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- 2020 -28 FebruarySupermarkets
Aldi removes single-use plastic lids from own-label products
Supermarket Aldi has announced it is removing all plastic lids on its own-label products, as part of its ongoing campaign to reduce single-use plastics. From March, the UK’s fifth-largest supermarket will stock products such as ready-to-drink coffee and own-label fresh cream without “unnecessary” plastic lids in over 780 stores across…
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20 FebruaryHigh Street
Retail footfall buffeted by stormy weather in February
Storm Ciara, which hit the UK the weekend of 8 February 2020, saw UK retail footfall plummet by 15.3%. According to the latest figures from Ipsos Retail Performance, the most affected region was the north west of England, with footfall down 18.3% on the same period last year. Storm Dennis,…
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19 FebruaryAnalysis
Inflation jumps, physical money nearing the end, immigration to prioritise skills, £150m film studio to launch
Inflation has reached its highest rate in six months, at 1.8%, after the price of fuel and energy rose over the course of the last year. The consumer prices index (CPI) which measures the rate by monitoring the price of consumer goods, was expected to come in at 1.6%, so…
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18 FebruaryEconomy
Consumer confidence reaches record-high in February
The IHS Markit Household Finance Index reached a record-high of 47.6 in February, up from 44.6 last month. IHS Markit, the global information provider which compiles the survey, said it is the highest index reading since the survey began 11 years ago. The firm added that while the figure is…
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14 FebruaryHigh Street
Frasers Group backs BRC’s calls for government review of business taxes
Frasers Group has backed the campaign by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and 52 other retailers calling for the government to take urgent action on business rates. In a letter to now former chancellor Sajid Javid, which was signed by retailers including Debenhams, Harrods, John Lewis, Marks and Spencer, Primark…
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13 FebruaryHigh Street
Retail footfall bounces back in January after quiet December
Footfall in non-food stores in the UK fell by just 0.5% year-on-year in January according to Ipsos Retail Performance’s latest Retail Traffic Index (RTI). The retail insights company had originally forecast a footfall decline of 1.9% for the month, and said that after such a “disappointing” December, January’s footfall comes…
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11 FebruaryHigh Street
Administrations up 5% in 2019
The number of companies falling into administration across England and Wales increased by just under 5% in 2019, according to new analysis from KPMG. A study of notices in the London Gazette showed that a total of 1,403 companies went into administration during 2019, compared with 1,341 in the previous…
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6 FebruaryPeople Moves
M&S appoints new chief strategy and transformation director
Marks and Spencer has appointed Katie Bickerstaffe as its new chief strategy and transformation director. Bickerstaffe is currently a non-executive director of Marks and Spencer, and will take up her role on 27 April. She will serve on the board and operating committee as an executive director. She previously held…
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Jan- 2020 -30 JanuaryElectrical
Deloitte fined £1m over handling of Comet administration
‘Big Four’ accountancy firm Deloitte has been fined £925,000 for its handling of electrical goods retailer Comet’s administration in 2012. Deloitte and two of its partners, Neville Kahn and Christopher Farrington, have been sanctioned by the accountancy watchdog and have also agreed to pay the costs of the Institute of…
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15 JanuaryAnalysis
Boohoo more valuable than M&S – a sea-change encapsulated
From a purely journalistic standpoint it is now a de facto cliché to refer to Marks and Spencer as the “high street bellwether”, yet that is the status it has held for so many decades. The once mighty monolith was the first British retailer to reach a market capitalisation of…
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