Year: 2019

Is retail cashing out on PoS?

Last month saw Sainsbury launch the UK’s first till-free store, with its Holborn Circus store in London undergoing a complete refurbishment to remove the checkout area and tills. The three-month trial at the store, where 82% of transactions were cashless prior to the start of the trial, allows shoppers to…

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Pets at Home revenues soar as retailer increases market share

Pets at Home has announced it has seen revenues soar in its full-year results to March 2019. Total group revenue at the pet retailer rose by 6.9% to £961m, while profit before tax rose by 6.1% year-on-year up to £89.7m. Revenue at the firm’s vet group jumped up by 13.1%…

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M&S sales and profits fall as turnaround continues

Marks and Spencer has reported a fall in both sales and profits, with the latter down nearly 10%, as it continues its turnaround plan. The embattled retailer revealed in the year ending 31 March pre-tax profits before one off items were £523.2m, down from £580.9m the previous year. Marks and…

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Online retail sales see subdued growth in April

Online retail sales saw sales growth of just 5.2% year-on-year (YoY) in April, according to the latest IMRG Capgemini eRetail Sales Index. The group said this compares “poorly” to the strong performance seen in April of last year (+12.5%), but continued an ongoing trend of subdued growth seen since the…

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Elle to launch childrenswear brand

Clothing retailer, Elle has announced it is to launch a childrenswear brand across all of its European stores in partnership with international licence partner Brand Machine Group (BMG). The license agreement between BMG and Elle operator Lagardère Active Enterprises (LAE) enables BMG to design, manufacture and market the Elle childrenswear…

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Halfords sees FY profits drop 17.9%

Halfords has reported a 17.9% drop in annual profits and has warned that “fragile” consumer confidence means it expects a flat outcome in its new financial year. The car parts and bicycle retailer announced its preliminary results for the 52 weeks ended 29 March 2019 that profit before tax was…

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Retail landlords must stay focused in the face of CVAs

Recently announcing its restructuring plans, Debenhams has joined a long line of casualties for the UK High Street. With the culture of company voluntary arrangements (CVAs) still apparent, it is often the commercial landlords who find themselves left high and dry, faced with losing tenants and slashes to their rental…

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WH Smith CEO to step down

WH Smith’s group chief executive, Stephen Clarke has announced he is stepping down from his role on 31 October 2019, after 15 years with the company. The newsagent also announced that Carl Cowling will be appointed as group chief executive as successor to Clarke, as part of its long-term succession…

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M&S speeds up store closures

Marks and Spencer has announced it is to speed up its store closure plans by two years, as it looks to close 100 stores by 2020. The announcement comes as chairman Archie Norman and chief executive Steve Rowe prepare to unveil another slump in annual profits on Wednesday, according to…

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JD Sports’ takeover of Footasylum to be investigated by CMA

The CMA has announced it is investigating the completed acquisition by JD Sports of Footasylum. The CMA said it has “reasonable grounds” for suspecting that it may be the case that JD Sports and Footasylum have “ceased to be distinct”. It added that the merger may be expected to result…

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