Year: 2019

Bailiffs visit 310 premises a day over business rates, study finds

Councils across England are sending bailiffs to 310 companies a day over business rates arrears, new figures show. The investigation by the real estate adviser Altus Group revealed that, during the last financial year, for 2018/19, over 78,000 non-domestic properties from shops to restaurants to pubs to factories to offices…

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Thomas Cook shutters 600 retail stores amid company collapse

British tour operator Thomas Cook has announced that all of the companies in its group, including Thomas Cook Airlines, have ceased trading, leaving over 21,000 staff out of work. As a result, all 600 of Thomas Cook’s retail shops have now closed, and comes after the company was denied a…

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Resurrecting Retail through Improvement of Customer Service

The retail sector is used to bustling sales and packed shoppers during bank holiday weekends. However, the latest data showed a sharp drop of 1.9% in footfall on bank holiday Monday compared to August 2018. Why has this decline occurred? Why are high streets failing to generate equal or higher…

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Eve Sleep issues profit warning as Simba merger talks end

Mattress retailer Eve Sleep has issued a profit warning, after merger talks with Simba Sleep, first announced on 12 August, have collapsed. The group’s board said it decided that now is “not the right time to pursue the potential merger” and that it was more appropriate to focus on its…

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High Court rejects legal challenge against Debenhams CVA

The High Court has rejected the legal challenge against Debenhams proposed CVA, which was funded by Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct. The challenge was made by the Combined Property Control Group (CPC) – the landlord of six Debenhams stores in England as it argued the CVA was “designed to create a…

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Next profits boosted by continued online growth in H1

Fashion retailer Next has recorded a 2.7% rise in profits for the 26 weeks to July 2019, aided by a 12.6% increase in online sales.  Pre-tax profits for the first half of the year were £319.6m compared with £311.1m for the same period last year. Total brand sales also increased…

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How investing in brand ambassadors can help boost your bottom line

Most shopping still happens in-store rather than online, but it is clear that online shopping is a significant growth engine so stores need to do more to drive footfall. Respondents to Zebra’s 2019 Shopper Vision Study said the top two factors that get them to spend more time in brick-and-mortar…

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Hammerson’s Grand Central New Street Mall to receive £2m refurb

Hammerson is planning a £2m upgrade to its Birmingham New Street Mall, as part of a phased project which will include “significant internal upgrades”. The refurbishment will also see a more “vibrant and engaging” entrance to its flagship destination. The first phase of the project will be delivered in October,…

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CMA extends inquiry into JD Sports’ acquisition of Footasylum

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has extended its inquiry into JD Sports’ acquisition of Footasylum, with the regulator warning it could lead to a “worse deal for customers”.   The CMA report noted concerns that the loss of competition brought about by the merger could result in “higher prices, worse…

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Retail sales see ‘modest’ growth in August

Retail sales grew by a “modest” 2.9% in August compared with the same month last year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The year-on-year growth rate shows that the quantity bought in August 2019 increased by 2.7%, which the ONS said is a “slowdown” compared with the stronger…

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