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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Feb- 2020 -17 FebruaryFeatures
Book Smart: Why the independent bookshop is here to stay
The bookselling industry is subject to constant speculation. In a world where Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos reigns and tablet devices are a mainstay, one would be forgiven for assuming the end is nigh for independent booksellers’ success. But despite the rise of retail giants and fall of book…
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14 FebruarySupermarkets
UK food and grocery market set to be worth £174bn by 2024
The UK food and grocery market is set to grow by 15% between 2019 and 2024 to £174.5bn, according to data and analytics company GlobalData. However, the new research from the company suggests that ‘Big Four’ grocers Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and ASDA are set to lose out on a further…
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13 FebruaryHigh Street
Retail footfall bounces back in January after quiet December
Footfall in non-food stores in the UK fell by just 0.5% year-on-year in January according to Ipsos Retail Performance’s latest Retail Traffic Index (RTI). The retail insights company had originally forecast a footfall decline of 1.9% for the month, and said that after such a “disappointing” December, January’s footfall comes…
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12 FebruaryComment
How to adapt rapidly to grow your business
Post-Christmas is always a time for the retail sector to regroup, scrutinising what’s gone well, where the challenges lie and what needs to change in 2020. Retail is undergoing change at pace and survival depends on being able to adapt at pace too. According to the British Beauty Council, fast…
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10 FebruaryAnalysis
Ocado ditches Waitrose; Bill gates orders £500m beast-yacht; Boris to lower immigration wage threshold
A busy start to the week in the business pages. As the coronavirus story unfolds I am reluctant to spend every day providing updates on it, but it is worth noting quickly that there is likely to be some worldwide economic turbulence due to the latest developments. A slew of…
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5 FebruaryAnalysis
Tesla, Macy’s and organic food: serious change is afoot
Sometimes change is sudden and surprising, but sometimes it bubbles away under the surface for decades before making a serious impact, and in today’s roundup I have a few examples of the latter to highlight. First, there is Tesla. The firm led by billionaire space-AI Elon Musk has long been…
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5 FebruaryDepartment Stores
John Lewis appoints new executive director
John Lewis has announced the appointment of Nina Bhatia as executive director, strategy and commercial development. Bhatia will commence her role on 17 February, and report to the company’s chairman, Dame Sharon White, as a member of the new executive team. She will move from her role as managing director…
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4 FebruarySupermarkets
UK supermarkets see ‘disappointing’ sales growth in January
Supermarket sales grew by only 0.7% in January 2020, down from 3.3% in 2019, according to new data released from Nielsen. According to the data firm, value sales since Christmas fell at the grocery multiples by 0.3%, with volumes also down 1%. This was exacerbated by inflation, which was only…
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3 FebruaryDepartment Stores
Beales slashes 32 head office roles following administration
Embattled department store chain Beales has announced 32 job cuts at its head office in Bournemouth, nearly two weeks after the group entered administration. KPMG said the joint administrators will be “providing support to those affected over the coming days”. However, KPMG confirmed that all of the chain’s stores remain…
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3 FebruaryHigh Street
Hawkin’s Bazaar confirms final stores closures
Embattled retailer Hawkin’s Bazaar confirmed its final store closures over the weekend as part of its administration process. The joint administrators of Hawkin’s Bazaar Limited, Tom Straw and Simon Thomas of Moorfields Advisory Limited, revealed that all of its stores were to close after the weekend of 2 February. Straw,…
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