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 -10 January
Tesco reports strong sales over Christmas period
Tesco has beaten City forecasts with a 2.6% increase in like-for-like sales over the six week period ending 5 January. Tesco attributed the growth to its ‘Festive 5’ vegetable offer which proved popular with customers, selling 19.7 million units over the three weeks to Christmas. It also experienced like-for-like sales…
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10 January
M&S sales drop amid ‘difficult’ market
Marks and Spencer has reported a 2.7% drop in its total sales for the 13 weeks to 29 December 2018. Its clothing and home sales saw a 4.8% decline and its food performed slightly better, but still saw a drop with a 1.2% decrease. The retailer said reducing customer confidence…
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9 January
Mothercare sales plunge 11.4% during third quarter
Embattled retailer Mothercare has reported an 11.4% drop in UK like-for-like sales in its Q3 trade update, which covered the 13 week period to 5 January 2019. According to the group the results reflect a combination of the “difficult consumer backdrop” and the “aggressive discounting activity undertaken in the prior…
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9 January
Sainsbury’s Q3 sales decline 1.1% due to ‘cautious’ customers
Sainsbury’s has reported a 1.1% decline in like-for-like sales during its third quarter which it has attributed to “cautious customer spending”. During the 15 week period ending 5 January the ‘big four’ grocer experienced a 0.4% increase in grocery sales, however this was offset by a by 2.3% and 0.2%…
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9 January
HMV ‘denied’ £3.35m tax lifeline before administration
Beleaguered music and film retailer, HMV, who officially fell into administration during the festive period, was denied a £3.35m government tax cut before it entered administration new figures have revealed. HMV blamed a “tsunami” of retail challenges, including business rate levels, saying it paid £15m on sales of £277m meaning…
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9 January
Ted Baker announces 12% Christmas sales rise
Ted Baker has announced a 12.2% retail sales rise for the five weeks leading up to 5 January 2019. The fashion label said it had achieved the positive figures despite “a backdrop of increased promotional activity”. The brand said it had also seen an increase in e-commerce sales of 18.7%…
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8 January
Footasylum issues profit warning after ‘challenging’ Christmas trading conditions
Footwear retailer, Footasylum has issued a profit warning following “challenging trading conditions” during the festive period. Footasylum said it would cut costs after it changed expectations for gross margin in the 2019 financial year, despite revenue still expected to remain as forecast. The retailer blamed “market backdrop, promotional activity and…
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8 January
Morrisons posts fourth consecutive year of Christmas growth
Supermarket giant Morrisons’ group like-for-like sales increased by 3.6% for the nine weeks to 6 January 2019, its fourth consecutive Christmas of growth. The figure comprises contributions from retail of 0.6% and wholesale of 3%, with total sales also up 4% excluding fuel (3.8% including fuel). In a statement Morrisons…
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8 January
Missguided posts £46.7m loss
Online fashion retailer Missguided has posted a £46.7m loss in its financial results for the 53 weeks ending 1 April 2018 in what it described as an “extremely challenging” year. This is compared with a loss of £1.6m in the 2017. The company said its profitability was “severely impacted” by…
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8 January
Joules continues to defy retail gloom over festive period
Joules has continued to defy the retail gloom with an 11.7% sales increase over the festive period. During the seven weeks ending 6 January the clothing and lifestyle retailer said that online sales attributed to almost half of all sales. Joules said the performance was driven through its own digital…
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