Year: 2019

LK Bennett enters administration

High-end fashion retailer, LK Bennett has announced it has entered administration. The retailer had lined up administrators EY to undertake the process earlier this week, and earlier today (7 March) LK Bennett’s website announced it was no longer accepting customer orders. The company, founded by Linda Bennett, in 1990, has…

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Are retailers too focused on Christmas advertising?

Now we are almost a quarter of our way into 2019, it’s interesting to look back at retailers’ advertising techniques from the festive season. Nowadays, Christmas wouldn’t be complete without the anticipated launch of retailers’ blockbuster ads – for 2018, John Lewis collaborated with Elton John and Sainsbury’s aired a…

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John Lewis profits fall to £160m

John Lewis has slashed its employees’ annual bonus to 3% as the department store recorded a 45.4% drop in underlying profits to £160m from £292.8m the year before. In the company’s unaudited results for the year ending 26 January 2019, it attributed its drop in profits to the “significant” operating…

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Quiz shares plunge following sales ‘shortfall’

Quiz, the omni‐channel fashion brand, has seen its shares plummet after it announced it will launch a “thorough review” of its business following a “significant shortfall” in sales. At the time of writing shares, in Quiz have fallen by 50% after it revealed in a trading update covering the 1…

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Year-on-year decline in number of retailers using Amazon

The use of third-party platforms such as Amazon, eBay and Google has dropped amongst the UK’s top 250 retailers, according to an industry report. The statistics were included within an annual retail performance index carried out by e-commerce and digital agency, Visualsoft, which found that just 36% of retailers utilise…

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Smartphone now dominant device for buying online

For the first time, shoppers spent more money through their smartphones when accessing UK retail sites than either of the other two major device types – desktop or tablet – according to quarterly data from the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index. In Q4 2018/19 – which covers the festive period…

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Nine in 10 British people shop on Amazon

New research has revealed that almost nine in 10 British people are Amazon shoppers. According to the research by Mintel, more people have increased their shopping with the retailer than decreased it over the past year. Overall, 70% of Amazon customers shop with the retailer at least once a month,…

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Findel rejects Sports Direct’s takeover bid

Findel’s board of directors has unanimously rejected Sports Direct’s £139m bid it has, saying the offer “significantly undervalues” the company. The news comes after the company agreed to buy shares in Findel worth £9.7m, taking its stake in the Accrington-based business from 29.9% to 36.8%. Under takeover rules any investor…

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Holland and Barrett CEO exits

Holland and Barrett CEO Peter Aldis has stepped down after 10 years in the position, amid a leadership shake-up at the health and wellbeing retailer. According to the retailer, Aldis has had a “long and successful” career at Holland and Barrett, spanning over 29 years, during which, the company expanded…

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Ann Summers seduces former HoF and Game directors

Ann Summers has appointed Game’s chief marketing officer Natalie Amosu and House of Fraser’s former product and trading director Marian Collins, to newly created roles. Collins is expected to work with current managing director Vanessa Gold and chief executive Jacqueline Gold, while it is uncertain which department Amosu will work…

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