Year: 2019

Lululemon sees Q1 sales surge 20%

Athleisure brand Lululemon has posted a 20% increase in Q1 net revenues to $782.3m (£617m). For the period ending 5 May 2019 the company revealed comparable store sales increased 6%, while direct to consumer net revenue increased 33%. Direct to consumer net revenue represented 26.8% of its total net revenue…

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Asos brings models to customers’ homes with new Virtual Catwalk

Online fashion retailer Asos has today (14 June) announced the launch of ‘Virtual Catwalk’, its first augmented reality (AR) experience. Available now through the Asos app on iOS 11.3 devices and above globally, the Virtual Catwalk test will run on 100 new-in Asos Design products. Simply by pointing their smartphone…

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The future of till-free shopping

When we’re used to hauling our shopping out of the basket and placing tins, packets and bottles on a conveyor belt or self-checkout counter, it’s going to be a little strange getting used to being waved through by a security guard without any interaction at the checkout. This vision of…

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Iceland earnings down 8.7% following ‘disappointing’ first half

Frozen food supermarket Iceland has reported an 8.7% drop in adjusted EBITDA to £140.1m, down £13.4m, for the year ending 29 March 2019. The group said the reduction occurred entirely in the first half of the year and reflected sales performance, increased staffing costs as a result of the rise…

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Amazon and Morrisons expand Prime partnership

Online retailer Amazon, has expanded its Prime partnership with supermarket chain Morrisons, moving into five cities later this year. Morrisons at Amazon, is a same day, online home delivery service, currently available to Amazon Prime Now customers in Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, and parts of London and the home counties. Customers…

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Lidl to open first central London store amid £500m expansion

Lidl has announced a £500m expansion plan for London, which will see the grocer open its first store in the West End. The investment is planned for the next five years, and will enable Lidl to open over 40 new outlets in London, including in Alperton, East Acton, Hackbridge and…

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Six tips to utilise the government’s R&D tax credit scheme

Research and development (R&D) tax credits are a government incentive designed to reward UK companies for investing in innovation. However, many retailers are not aware of the full extent of the areas that qualify as R&D and could potentially be missing out on thousands of pounds worth of tax credits.…

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Majestic Wine records loss as focus switches to online

Wine retailer Majestic Wine, has recorded an £8.5m loss for the financial year up 2 April, in spite of a 6.3% increase in reported revenue to £506.1m. Alongside the stores impairment charge, the retailer also invested extra funds into its online company Naked Wines. The extra investment saw, revenue at…

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Tesco Q1 sales slow amid ‘subdued’ UK market

Tesco has reported Q1 like-for-like sales growth of 0.2% attributed to what it calls a “subdued” UK market. For the 13 week period ending 25 May 2019, group sales reached £13.9bn. In the UK the Big Four grocer saw like-for-like sales increase by 0.2% to £9.1bn. Despite the slowdown Tesco…

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Businesses rates to better reflect property value under new law

Business rates payers in England will have bills that more accurately reflect current property values under new legislation introduced by ministers yesterday (12 June 2019). Property revaluations will increase to every three years, from the current five years, and the next revaluation will be brought forward a year from 2022…

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