Covid-19
This coverage examines the effects of Covid-19 on the UK retail industry, focusing on operational disruption, financial pressures, consumer behaviour shifts, and recovery strategies. Reporting includes lockdown impacts, safety measures, supply chain challenges, online growth, and leadership decisions that shaped responses to the crisis. Designed for executives and managers, it offers lessons and insights for navigating future disruptions.
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Jan- 2022 -18 JanuaryHigh Street
Hotel Chocolat sees Q2 revenues jump 37%
Hotel Chocolat, the British chocolatier and omni-channel retailer, has revealed it saw group revenues increase 37% during the 13-week period ended 26 December 2021. It said that total group revenue for H1 has also been “strong”, increasing 40% compared to the prior year, and by 56% compared to the equivalent…
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18 JanuaryNews
Employment continues to rise
The UK shows ‘continuing’ recovery in the labour market, with employment continuing to rise, according to the ONS latest Labour Force Survey estimates for September to November 2021. It revealed in December 2021 there were 29.5 million employees in the UK, up 184,000 on the revised November 2021 level and…
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17 JanuaryFeatures
Customer service needs for the post-covid consumer
Nurturing customer service continues to be a primary focus of businesses. Even pre-covid, retailers naturally updated their offerings to out-perform competing brands – why the groundwork concerning competition within retailers is said to have entered into discussion as early as the 20th Century; ‘assessing the complexity of competition’, ‘distinguishing its…
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17 JanuaryComment
The impact of supply chain shortages on retailers and fraudsters
Recent supply chain disruptions in the run–up to the Christmas retail season were widely documented. These disruptions are threatening to cause low stock levels and could see some retailers without products at peak trading times. Recently, Amazon issued an urgent warning to consumers that if they wanted to see gifts…
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14 JanuaryNews
Quiz revenues surge 88% to £66m
Quiz PLC has announced that its total group revenue in the nine months to 31 December 2021 totalled £61m, which represents an 88% increase on the £32.4m generated in the equivalent period in FY2020. The group said it is “pleased with the gross margins generated during the period which are…
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13 JanuarySport & Leisure
Halfords golden quarter boosted by autocentres
Halfords has announced that total revenue rose by 13.9% on a two-year basis in the quarter ended 31 December 2021, as like-for-like retail sales rose by 5.6%, with a particularly strong performance in October and November. While sales dropped off in the latter part of the period in light of…
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13 JanuaryNews
Tesco expects profits to hit £2.6bn amid strong Xmas trading
Tesco has set a new profit guidance of £2.6b after a stronger than expected Christmas period, according to its latest trading report for the 19 weeks ended 8 January 2022. It revealed the retailer has seen further growth on top of an “exceptional” performance last year, with shares sitting at…
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13 JanuaryAnalysis
On the move – retail supply chain trends for 2022
Following a year of supply chain disruption and uncertainty, Lee Thompson, managing director of international fulfilment services provider fulfilmentcrowd looks at the trends set to impact retail supply chains this year. Re-energised exports Exports have been something of a headache for UK-based retailers during the last 12 to 18 months. Disruption and…
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12 JanuaryClothing & Shoes
JD Sports raises profit forecast to £875m
JD Sports Fashion Plc has raised its pre-tax profits forecast to an average £875m for the full year to 29 January 2022, compared to the previous expectation of £810m, due to “sustained” consumer demand through the second half of the year. Additionally, total like-for-like revenues were more than 10% ahead…
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11 JanuaryClothing & Shoes
Very Group sales spike 22% over festive period
The Very Group has welcomed a period of “strong” trading in the run-up to Christmas, with sales increasing 21.9% in the seven-week period ended 24 December 2021. In light of the effects of the pandemic last Christmas, its latest results were given against its sales two years ago. As more…
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