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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Nov- 2018 -29 November
The Range bans under-18s from shopping alone in its stores
Homewares retailer The Range has banned under-18s from shopping alone in its stores, “due to the products on sale in store”. A backlash began in Wales after two 17-year-olds were kicked out of the chain’s Rhyl store whilst shopping for Christmas presents. The teenagers’ mother, Karen Jayne, took to the…
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29 November
Hammerson completes £236m Highcross sale
Hammerson has completed the sale of its 50% stake in Highcross shopping centre in Leicester to an Asian investor introduced by M&G Real Estate for £236m. The sale price represents a 5% discount to the December 2017 book value. The transaction comes after a successful standard EU competition clearance and…
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29 November
Wilko appoints former Asda boss as chief commercial officer
Homewares retailer Wilko has appointed Andrew Moore as chief commercial officer and executive board director, who will join the group at the beginning of December. Moore was most recently senior vice president and chief merchandising officer at Asda in charge of a multi-billion-pound portfolio of merchandise across all Asda trading…
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29 November
Whittaker-led consortium abandons £2.8bn Intu offer
John Whittaker’s consortium has decided to scrap its bid to acquire Intu Properties following three extensions blaming the “uncertainty around current macroeconomic conditions” and the “potential near-term volatility across markets”. On 4 October 2018 a consortium comprising the Peel Group, the Olayan Group and Brookfield Property Group announced they were…
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28 November
Primark, Topshop and ASOS defend practices in Parliament
Primark, Arcadia, ASOS were among some of the retailers who had executives and representatives appear before the Environmental Audit Committee to answer questions on sustainability in their businesses. This was part of the Environmental Audit Committee’s ongoing inquiry into the sustainability of the fashion industry. Representatives from Marks and Spencer,…
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28 November
Missguided inspectors ‘chased out’ of factory by workers
Clothing retailer, Missguided’s head of product quality Paul Smith, has said the company’s inspectors were “chased out” of a supplier’s factory by workers after asking questions about their sourcing. Smith also claimed his staff had been threatened and assaulted by workers at the Leicester factory. He said: “These were people…
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28 November
Retail sales warm in November
Retail sales growth picked up in the year to November after growth largely stalled in October, according to figures from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). However, the group said retailers are “feeling the pinch”, with continued weakness in investment intentions, employment, and business optimism. That’s according to the latest…
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28 November
H&M to scrap Cheap Monday brand leaving 80 jobs affected
H&M has announced it is to close down its Cheap Monday brand blaming “a negative trend in the Cheap Monday’s sales and profits over a long time”. The fashion retailer said the fashion industry is “in a period of extensive change as a result of ongoing digitalisation” and as such…
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27 November
Quiz shrugs off ‘challenging market conditions’ with strong revenue growth
Fashion brand Quiz had revealed strong revenue growth across all channels for the six months ending 30 September 2018. Despite “challenging external market conditions”, the retailer reported a group revenue increase of 19% to £66.7m, compared with £56.1m in 2017, and EBITDA increased by 11% to £5.6m for the period.…
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27 November
Esprit to cut 40% of non-store jobs and reduce product line
Esprit has announced it is to cut 40% of non-store jobs and reduce its product line by 30% as part of a restructuring attempt following tough competition from fast-fashion and online retailers. On Monday (26 November) the retailer said in an investor presentation that it had “lost touch” with its…
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