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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Jan- 2020 -9 JanuaryDepartment Stores
M&S reports fall in festive sales revenues
Marks and Spencer has reported a 0.7% decline in revenues in its third quarter of the current financial year to £3bn , attributed to underperformance in clothing and home sales. For the 13 week period ending 28 December, the retailer reported a 3.7% fall in clothing and home sales to…
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9 JanuaryHigh Street
‘Worst year on record’ for retail, says BRC
Total retail sales decreased by 0.1% in 2019, compared with the 1.2% increase recorded in 2018, making it the “worst year on record” for retail according to the BRC. Helen Dickinson, CEO of the BRC, said this was reflected in the CVAs, shop closures and job losses that the industry…
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9 JanuarySupermarkets
‘Biggest day of food sales’ helps Tesco fight Christmas slump
Strong food sales including a reported “biggest food sales day in history” helped Tesco post a slight Christmas sales increase in the UK and Ireland despite a “challenging environment”. Tesco reported a 0.4% increase in like-for-like sales during the six-week period ending 4 January, however this is a marked slowdown…
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9 JanuaryDepartment Stores
John Lewis boss steps down amid poor Christmas sales
John Lewis Partnership has announced its managing director, Paula Nickolds, will step down amid “weak” sales over the Christmas period. Nickolds has worked at the company for 25 years, and will step down from the board in February. The group said she had “played a central role” in a variety…
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8 JanuarySupermarkets
Sainsbury’s Christmas sales slip as Argos struggles
Supermarket giant Sainsbury’s has posted a 0.7% decline in like-for-like sales for the 15 week period ending 4 January as toy and gaming sales at Argos struggled. The decrease comes despite grocery sales increasing by 0.4%, with online grocery sales also up 7.3%. Sainsbury’s reported that clothing sales also performed…
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7 JanuarySupermarkets
UK supermarkets experience lowest festive sales growth in five years
UK supermarkets have experienced the lowest sales growth over the Christmas period in five years, with sales growing by 0.5% in the last four weeks, according to new data. The data, from data analytics company Nielsen, found that grocery sales reached their peak at £6.2bn over the two weeks to…
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7 JanuarySupermarkets
Morrisons sales suffer over Christmas period
Morrisons has been hit by an “unusually challenging” festive period, it has announced in its latest trading update. Like-for-like sales, including fuel, were down 2.8% in the 22 weeks ended 5 January. Total sales were down 2.9%, including fuel. The supermarket giant said that conditions during the period “remained challenging”…
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6 JanuaryHigh Street
Mountain Warehouse reports ‘record’ trading over festive period
Mountain Warehouse has reported “record” Christmas trading with sales up 16.2% to £95.8m in the 13 weeks to December 2019. The group, which specialises in selling outdoor clothing and equipment, saw online sales jump during the period 21.6%, and also reported a bumper Black Friday, which was its busiest day…
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6 JanuaryNews
Aldi sales top £1bn amid ‘record’ Christmas
Supermarket giant Aldi saw sales soar over the festive period, with sales topping £1bn for the first time. In the four weeks ended 24 December, total sales increased 7.9% year-on-year. These “record” results were driven by a strong growth in beer, wine and spirit sales, as well as a “surge”…
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3 JanuaryDepartment Stores
Next hikes profit forecast after Christmas sales boost
Next has announced a lift to its full-year profit guidance after strong trading over the festive period. Full price sales rose by 5.2% year-on-year for the period October 27 to December 28, 1.1% more than estimated by the retail giant. Following this result, the retailer’s profit guidance for the full…
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