Year: 2019

M&S to open 60,000 sq ft store in Nottingham near year

Marks and Spencer will open a new 60,000 sq ft store at British Land’s Giltbrook Retail Park, Nottingham, in the summer of 2020. The announcement comes less than two weeks before M&S opens a major new store in Cornwall – it’s first clothing store opening in the South West for…

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Walmart offloads Asda pensions amid IPO plans

Asda owner Walmart has reportedly struck a deal to offload £3.8bn worth of pension liabilities as it eyes a potential IPO. According to Sky News, Walmart and Asda’s pension trustees have agreed a deal with specialist insurer of corporate retirement schemes Rothesay Life. The move will see the company take…

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Retail footfall plummets as autumn begins

Footfall in non-food stores fell by 9.9% year-on-year in September, according to the Retail Traffic Index published by Ipsos Retail Performance. Compared with August, the average weekly footfall in the month fell by -7.3%. Additionally, the number of shoppers visiting the high street in London and the south east continued…

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Throwaway Halloween costumes to produce 2,000 tonnes of plastic waste

An estimated 2,000 tonnes of plastic waste will be generated from throwaway Halloween clothing and accessories, sold by leading retailers in the UK, research suggests. The study estimates that this is equivalent by weight of waste plastic to 83 million bottles.  An investigation by Hubbard, an environmental charity, estimated that…

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Asda denies claims that it will fire staff for not signing new contract

‘Big Four’ grocer Asda has hit back at claims that it will lay off staff for failing to sign a new contract. Asda said comments from the GMB’s national officers, Gary Carter, around Asda colleagues being sacked due to commitments outside work are “untrue”, after Carter said the contract changes…

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UK shoppers wasting £641m a year not returning unwanted goods

As much as £641m is being wasted each year from shoppers buying online goods they don’t want and failing to return them, according to a new report from marketing agency Gekko. The survey of 2,000 UK adults conducted by One Poll on behalf of Gekko revealed that 27% of respondents…

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M&S CFO Humphrey Singer to depart on 31 December

Marks and Spencer has announced that Humphrey Singer will step down from his role as CFO on 31 December. The departure was announced last month after Jill McDonald, managing director of clothing, home and beauty, also departed from the company after less than 2 years.  Singer began his retail career…

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Using data to take in-store shopper psychology to the next level

As shoppers, we all know the tactics retailers use to entice us to spend more. There’s the visually appealing, uncluttered entrance of a fashion retailer that captures the imagination and gets us into store. Or the deliberate positioning of bread and milk at the back of a supermarket to ensure…

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WH Smith to acquire US travel retailer in £312m deal

WH Smith has agreed a deal to acquire US-based travel retailer Marshall Retail Group (MRG) in a £312m deal. WH Smith said that the acquisition of MRG represents a “rare and compelling opportunity to accelerate its expansion in the large and fast growing US travel retail market”. The transaction is…

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Jessops owner preparing to call in administrators

Dragon’s Den star Peter Jones, owner of camera retailer Jessops, is planning to call in administrators in an attempt to save the embattled chain. According to Sky News, JR Prop Limited which manages the retailers leasehold estate, is looking to appoint restructuring advisory firm, Resolve, as the administrator. Sky News…

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