England
This coverage focuses on retail developments, trends, and performance across England. Reporting includes store openings and closures, regional economic factors, consumer behaviour, property developments, and strategic initiatives by national and local retailers. Designed for executives and managers, it offers insights into operating successfully within England’s diverse retail landscape.
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Feb- 2021 -12 FebruaryOnline & Digital
Amazon investors call for end to anti-union interference
A group of more than 70 Amazon investors are calling on the company to end interference against efforts by its workers to unionise in America, according to the Financial Times. More than 5,800 Amazon employees in Alabama are set to vote in a mail-in ballot; the first time attempt by…
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8 FebruaryHigh Street
Retail sales fall 10% in January
Total like-for-like retail sales declined by 10% in January as both the national lockdown and impact of Covid-19 affected shops across England, according to BDO’s High Street Sales Tracker. It found that lifestyle total like-for-like sales fell to 16.7% in January. This month’s result reportedly marked “the worst” since June…
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5 FebruaryCoronavirus
Bank of England holds rates, predicts strong vaccine rebound
The Bank of England (BoE) has predicted an economic rebound in the spring led by a successful vaccine rollout, after revealing it will be holding interest rates at 0.1%. The news comes as the BoE predicts that GDP is expected to fall by around 4% in the first quarter of…
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Jan- 2021 -22 JanuaryDepartment Stores
John Lewis repays £300m to the Treasury early
John Lewis has announced it has repaid £300m early to the Treasury and the Bank of England Covid Corporate Financing Facility, which was due for repayment on 15 March 2021. The retailer was hit heavily by the impact of Covid-19 and store closures for several months, however the Partnership believes…
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8 JanuaryCoronavirus
Covid restrictions lead to first negative LFL sales in December
Despite a strong start to the month, retailers recorded a disappointing end to the Golden Quarter thanks to heightened Covid restrictions and expanding lockdowns, new figures by accountancy and business advisory firm BDO LLP reveal. According to BDO’s High Street Sales Tracker (HSST), total like-for-like (LFL) sales, combined in-store and…
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7 JanuaryNews
Sainsbury’s welcomes Christmas sales surge
Sainsbury’s has reported a “strong Christmas performance”, with like-for-like sales up 9.3% during the holiday period. In a trading statement, the big four grocer revealed that it now expects pre-tax profits to hit at least £330m in the financial year to March 2021. According to the brand, total sales for…
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5 JanuaryHigh Street
BRC says national lockdown will be severe on businesses
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has released a response to the latest lockdown restrictions imposed by the government stating the “severity” it will have on businesses. The restrictions announced yesterday (4 January 2021) force the closure of all non-essential retail, pushing the UK back into a lockdown similar to March.…
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Dec- 2020 -24 DecemberCoronavirus
Boxing Day sales set to plummet for third year in a row
Retailers must prepare to be “hard hit” during this year’s Boxing Day sales period, with spending expected to be down for the third year in a row, according to a new retail report by VoucherCodes.co.uk. Its latest Shopping for Christmas 2020 report, carried out by the Centre for Retail Research,…
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23 DecemberCoronavirus
Labour calls for high street Fightback Fund
Labour has urged the government to “stand up for businesses” through a Hospitality and High Streets Fightback Fund, aimed at supporting businesses hit by the recent Tier 4 restrictions. It comes as almost 175,000 businesses in Tier 4 areas across London, the South East and the East of England have…
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23 DecemberAdvice
Four positive signals of a happy new year for retailers in 2021
The resilience of retail has been a remarkable success story of 2020 in the face of continuing huge challenges. The pandemic has forced new ways of trading, from the obvious ways of ensuring COVID-safe spaces to rethinking how to target consumers spending the majority of their lives at home. For…
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