Guidance
This coverage focuses on trading guidance, financial outlooks, and performance updates issued by UK retail businesses. Retail Sector reports on company forecasts, profit warnings, earnings revisions, and strategic updates that shape investor sentiment and corporate planning across the retail industry. Coverage includes analysis of market reactions, executive commentary, and sector-wide trends influencing guidance from leading retailers. For retail professionals, this category provides critical insights into financial health, market expectations, and business confidence driving decision-making within the UK retail economy.
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May- 2020 -11 MayCoronavirus
Retail industry responds to PM’s conditional plan to ease lockdown
The retail industry has reacted to the prime minister’s announcement last night that outlined a ‘conditional’ to ease lockdown with stores possibly reopening sometime in June. Last night (10 May), Boris Johnson gave a prospective outline for a series of phased store reopenings next month if certain conditions of a…
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6 MayOnline & Digital
Card Factory online sales soar over 250% amid UK lockdown
Cards and gifts retailer Card Factory has reported a 267.5% increase in online sales since the UK lock-down began in March. During the period the retailer said it recorded “significant growth” in visitors, conversion and sales. In response to this increased demand, and to support social distancing, the company has…
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4 MayCoronavirus
Homebase reopens UK sites amid Covid-19 pandemic
DIY retailer Homebase has reopened all of its UK stores amid the Covid-19 crisis. Despite being classed as an essential retailer, last month the retailer temporarily closed its stores and started operating online with Homebase saying the safety of its customers and team was its “first priority.” In a statement…
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Apr- 2020 -30 AprilComment
Five key considerations for retail businesses re-opening stores
Necessary to tackle the growing spread of Coronavirus, the decision to place various national and regional markets into lockdown has had a profound and crippling economic impact on many retail businesses. Whilst demand has grown for those with strong e-commerce arms, for those reliant on physical instore sales the economic…
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30 AprilCoronavirus
Next and Dixons urge government for furlough clarity
Retailers Next and Dixons Carphone have called on the UK Government to clarify the exit strategy for its furlough scheme. According to The Telegraph, bosses at the firms are concerned that a quick shutdown could lead to a high level of redundancies before they can fully resume regular operations. Currently…
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28 AprilHigh Street
Games Workshop to restart online sales amid Covid-19 lockdown
Games Workshop has revealed plans to restart online orders and trade sales in Europe and North America this week, amid the wordwide Covid-19 lockdown. The majority of its stores continue to remain closed. However, a small number have re-opened in China, the Netherlands and Scandinavia in line with local guidance…
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28 AprilComment
Furlough – what next?
The Government’s Job Retention Scheme was set up urgently to support employers and protect employees during lockdown. Such state intervention, unprecedented in the UK, is designed to facilitate a quick rebound of the economy once business activity resumes. But as the crisis drags on, the lockdown has already been extended…
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27 AprilCoronavirus
BRC issues new guidance on re-opening stores
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has issued new guidance for shops regarding procedures to maintain when businesses re-open following the lockdown. The BRC, alongside trade union Usdaw, said that whilst it is “not clear” when non-food businesses will re-open for business, retailers “need to be ready”. It warned it is…
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22 AprilCoronavirus Featured Content
The importance of strategic and empathetic furloughing
We’re hoping that we’re not going to have to furlough. We’re very fortunate in that we are still doing a lot of orders. However, the current uncertainty means that could all change overnight. To that end we’ve got a plan in place. We hope we don’t have to use it…
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22 AprilHigh Street
Cath Kidston shutters entire UK estate, over 900 staff made redundant
The administrators of Cath Kidston have confirmed that all 60 Cath Kidston stores in the UK have now closed, resulting in 908 staff being made redundant. Richard Fleming and Mark Firmin from restructuring practice Alvarez and Marsal were appointed as joint administrators to Cath Kidston yesterday. Immediately following the administrators’…
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