Christmas
This coverage explores the critical Christmas trading period in the UK retail sector, focusing on sales performance, promotional strategies, consumer trends, supply chain planning, and operational challenges. Reporting highlights how retailers prepare for and execute peak season campaigns to maximise revenue and manage demand. Designed for executives and managers, it provides insights into effective planning and competitive positioning during the festive season.
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Mar- 2018 -27 MarchNews
Easter chocolate launches rise by 23%
There has been a 23% rise in Easter chocolate product launches between March 2017 and February 2018. According to Mintel Global New Products Database (GNPD), Brazil accounted for 11% of global Easter chocolate product launches in 2017. Germany is also host to plenty of Easter chocolate innovation, sharing second place…
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19 MarchClothing & Shoes
Next expected to post profits drop, say analysts
Analysts have predicted that clothing chain Next will be latest retailer to report a fall in profits this Friday. It is expected that the 154-year-old company will report earnings of £725m – an 8% drop in annual pre-tax profits compared with last year’s figure of £790m. However, analysts also said…
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7 MarchDepartment Stores
Debenhams to rent flagship store space to hot-deskers
Debenhams is reportedly looking for a way to make use of its flagship store’s excess space by renting it to a working space company. The retailer is said to be in the early stage talks with hot-desking firm WeWork. The news comes after Debenhams chief executive Sergio Bucher announced plans…
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1 MarchEconomy
Shoppers shun high street for online as January sees strongest growth since 2013
Online retail delivery order volumes were up 20.6% year-on-year in January, according to the latest data from the IMRG MetaPack UK Delivery Index. This was the strongest January growth for online order volumes since 2013. During the same period, footfall fell to its lowest January rate in five years –…
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Feb- 2018 -28 FebruaryAnalysis
Cyber security threats in retail
Retailers have had little choice but to transform their IT infrastructure as customers increasingly move to online shopping and high street-based revenues decline. Retailers and most of their customer interactions and data are now online and as such, many retailers are adopting Cloud for some, or all, of their customer-facing…
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26 FebruaryHigh Street
Primark sales drop due to ‘unseasonably warm weather’
Sales at Primark took a hit in autumn following a spell of unseasonably warm weather, but the fashion retailer still expects profit growth to pick up this year. In the 24 weeks to March 3, Primark’s owner Associated British Foods (AB Foods) said like-for-like sales at Primark were expected to…
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22 FebruaryAdvice
An algorithmic approach to more personalised customer relationships
Personalisation in retail is not new – this is what retailers have been doing since the days of the little black book. However, machine learning and automation of marketing and loyalty communications are proving to be game changers in terms of delivering individual experiences, more efficiently. Increasingly we are seeing…
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21 FebruaryHigh Street
UK retailers ‘self-restricting’ growth due to limited payment options
The UK’s top retailers are limiting online sales potential by up to 30% by not offering a range of payment options. A study, carried out by ecommerce and digital agency Visualsoft, found that almost one in five (19%) of the UK’s top 240 retailers are failing to offer a payment…
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20 FebruaryClothing & Shoes
Online retail sales see 13.9% year on year growth
UK online retail sales were up 13.9% year-on-year (YoY) in January, according to the latest figures from the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index. With rainfall above average in January, and the lowest January high street footfall recorded in five years, consumers turned to online shopping in the beginning of the…
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16 FebruaryEconomy
Co-op set to open ‘record number’ of stores and refits
The Co-op will be opening 30 new food stores and refurbishing seven existing properties from its current portfolio in the London region. The first phase of new stores will be located in Walthamstow, Colliers Wood Station, Cricklewood, Colindale Station and Paddington. Peter Batt, Co-op divisional managing director, said it’s an…
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