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 -3 SeptemberSupply Chain
Ikea faces disruption to 1,000 UK product lines
Ikea is reportedly facing issues with supplying roughly 1,000 product lines to UK customers as a result of Brexit and the lorry driver shortage. According to The Independent, all 22 of the multinational retailer’s UK sites are experiencing disruptions, with some outlets reportedly running out of mattresses and other items.…
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1 SeptemberAdvice
Accelerating retail transformation to drive growth
Retailers have faced a tough year. Stay-at-home orders and the resulting shift to online saw buyer behaviour altered. Consumers across the globe flocked online in numbers not forecast for a decade. McKinsey’s UK Consumer Sentiment research highlighted that 63 per cent of consumers tried new shopping behaviours in the past year,…
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1 SeptemberHigh Street
WH Smith anticipates lower profitability for 2022
WH Smith has anticipated that the levels of profitability for the year ending August 2022 will be at the lower end of market expectations as a result of the ongoing effects of Covid-19. Prior to its preliminary results for the year ending 31 August 2021, the retailer revealed that total…
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Aug- 2021 -25 AugustSupermarkets
Central England Co-op backs Usdaw anti-abuse campaign
Central England Co-op has backed a campaign by The Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw), “Freedom From Fear” which encourages customers to treat its staff with respect. Customers will be able to find out more about the campaign via posters in stores, which include details of how to…
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23 AugustEconomy
UK rejects industry demand for EU truck driver visa
The government has reportedly rejected calls to install temporary visas which would allow HGV drivers from the EU to help alleviate the current shortfall of drivers in the UK. According to the Financial Times, ministers rejected the idea put forward by two industry bodies but have backed calls to increase…
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23 AugustClothing & Shoes
Gerry Weber appoints first female CEO
Gerry Weber has announced that it has appointed its first female CEO Angelika Schindler-Obenhaus to the group. Schindler-Obenhaus succeeds Alexander Gedat who took over the role on an interim basis in February 2020. She has been a member of the managing board since August 2020 and now forms a dual…
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20 AugustHigh Street
Retail sales growth slows in July
Retail sales volumes fell by 2.5% between June and July 2021, as rainy weather and last month’s ‘pingdemic’ dampened demand from consumers. Nonetheless, sales were still up by 5.2% in the three months to July against the previous three months, and 5.8% higher than their pre-pandemic February 2020 levels, according…
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19 AugustOnline & Digital
Global Fashion Group sees profits soar to €183.7m
Global Fashion Group (GFG), the owner of ecommerce platforms such as The Iconic and Zalora has reported gross profits of €183.7m (£156.5m) in the second quarter of 2021, due to easing of Covid-19 restrictions. Revenues at the group rose to 18% year on year to €397.3m (£338.5m) compared to €336.1m…
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18 AugustFeatures
The pandemic hasn’t killed footfall analysis
The global pandemic and rising e-commerce seem intrinsically linked, with Covid-19 billed as the virus that inadvertently killed our already ailing high streets. Surely, then, as retailers shift their efforts online footfall analysis is becoming an increasingly irrelevant way to analyse British businesses’ operations both physically and digitally? Well, perhaps…
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18 AugustClothing & Shoes
Bravissimo FY20 revenues plummet 30.5%
Lingerie retailer Bravissimo has reported a 30.5% year-on-year decline in group revenues to £41.9m in FY20. The group also saw losses before tax widen to £4.4m for the year to 31 October 2021, up from losses of £628,000 the previous year. Net assets also decreased from £14.7m to £10m in…
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