Essex
This coverage examines retail developments across Essex, focusing on store openings and closures, shopping centre activity, redevelopment projects, and shifts in consumer behaviour. Reporting includes updates from key locations such as Lakeside, Basildon, Southend-on-Sea, and Brentwood, analysing how economic pressures, online competition, and local regeneration efforts are shaping the region’s retail landscape. The content is tailored for retail managers, property professionals, and executives overseeing operations in regional markets.
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Nov- 2025 -25 NovemberDepartment Stores
Next ups special dividend following £54m land sale
Next has sold off land in Essex for £54.1m after plans to use the site for distribution centres were no longer needed, in a move that will see its special dividends increase for shareholders. In 2021, Next bought the land near Waltham Abbey with the intention of consolidating two regional…
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5 NovemberSupermarkets
Aldi to open 16 new stores in run up to Christmas
Aldi announced it is to open 16 new stores between Thursday 6 November and Friday 12 December 2025, as it continues its £650m investment into its store estate. The new stores locations include Kirkintilloch in Scotland, Cheadle in Staffordshire, Billericay in Essex and Kentish Town in London. The UK’s fourth-largest…
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Jul- 2025 -29 JulySupermarkets
Aldi lifts hourly pay for shop workers to £13
Aldi has announced it is set to become the first supermarket to pay store assistants at least £13.00 an hour. The new minimum rate, which increases to £14.33 within the M25, will take effect from 1 September 2025 and further exceeds the Real Living Wage of £12.60 an hour that…
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24 JulyDIY
IKEA opens first new small-format store in Harlow as part of UK expansion
IKEA has opened a new small-format store in Harlow, Essex, the first of three such sites due this year, just over 100 days after acquiring the lease. The new store, which opened on 24 July, is located in a retail park and designed to offer a quicker and more accessible…
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Jun- 2025 -23 JuneSupermarkets
Aldi to recruit for 1,000 new store roles before 2026
Aldi is set to recruit for 1,000 store roles across the UK as it accelerates its store openings programme for the rest of 2025. The group said it is hiring for a range of in-store positions including store assistants, cleaners, apprentices and management roles. The recruitment drive follows a public…
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9 JuneClothing & Shoes
Matalan to open 10 stores annually amid £25m investment
Matalan has announced that it is set to invest over £25m in its UK store estate following the £25m of additional funding secured from its anchor investors last month. This marks the first phase of a long-term programme to modernise Matalan’s full estate over the next three to five years…
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Apr- 2025 -25 AprilNews-In-Brief
Today’s news in brief-25/4/25
The John Lewis Partnership has appointed Andy Mounsey as its new chief financial officer, effective immediately. Mounsey, who had been serving as interim CFO since last autumn, brings 13 years of experience within the business, including roles as Group Finance and Strategy director. A chartered accountant with prior experience at…
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25 AprilHigh Street
Hobbycraft set to close nine stores
Hobbycraft is set to close nine stores, a move affecting up to 126 jobs, as part of a restructure led by new owners Modella Capital, it confirmed to the BBC. The restructuring will also result in redundancies across its Bournemouth head office and distribution centre in Burton-on-Trent but it has…
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25 AprilHigh Street
TOFS places hundreds of jobs at risk under new revival plans
Nearly 1000 jobs at The Original Factory Shop (TOFS) reportedly could be at risk as the company embarks on a survival plan which hinges on widespread rent cuts, according to Sky News. Modella Capital, the new owner of TOFS, has reportedly drawn up plans to renegotiate rents at 88 of…
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Mar- 2025 -10 MarchSupermarkets
Asda eyes sale of car parking space to finance debt
Asda has reportedly launched a process to sell off almost 10 acres of car parking space as a way to reduce its debt, according to The Telegraph. Newsteer, which is advising Asda on the sales, has informed potential developers that Asda has identified surplus space at its stores in Slough,…
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