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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Sep- 2021 -20 SeptemberClothing & Shoes
Gap to return to the UK with new Next partnership
Next has announced that it has finalised an agreement with Gap to manage the business in the UK and Ireland as a franchise partner. Under the agreement, the companies will form a joint venture to operate Gap’s e-commerce business across the Next total Platform, host Gap-branded shop-in-shops at select retail…
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16 SeptemberClothing & Shoes
Superdry sees its losses narrow to £36m
Superdry CEO Julian Dunkerton has hailed that the company is “turning the corner” after it revealed statutory losses before tax for FY21 have narrowed to £36.7m, down from £166.9m the previous year. In its preliminary results for the 52-week period ending 24 April 2021, the retailer posted a full year…
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15 SeptemberHigh Street
BRC urges gov to act now to stop shop worker abuse
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) is calling on the government to honour the commitment it made in the House of Commons to address the issues of rising violence and abuse against shop workers and “ensure that they have better protection under the law”. The BRC has made the plea ahead…
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15 SeptemberClothing & Shoes
Zara owner sees H1 net profits reach £1.08bn
Inditex, the owners of fashion chain Zara, has revealed it has returned to profit following the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, posting net profits of €1.27bn (£1.08bn) for the first half of the year ended 31 July 2021. The high profit intake compares with a previous year’s loss of…
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14 SeptemberAdvice
Embracing Google Shopping and omnichannel strategies post-lockdown
The relaxation of restrictions on June 21 – or as it has become known in the media, ‘Freedom Day’ – was meant to be a return to normality. For brick and mortar retailers especially, this represented a chance for them to increase sales and recoup losses endured during lockdown. However,…
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14 SeptemberSupermarkets
Nisa celebrate’s 1,000th store opening
Nisa’s 1,000th store has opened its doors to shoppers in Haverstock, Camden. The store offers a large range of fruit and vegetables, with multiple food-to-go and coffee options in its corner location. The new 1,800 sq. ft. store employs 12 members of staff and is open from 8:00am – 11:00pm…
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14 SeptemberClothing & Shoes
JD Sports H1 profits soar to £440m
JD Sports has seen its profits before tax and exceptional items soar to £439.5m in H1 FY21, up from £61.9m in the same period of FY20 and £158.6m in FY19. The sports fashion retailer reported a 52.7% year-on-year climb in group revenues to £3.89bn in the 26-week period ended 31…
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10 SeptemberHigh Street
UK economic growth slows, ONS reveals
UK economic growth slowed down in July, growing by 0.1% compared with 1% in June 2021, according to the latest data by the Office of National Statistics (ONS). With the spread of the Delta variant and the “pingdemic” taking its hold in July, gross domestic product (GDP) still remains 2.1%…
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9 SeptemberHigh Street
Costa Coffee to increase staff pay by 5%
Costa Coffee has announced that all 14,500 of its store team members in UK company-owned stores will receive a 5% pay increase. From 1 October 2021, all store team members will receive pay increases of at least 45p per hour, bringing minimum pay to £9.36 per hour from £8.91. The…
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9 SeptemberHigh Street
61% of shop workers subjected to offensive behaviour, study finds
Some 61% of shop workers have experienced some form of offensive behaviour while working for their current employer, for whom the impact manifested as stress (45%), anxiety (43%) and a loss of self-esteem (19%), according to a recent survey of 1048 shopworkers by Foot Anstey. Foot Anstey said half of…
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