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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Sep- 2023 -28 SeptemberSupermarkets
Poundland to open 10 former Wilko stores
Poundland has announced it is set to open 10 former Wilko stores this Saturday (30 September) after it secured an agreement with administrator PwC to take an option on a number of Wilko store leases. The following Wilko stores will open on Saturday morning: Broad Street, Chell Road, Stafford, ST16…
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27 SeptemberHealth & Beauty
Avon to sell through limited Superdrug stores and TikTok
Avon has revealed that its traditional model of door-to-door selling is “not for everybody”, as it announced it would start selling products in 100 Superdrug stores and through TikTok, The Daily Mail has reported. While the direct marketing retailer has historically operated through ‘Avon Ladies’, who would typically go from…
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Aug- 2023 -16 AugustHigh Street
Axing tourist tax would ease high street woes, says Pandora boss
Pandora UK&I general manager Rasmus Brix has said that in light of the cost-of-living crisis and ongoing train strikes, eliminating the tourist tax would create a “significant boost” for the high street. Brix told The Mail the firm was “missing out” due to the absence of VAT-free shopping for visitors…
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15 AugustHigh Street
Summer holidays sees high street footfall up 4.8%
Footfall across all UK retail destinations increased by 0.7%, driven by high streets where footfall rose by +4.8% from the week before, according to the latest data from MRI Springboard. The rise has been credited to the school summer holidays with coastal towns also seeing a 2.3% increase. In contrast,…
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Jul- 2023 -7 JulyHigh Street
Heatwave dampens June footfall
Footfall fell -1.9% in the five weeks from 28 May to 01 July 2023 as hot weather meant that shoppers strayed from the high street, according to BRC-Sensormatic IQ data. The fall was worse than the three-month average increase of -1.1% and comes as high street footfall increased by 0.6%…
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5 JulyComment
Is AI retail’s friend or foe?
Generative AI is the latest buzzword to trend its way across the globe. Supercharged by the popularity of the ChatGPT tool released in November 2022, the world’s largest companies have all accelerated their development and adoption of AI into their products and services. It is clear, amidst the hype, that…
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Jun- 2023 -30 JuneHigh Street
WH Smith to not open any more high street stores
WH Smith chief executive Carl Cowling has told the BBC that the retailer will not open any more UK high street stores, instead focusing on UK airports and train stations, as well as openings in the US and European markets. This comes as, over the past 20 years, the retailer…
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9 JuneNews
May records negative retail sales for the first time since 2021
May experienced negative retail sales marking the end of 26 months of positive results, dating back to March 2021, according to new data from accountancy and business advisory firm, BDO. According to BDO’s latest High Street Sales Tracker, total like-for-like (LFL) sales, in-store and online combined, fell by -1.5%. Despite…
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1 JuneNews
WHSmith to bring Toys R Us back to the UK high street
WHSmith and Toys R Us have today announced the locations of nine WHSmith High Street stores which will be unveiling new Toys R Us shop-in-shops from this month to bring the children’s toy brand back to the UK high street. Customers visiting these stores will be welcomed by a life-size…
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Apr- 2023 -20 AprilHigh Street
WH Smith revenues soar 41% amid rebound in travel
WH Smith has welcomed a strong performance in the first half of the year, with revenues rising by 41% to £859m, in part boosted by strong momentum in its Travel division, where revenues were up by 75% against the prior year. The group’s global Travel business benefited from a “significant”…
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