Black Friday
This coverage examines Black Friday’s impact on the UK retail sector, focusing on sales performance, promotional strategies, consumer trends, supply chain pressures, and operational planning. Reporting provides insights into how retailers prepare for and execute campaigns, manage demand, and assess outcomes — offering valuable context for executives and managers navigating peak trading periods.
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Jan- 2025 -13 JanuaryNews-In-Brief
Today’s news in brief-13/1/25
Asda announced a significant overhaul of its operations, cutting 13 regional manager roles and consolidating management of supermarkets and express stores into 22 sub-regions from 30. The changes, driven by poor Christmas performance with a 5.8% drop in sales and a decline in market share to 12.5%, mark Allan Leighton’s…
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13 JanuaryHealth & Beauty
Boots sales rise 8.1% in Q1
Boots has delivered a “strong” first quarter with total comparable retail sales up 8.1% YoY for the three months ended 30 November 2024. The UK’s leading health and beauty retailer saw growth across all categories and channels, on top of a “significant increase” in the prior year. Boots’ digital sales…
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10 JanuaryNews-In-Brief
Today’s news in brief-10/1/25
Shein is reportedly planning a London IPO by mid-2025, with Easter 20 April as a possible completion date if regulatory approval is secured. Rachel Reeves, UK Shadow Chancellor, is visiting China for economic talks, accompanied by Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority head, potentially advancing Shein’s IPO progress. Meanwhile, scrutiny from MPs…
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10 JanuaryFeatures
From comedy to commerce: Vix Leyton on the data that drives retail
In the fast-paced, data-driven world of retail analytics, Vix Leyton, Head of Content at Pepper.com, stands out for her unique career journey and dual life as a stand-up comedian. In a candid interview, Leyton shared her insights on the industry’s evolution, the trends that defined 2023, and where the retail…
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10 JanuarySupermarkets
Sainsbury’s to raise staff pay after Christmas sales increase
Sainsbury’s has announced that it is set to increase staff pay after it saw its sales rise 3.7% for the 16 weeks ended 4 January 2025. Alongside this, Sainsbury’s saw its festive period sales rise 3.8% in the 6 weeks ended 4 January. As a result, the supermarket will split…
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9 JanuaryNews-In-Brief
Today’s news in brief-9/1/25
The BRC-Nielsen IQ Shop Price Index showed shop price deflation at 1% in early December, up from 0.6% the previous month, reflecting strong discounting tied to a later Black Friday. Non-food prices fell sharply by 2.4%, though food inflation remained steady at 1.8%, its lowest since December 2021. BRC CEO…
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9 JanuaryEntertainment
Hornby sales rise by 7% in Q3
International models and collectibles group, Hornby, has seen its sales rise 7% for the third quarter to 31 December 2024. It comes despite the British Retail Consortium reporting that UK non-food sales decreased by 1.5% compared with the same period the year before. For the financial year to date, group…
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9 JanuaryEconomy
BRC warns of 2025 headwinds despite lower Xmas inflation
Consumers benefited from lower inflation for the week to 7 December 2024, according to the latest BRC-Nielsen IQ Shop Price Index, yet the British Retail Consortium anticipates fresh headwinds for the new year. The later timing of Black Friday in 2024 meant that the first week of December included the…
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8 JanuaryNews-In-Brief
Today’s news in brief-8/1/25
Home Bargains owner Tom Morris took home over £1bn in dividends as the discount retailer saw turnover rise 11.7% to £4.2bn in the year ending June 2024, driven by new store openings and re-sites. Operating profit also surged 34.2% to £434m. Morris, owning 98% of parent company TJ Morris, received…
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8 JanuaryHigh Street
Seasalt Cornwall sales jump by 10% over Xmas season
Seasalt Cornwall has reported that total sales rose by 10% across its website, physical stores, marketplace partners and wholesale channels during the five-week period to 28 December 2024 compared with the same period last year. According to the clothing retailer, every one of its trading channels has set new records…
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