seven week Christmas trading period ending 5 January 2019. LFL sales in the UK also increased by 1.1% for the 23 weeks to 5 January, and remained broadly flat over the Christmas period at -0.3%.…
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17 January
Primark store expansion boosts festive sales
Fashion retailer Primark recorded a 4% increase in sales over the festive period buoyed by the continued expansion of store space. In a trading update for the 16 weeks ending 5 January 2019, its parent company Associated British Foods (AB Foods) said sales growth was driven by increased retail selling…
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17 January
Smartphone shopping to reach record usage in 2019
In 2019, and for the first time ever, consumers will be as likely to shop on their smartphones as they would a laptop or desktop, according to research by price comparison and switching service, uSwitch.com. Shoppers plan to spend £25bn using their smartphones this year, a £10bn rise on 2018.…
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16 January
Build-A-Bear lowers UK trading expectations due to ‘significant’ Brexit challenges
Build-A-Bear has announced it has lowered its trading expectations for the UK due to “significant” challenges posed by uncertainty around Brexit. The retailer identified the EU’s GDPR laws as some of the factors causing uncertainty in its UK business. A statement by Build-A-Bear said its “sales decline will be largely…
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