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 -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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7 January
Aldi posts ‘record’ Christmas sales
Budget supermarket chain Aldi has has reported sales of almost £1bn for the month of December 2018, 10% higher than the previous year. The group said the week commencing 17 December was Aldi’s “busiest-ever in the UK”, and added that the strong sales performance was driven by a “surge in…
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7 January
Morrisons to launch new vegan range off the back of 6% sales increase
Morrisons has announced a 6% total sales rise excluding fuel for the 13 week period to 4 November. The supermarket chain said sales growth had eased quarter-on-quarter “without the impact of the favourable weather and World Cup”. Like-for-like sales excluding fuel at Morrisons were up by 5.6%, the supermarket said…
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7 January
Dunelm posts 9% revenue surge over festive period
Homeware retailer Dunelm has posted a 9% increase in total like-for-like revenues during the 13-week period ending 29 December, including a 5.7% increase in stores. Dunelm also reported a 37.9% increase in online sales although the company added that it remains “cautious” over its outlook given the “ongoing uncertainty in…
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7 January
Retail administrations rise for second consecutive year
The number of retailers entering into administration in 2018 was 125 – compared to 118 in 2017, an increase of 6% according to Deloitte’s latest insolvency figures. Furthermore, the number of retailers entering into company voluntary arrangements (CVAs) increased by 52%, from 25 in 2017 to 38 in 2018. Deloitte’s…
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