Month: November 2019

Brexit woes and wet weather dampen October footfall

Retail footfall faced further decline in the month of October, according to new figures from the BRC-Springboard Footfall and Vacancies Monitor. Footfall in non-food stores fell -6.2% from October of the previous year, whilst shopper numbers fell significantly by -3.2%.  Reduced footfall was felt in all sectors of retail, across…

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Mamas and Papas to close six stores as it enters administration

Mamas and Papas has announced job cuts and store closures after it entered administration and sold to Bluegem Capital in a pre-pack administration deal. The private equity firm, which has owned Mamas and Papas since 2014, has regained control over the business’s assets thanks to the deal. The move will…

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Why retailers are responsible for customer experience this festive season

As retailers move into an annual festive shopping season that seems to arrive earlier each year, they would be wise to remember one particular lesson from Christmas past: when something goes wrong with their customers’ shopping experience, the retailer will get the blame, no matter who is actually at fault.…

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Royal Mail seeks injunction to block Christmas postal strike

Royal Mail has confirmed it is seeking a High Court injunction to stop the Communications Workers Union’s (CWU) planned postal strike in December, claiming it believes there are “potential irregularities” in the ballot. Last month, 97% of the workers union voted in favour of a nationwide strike claiming the postal…

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Halfords acquires garage chain amid profit plunge

Halfords has announced the acquisition of garage chain McConechy’s Tyre Service after closing a deal worth around £9.3m.  The deal, which will see Halfords acquire all 60 sites and 100 vans belonging to the independent chain, will now allow the retailer to operate in more than 900 service locations across…

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Art Peck steps down as Gap CEO

Gap has announced its chief executive officer Art Peck is to step down from the business effective immediately. Peck, who joined the clothing company in 2004 and has served as Gap’s CEO since 2015, will be succeeded by board member Robert Fisher, who will serve as interim CEO after a…

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Ikea UK sales top £2bn in 2019

Furniture retailer Ikea has announced that total annual sales in the UK have soared by 8% to £2.1bn for the year ended 31 August 2019. The retail giant said it has continued to “outperform” the market in home furnishings, with an increase to 9% in the company’s UK market share,…

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Sustainability Consumerism: How retailers are on the front line

We live in febrile times, and for once we are not talking about Brexit. Within the last year we have seen a global backlash against disposable plastics and mounting concern over climate change. Anxiety about deforestation, and especially the uncontrolled spread of industrial scale farming and ranching, also made the…

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Sainsbury’s profits plummet 91% in half-year results

‘Big Four’ grocer Sainsbury’s saw underlying profits slump by £41m to £238m for the six months to 21 September 2019. The retailer attributed the decline in profits to the combined impact of its £500m cost savings scheme and higher marketing costs. In addition to that, a series of store closures…

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Superdry reveals revenue drop amid ‘good progress’ in turnaround plan

Superdry has reported an 11% drop in revenues for the first half of the year but its returning chief executive hails the “good progress” it has made in its turnaround plan. For the 26-week period ending 26 October 2019, revenues reached £367.8m compared with £414.6m the previous year. Superdry said…

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