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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Jul- 2020 -1 JulyNews
Sainsbury’s sales boosted by online growth
Sainsbury’s has welcomed a “particularly strong” online performance in its first quarter of trading, as online sales more than doubled, rising 87% year-on-year. From the start of the crisis, online orders rose from 370,000 to over 650,000 per week, and nearly 50% of new online groceries customers were reported as…
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Jun- 2020 -30 JuneClothing & Shoes
TM Lewin collapses into administration
TM Lewin has collapsed into administration following news that the retailer was eyeing up a pre-pack administration deal. According to the Mail Online, the group cited the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and the temporary closure of its stores in March as the main reasons behind the collapse. The move could result…
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30 JuneEconomy
Revised ONS data reveals greater GDP drop in Q1 2020
The UK’s gross domestic product (GDP) in volume terms fell by 2.2% in Q1 2020, which has been revised downwards by 0.2 percentage points from the Office for National Statisitic’s (ONS) first quarterly estimate. The ONS said it is the largest fall in UK GDP since Q3 1979, when it…
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29 JuneCoronavirus
H&M half-year sales slump amid Covid-19 pandemic
Fashion retailer H&M has reported a 23% decrease in net sales to SEK 83,612bn (£7.2bn) for the half-year period ended 31 May 2020. The group said it was “significantly negatively affected” by the Covid-19 situation, with pre-tax losses amounting to SEK 3,063bn (£265m) during the H1 period. H&Ms net sales…
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26 JuneTips
The New Normal in Retail: The State of Shopping After Lockdown
The retail sector in the country gears up for reopening as COVID-19 lockdown restrictions are starting to get lifted. However, although many stores and shopping centres are preparing to reopen to the public, they are required to ensure a healthy and safe shopping environment and provide their customers with a…
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26 JuneNews
Tesco sales soar as online business booms
Tesco saw sales surge in the first quarter of trading, with like-for-like sales up 8.2% despite the pandemic and nationwide lockdown. In the quarter ended 30 May, total sales were up by 9.2%, while online sales soared by 48.5% as more shoppers shifted online. The group doubled its online capacity…
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25 JuneClothing & Shoes
N Brown profits slump amid year of transition
N Brown has announced that its profits before tax plunged 28.8% to £59.5m in the year ended 29 February 2020. This was largely driven by lower gross profit and “lower than expected” IFRS9 provision benefit, according to the group. In the same period, group revenue was down by 6.1% to…
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24 June
Amazon launches small business accelerator to support over 200,000 small retailers
Amazon and Enterprise Nation, the small business support network, have launched the ‘Amazon Small Business Accelerator’, a major support package for more than 200,000 small businesses and startups across the UK. In response to Covid-19 and the “impact of the economic lockdown on small businesses”, the Amazon Small Business Accelerator…
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24 JuneCoronavirus
Naked Wines reports £200m revenues in FY results
Naked Wines has reported a 14% increase in revenues to £203m for the full-year period ended 30 March, up from £178.4m the previous year. The company also revealed that losses before tax also reduced to £5.4m, compared with £10m in 2019. Naked Wines said the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic…
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23 JuneCoronavirus Featured Content
Three ways that Covid-19 will change British retail forever
In the midst of a global pandemic the UK high street is suffering more than ever before with many ailing big names, from fashion retailer French Connection warning it will run out of cash within the next few months unless it secures a cash injection, to the ongoing struggles of…
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