Helen Dickinson
This coverage follows Helen Dickinson’s leadership and contributions to the UK retail industry. Reporting includes her public statements, policy advocacy, industry insights, and role in shaping retail strategies and government relations. Designed for senior retail professionals and decision-makers, it offers context on her influence over regulatory developments, sector challenges, and opportunities affecting retail operations and management.
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May- 2020 -26 MayCoronavirus
Non-essential retailers set to open in June
Thousands of high street shops, department stores and shopping centres across England are set to reopen next month once they are “Covid-19 secure” and can show customers will be kept safe, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said. All non-essential retailers including shops selling clothes, shoes, toys, furniture, books, and electronics,…
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13 MayCoronavirus
Sharpest decline on record as sales fall amid lockdown
Total retail sales tumbled by 19.1% in the four weeks ended 2 May, according to the latest BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor. This was a notable decrease against the 2.4% sales increase recorded the year prior, and the “worst decline recorded” since the monitor began in January 1995. Like-for-like retail sales…
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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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11 MayHigh Street
Trouble ahead for retail vacancy rates, warns BRC
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Local Data Company has said the new BRC-LDC Vacancy Monitor has revealed that the rate of store vacancies increased to 12.2% in March. The monitor also reported a 0.3% decrease in vacancy rates in shopping centres to 14.1% compared with 14.4%. The South West…
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Apr- 2020 -30 AprilPeople Moves
BRC appoints Tony DeNunzio as new chairman
Tony DeNunzio CBE has been appointed as chairman elect of the British Retail Consortium (BRC). He will succeed Richard Pennycook whose tenure comes to an end on 20 May 2020. DeNunzio has over 25 years’ experience in the retail industry both in the UK and internationally. His experience covers the…
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29 AprilHigh Street
Shop prices fall 1.7% as non-food items suffer
Shop Prices fell by 1.7% in April, compared with the 0.8% decrease seen in March, making it the highest rate of decline since January 2017 according to the BRC-Nielsen Shop Price Index. Non-food prices fell sharply by 3.7% in April compared to a decline of 1.9% in March. This is…
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24 AprilCoronavirus
Government introduces new measures to protect high street
The business secretary has announced a new set of measures that will be introduced to protect high street businesses “under strain” from the ongoing pandemic. High street shops, and other companies facing financial difficulties, will now be protected from “aggressive” rent collection and asked to pay what they can as…
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20 AprilCoronavirus
UK retail footfall plummets in March
UK retail footfall decreased by 44.7% in March due to the mandatory lockdown, according to the latest BRC-ShopperTrak footfall monitor. The report said the figure is a record decline for the industry that saw “unprecedented challenges” during the month as the UK continues to battle the Covid-19 pandemic. In the…
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16 AprilCoronavirus
Retail sales decline at ‘worst rate on record’
Retail sales suffered the “worst decline recorded” in March, with a year-on-year total sales decline of 4.3%. The findings come from the latest BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor, which said this is the lowest recorded rate since the monitor first began in January 1995. Its data showed that sales “contrasted sharply”…
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1 AprilCoronavirus
Shop prices slide amid UK lockdown, says BRC
The price of shop goods slipped by 0.8% in March, down from 0.6% the month prior, according to the latest BRC-Nielsen Shop Price Index. In the same month, non-food prices fell by 1.9%, which marked the highest rate of decline in non-food prices since May 2018. The lowered prices were…
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