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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Oct- 2021 -26 OctoberNews
BPF calls for intervention to bring forward £8.5bn high street boost
The British Property Federation (BPF) has called for “immediate intervention” to bring forward an £8.5bn boost for UK high streets if the fundamental reform of business rates is delayed. It revealed that analysis from property advisor Avison Young shows that as a result of the next revaluation the total annual…
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26 OctoberHigh Street
Footfall declines in lead up to half-term
Footfall across retail destinations declined by -1.5% across the UK in the last week, according to retail intelligence experts Springboard. This drop was driven by a -3.6% decline in footfall in high streets, whilst footfall rose marginally in both retail parks by +0.9% and shopping centres by +0.4%. Whilst footfall…
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22 OctoberEconomy
September retail sales fall 0.2%, ONS reveals
September retail sales volumes fell by 0.2% and by 2.6% when compared with the same period in 2020, according to the latest Office of National Statistics (ONS) results. Non-food stores reported a fall of 1.4% in sales volumes in September 2021, which was mainly due to a 9.3% decrease in…
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15 OctoberHigh Street
Boots owner sees Q4 sales surge 12% to $34bn
Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA), the owner of Boots, has seen its sales for the Q4 period ending 31 August 2021 increase 12.8% to $34.3bn (£25bn). The UK high street brand itself saw comparable pharmacy sales increase 11.4% compared with the year-ago quarter, which it said reflected “stronger demand” for pharmacy…
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13 OctoberClothing & Shoes
Shoe Zone revenues fall to £119m in FY21
Shoe Zone has announced that group revenue dropped slightly to £119.1m in the full-year ending 2 October 2021, down from £122.6m in 2020 and £162m in 2019. This decline was largely attributed to the effects of the pandemic, which saw its store estate closed for 16 weeks in the first…
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12 OctoberHigh Street
John Lewis sees online sales surge to 70% of total sales
John Lewis has revealed it has seen a surge in online sales amid the Covid-19 pandemic with consumers changing the way they shop with online sales accounting for between 60% to 70% of the retailer’s total sales, up from 40% before the pandemic. The report, Shop, Live, Look 202, which…
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12 OctoberHigh Street
French Connection CEO to retire as H1 losses narrow
French Connection has revealed that its chairman and chief executive Stephen Marks will retire from the company following its completion of the £29m buyout deal. It comes as the group saw its losses narrow for the six-month period ending 31 July 2021 to £900,000 from £12.2m the previous year. During…
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12 OctoberSupermarkets
Grocery sales dip 1.2% as fuel shortage limits visits
Take-home grocery sales fell by 1.2% over the 12 weeks to 3 October 2021, as the reduced availability of petrol saw shoppers limit the number of trips to supermarkets, according to the latest figures from Kantar. Despite this dip, sales remain 8.1% higher than they were before Covid-19 and every…
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11 OctoberEconomy
Christmas footfall predicted to remain 17% below 2019 levels
Footfall across UK retail destinations will average -17% lower than in 2019 over the six week Christmas trading period from November 21 to January 4, continuing the current trajectory seen in September with footfall down -17.4%, according to a forecast by Springboard. It projects Black Friday will be more popular…
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7 OctoberHigh Street
Footfall continues steady improvement in September
Retail footfall continued to strengthen in September, narrowing the gap from 2019 to -17.4%, down from -18.6% in August, countering the downward trend in footfall often recorded in September. The month also saw a 20% increase on September 2020 levels. Springboard said that this month’s results go against the long-term…
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