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 -14 January
Footfall drops for 13th consecutive month in December
Footfall declined for the 13th consecutive month in December, despite heavy discounting by retailers during the festive period. Overall footfall declined by 2.6% in the month, although this is a lesser decline compared to the previous year when it fell sharply by 3.5%. High street footfall declined by 2.1%,…
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14 January
New Look reveals plan to slash debt to £350m
High street retailer New Look has announced it has reached an ‘in principle’ debt-for-equity swap proposal with key stakeholders to reduce its debt by 80%. The fashion chain is seeking to cut its debt from £1.35bn to £350m and issue new bonds to raise £150m in capital. It also expects…
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11 January
Tesco and M&S stockpile tinned food in prep for Brexit
Tesco and Marks and Spencer have announced they are stockpiling long-life foods in preparation of a no-deal Brexit. The ‘big four’ grocer’s chief executive Dave Lewis revealed that “sensible” contingency planning was underway and the company had been holding talks with its suppliers about increasing stocks of long-life groceries. However…
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11 January
Boohoo falls foul of ASA again over fur pom poms
Online retailer, Boohoo, has been reprimanded by the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) again after it was found to be advertising a jumper as “faux fur” which had pom poms that were in fact made from real fur. The advert stated the item of clothing on sale was a “faux fur…
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11 January
B&M shrugs off Christmas retail woes with strong revenue growth
Bargain retailer B&M has reported a 12.1% increase in group sales revenue growth for the 13 weeks to 29 December 2018. UK sales revenue for the period also increased by 4.5% to £874.5m, compared with £837m last year, however, life-for-like sales decreased by 1.6%, against the increase of 3.9% in…
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11 January
Quiz issues profit warning
Fashion brand Quiz has issued a profit warning despite an 8.4% increase in group revenue in the six-week period from 25 November 2018 to 5 January 2019 against the comparable period last year. This was below anticipated revenues and resulted in a “higher than anticipated” level of discounting to clear…
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10 January
Debenhams chairman ousted by Mike Ashley
The chairman of Debenhams, Sir Ian Cheshire, has resigned with immediate effect after Mike Ashley and other shareholders voted him off the board at the company’s AGM. It is understood Sports Direct, which is controlled by Mike Ashley and is a 29.7% shareholder in the business, along with Dubai-based Landmark, another…
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10 January
John Lewis staff face missing out on bonus for first time since 1953
John Lewis staff could lose their share of the department store giant’s profit for the first time since 1953. Traditionally, John Lewis pays a share of its profit to its 83,000 workers, however this has been brought into doubt after the retailer said it would “consider carefully” whether the bonus…
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10 January
Worst Christmas for retail in a decade, says the BRC
The retail sector has seen its worst Christmas performance in 10 years, despite a number of businesses reporting positive trading for the period. According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), over the festive period retail sales growth was at 0% for the first time in 28 months as “squeezed customers”…
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10 January
Debenhams suffers sales struggle over Christmas
Department store chain Debenhams has reported a 3.4% drop in group like-for-like (LFL) sales for the six weeks to 5 January. Group gross transaction value for the period declined by 3.8%, and and overall UK sales declined by 3.6%, with weak store footfall offset by growth in digital. For the…
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