Year: 2019

Inventive independent retailers attract cautious customers

We’ve been hit with a barrage of reports that suggest big box retail is struggling to keep up with changes to the high street. In July, the British Retail Consortium released data that found retailers experienced their worst month of trading since records began, as Brexit, consumer spending and discounting…

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Halfords sales fall 3.9% amid poor weather and consumer confidence

Halfords has reported a 3.9% drop in revenues for the 20-week period ending 16 August, after it revealed “wetter weather” and “weak consumer confidence” impacted sales. Like-for-like revenue at a group level declined by 3.2% in the period, with retail sales falling 3.9% and motoring by 5.9%. Halfords said while…

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M&S to be relegated from FTSE 100

Marks and Spencer is set to be removed from the FTSE 100 for the first time since the index launched 35 years ago, after its market value fell below the threshold for inclusion, with an announcement expected to be made later today (4 September).   The retailer’s exclusion was confirmed by…

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UK back to school market to reach £1.7bn

UK shoppers are set to spend £1.7bn on back to school items in 2019, with the market forecast to grow by 1.5%, according to research by GlobalData. Stationary and school accessories are expected to be the fastest-growing categories in the back to school market, at 2.0% and 1.9%, respectively. The…

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Sports Direct wants to ‘eliminate Debenhams as a competitor’, court hears

Sports fashion retailer Sports Direct is reportedly seeking to “eliminate Debenhams as a competitor” by funding a lawsuit which would push it back into administration, the High Court heard on Monday. At the court hearing, Debenham’s lawyer, Tom Smith QC, said the retailer believed Sports Direct was “backing the case…

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Fast fashion and the role that retailers have to play in tackling it

The fashion industry has never been without its critics, but today it seems to be drowning in them. PETA’s iconic ‘I’d rather go naked than wear fur’ billboard campaign of the early nineties, when the likes of Kim Basinger, Pamela Anderson and Christy Turlington were persuaded to get their kit…

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Retail sales ‘flatline’ as discounting and poor footfall ‘hit hard’

Retail sales “flatlined” in August according to the BRC-KPMG sales monitor, as summer discounting and “poor” footfall hitting in-store sales “particularly hard”. On a total basis, sales were found to be flat in August, against an increase of 1.3% in August 2018. This is above the 3-month average of -0.4%…

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Arcadia COO resigns after 25 years at the group

Arcadia has confirmed that COO David Shepherd has resigned following 25 years at the group. He had begun his career on the shop floor before working his way up to oversee the running of Topman. He took on the COO role in 2012. According to a filing on Companies House,…

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Debenhams engages Deloitte for legal challenge against CVA

Debenhams has engaged ‘Big Four’ accounting and audit firm Deloitte in preparation to fight a legal challenge to its restructuring plan. In May, the retailer secured the backing from creditors to go ahead with a company voluntary arrangement (CVA), which earmarked 50 sites for closure and approved rent reductions at…

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Retail business rates could rise by £169m over the next 12 months

Retailers could see a £169m increase in business rates next year, prompting renewed calls for the government to overhaul the system. Calculations by real estate advisors Altus Group found gross business rates bills (including non-retail) for the financial year 2020/21 would increase by £662.15m in England, if the headline rate…

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