High Street
This coverage explores the state and evolution of the UK high street, with reporting on store openings and closures, footfall trends, redevelopment projects, policy impacts, and changing consumer behaviour. Insights are designed to help retail managers and executives understand the challenges and opportunities shaping high street retail operations and strategy.
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Aug- 2022 -1 AugustGovernment
Sunak pledges to slash empty high street shops by 2025
Rishi Sunak has pledged to slash the number of boarded up high street shops by 2025 if he wins his Tory leadership bid, by enabling local authorities to quickly seize and repurpose empty commercial buildings. In his latest pitch to party members, who are shortly set to receive ballots for…
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1 AugustSupermarkets
Iceland boss calls for next PM to rethink business rates
Iceland has joined in the call for Tory leadership candidates to rethink “outdated” business rates as the company’s managing director, Richard Walker, reportedly urged the prime minister to promise a “root and branch” reform of the tax. His intervention, according to This is Money, follows similar calls from other UK…
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Jul- 2022 -11 JulyClothing & Shoes
Independent retailer Scamp & Dude opens flagship store
Scamp and Dude, an independent womenswear retailer, has opened its flagship store in Marlow High Street. The 1,569 sq ft store will be an immersive retail space to showcase the brands growing collection of “stylish and responsible womenswear”, and also a space to celebrate the power of community, from ongoing…
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8 JulyNews
Cost of living crisis weighs on retail sales growth
High levels of inflation and the deepening cost of living crisis have prompted further slowing of retail sales growth, according to BDO’s High Street Sales Tracker (HSST). It found that total like-for-like (LFL) sales, combined in-store and online, increased by +8.4% in June compared to the equivalent month in 2021,…
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Jun- 2022 -29 JuneHigh Street
H&M Group profits surge amid high street resurgence
H&M Group has revealed its gross profits increased by 52.2% to £4.36bn in the six months to 31 May. Profits after tax increased by 33% to £390m in the second quarter, on the back of a 17% rise in sales to £4.47bn, excluding Russia, Belarus and Ukraine sales. Net sales…
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27 JuneEconomy
High street footfall plummets amid cost of living strain
High street footfall fell 25% in May against the previous month, according to RSM UK’s analysis of the latest data from Datscha, showing that the biggest month-on-month decreases were seen in Glasgow (down 54%), Newcastle (down 40%) and Brighton (down 39%). Footfall is reportedly still 48% lower than pre-pandemic levels,…
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15 JuneHigh Street
WH Smith sales rocket as travel rebounds
WH Smith has seen sales soar ahead of pre-pandemic levels in recent weeks as travel continues to rebound. Group revenues in the 15 weeks to 11 June 2022 were ahead of 2019 levels for the first time at 107%, with a particularly strong performance seen in its Travel business. As…
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May- 2022 -19 MayHigh Street
M&S warns chancellor of potential ‘damage’ of online sales tax
Marks and Spencer has penned a letter to the chancellor warning of the potential damage an online sales tax would have on the high street. It comes as the government’s consultation on whether to implement such a tax closes on Friday (20 May). The government said the idea behind the…
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Apr- 2022 -27 AprilNews
WHSmith H1 profits climb to £14m amid strong travel sales
WHSmith has announced its profits-before-tax climbed to £14m, up from a loss of £19m in 2021, due to an increase in travel revenues. In a trading update of its interim results for the six-month period ended 28 February 2022, Travel trading profit increased to £10m in 2022 from a loss…
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6 AprilClothing & Shoes
M&S becomes first major high street brand to join Dotte resale
M&S Kidswear has announced it has become the first major UK high street retailer to trial the fully circular kidswear peer-to-peer marketplace where parents can buy, sell, donate, and recycle outgrown kidswear – Dotte. Founded in 2020 by Louise Weiss and Samantha Valentine, Dotte seeks to address the “challenges parents…
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