Brexit
This coverage examines the impact of Brexit on the UK retail sector, with reporting on trade agreements, tariffs, supply chain disruptions, labour market changes, and regulatory adjustments. Insights are tailored to retail managers and executives assessing how post-Brexit developments shape operations, costs, and strategic planning within the industry.
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Oct- 2020 -1 OctoberSport & Leisure
Halfords raises expectations amid ‘positive momentum’
Halfords has announced that its pre-tax profit in the first half of the year is now expected to be in excess of £55m, following continued “positive” momentum in its cycling and motoring business. Its previous 20-week trading update on 8 September highlighted an “improving growth trend” throughout the period, reflecting…
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Sep- 2020 -28 SeptemberEconomy
£3bn tariff ahead for UK retailers and consumers, warns BRC
Supermarkets and their customers could face £3bn a year of tariffs on food and drink if a free trade deal is not agreed between the UK and the EU before 1st January 2020, The BRC has warned In its report the association said an average increase in tariffs of 20%…
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16 SeptemberCoronavirus
Keir Starmer backs Usdaw’s call for government support
Retail trade union Usdaw has welcomed Keir Starmer’s backing for targeted government support to help save jobs and businesses in the retail sector. It comes as the Labour leader spoke to the annual Trades Union Congress, where he paid tribute to retail workers and “lamented that they remain overworked, underpaid…
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7 SeptemberCoronavirus
60% of mid-sized businesses plan redundancies, BDO finds
More than half (60%) of the UK’s medium-sized businesses are planning redundancies as a result of the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme coming to an end in October, according to new research from accountancy and business advisory firm, BDO. BDO’s monthly Rethinking the Economy survey of 500 medium-sized businesses across…
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3 SeptemberEconomy
UK small business sector ‘plagued’ by late payment issues
UK freelancers and small business owners continue to be plagued by the problem of late payment, according to new research by cloud accounting software company Freeagent. Analysis of over two million invoices sent by FreeAgent customers between January 2019 and June 2020 has revealed the “startling impact” of late payment…
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Aug- 2020 -25 AugustDepartment Stores
DFS trading remains ‘strong’ despite lockdown
DFS announced today it is continuing to trade “strongly” both online and in showrooms despite the economic downturn, with year-on-year intake growth over the last six weeks that is equivalent to approximately £70m of revenues. This trading is “significantly” ahead of the furniture retailer’s initial expectations, with its previously announced…
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Jul- 2020 -14 JulyComment
Risk, regulation and reputation: The three ‘R’s for retailers
The three ‘R’s are the building blocks for our children’s education. The joy of re-visiting these as a parent-teacher in lockdown has not been unbridled, but a necessary and worthwhile investment that will hopefully reap dividends. Retailers devising survival strategies likewise need a diligent focus on the three ‘R’s of…
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Jun- 2020 -25 JuneComment
Is it time retailers challenged digital transformation?
I think we have all heard enough about how quickly we have adapted to working from home, the constant play on words of “new normal”, “next normal”, “old normal” (whatever that means) and the “I told you so” smugness of digital transformation agencies (yes, I am from one of them!)…
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3 JuneHigh Street
28 Oddbins stores saved from administration by unnamed buyer
Off-license retail chain Oddbins has seen 28 of its stores saved from administration by an unnamed buyer. It comes as Philip Duffy and Matthew Ingram, both of Duff and Phelps, announced the sale of a “substantial part” of the business and assets of Whittalls Wine Merchants and associated companies which…
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May- 2020 -11 MayComment
From dark store to hybrid store – adapting to a new world order
It’s safe to say the embattled UK high street had a rocky start to the year, with a reported 18,248 retail jobs lost and 1,211 shops closed in the first two months of the year alone. In fact, in February, the high street saw a 7.8% drop in footfall, as…
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