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- 2020 -7 AugustCoronavirus
Poor July sales rock high street recovery
Poor in-store sales through the month of July have “dampened hopes of a recovery” across UK high streets, according to the latest High Street Sales Tracker from BDO. In-store like-for-like sales decreased by 39.4% last month, down from a marginal base of 0.1% that was reported the year before. According…
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Jul- 2020 -23 JulyHigh Street
Fraser Group warns of closures amid business rates valuation delay
Mike Ashley’s Fraser Group has warned that a number of its stores could shutter as a result of the Government’s move to delay the next business rates valuation until 2023. It said occupiers of the high street, including Frasers Group fascias, are still paying business rates based upon values from…
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22 JulyComment
Ensuring digital accessibility is part of the retail journey
The rapid acceleration of digital transformation has been one of the most remarkable aspects of the global response to the coronavirus pandemic, with people literally Zooming to stay in touch and accessing online products and services in unprecedented numbers. There is little doubt that the coronavirus has dealt a devastating…
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22 JulyCoronavirus
Turn high streets into housing hubs, says think-tank
High street units left unoccupied in the wake of the pandemic should be converted into “hundreds of thousands” of new homes, a think-tank has argued. According to the Social Market Foundation, the collapse of traditional high street shopping is “inevitable”, and the government must now “focus less on slowing that…
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2 JulyCoronavirus
High street retailers ‘urgently’ need government recovery plan, says Usdaw
Shopworkers union Usdaw has urged the government to agree with employers and trade unions a recovery plan for the high street as “thousands of further job losses are announced”. The union said the scale of job losses across the retail industry is “accelerating” as the high street continues to struggle…
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Jun- 2020 -30 JuneCoronavirus
Reopening is ‘no magic bullet’ for retail, says BRC
Reopening is “no magic bullet” for retail, the British Retail Consortium has warned despite UK footfall improving since lockdown restrictions were lifted earlier this month. The BRC’s footfall tracker found that UK footfall decreased 53.4% year-on-year during the second week of reopening in England and NI. This is compared to…
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19 JuneAdvice
How email can save the high street
According to IMRG, online sales in the UK grew by just 6.7% in 2019. The current pandemic, though, helped online retail sales soar to ten year high. A recent press release by IMRG reports growth to a “staggering +23.8% Year-on-Year (YoY) in April 2020, as high streets across the country…
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17 JuneClothing & Shoes
Debenhams opens 38 more stores following ‘successful’ Monday reopening
Department store chain Debenhams has announced it will reopen a further 38 stores in England, following the “successful reopening” of 50 of its stores earlier this week. Debenhams revealed that four stores have also reopened in Northern Ireland, whilst the business awaits confirmation from Wales and Scotland as to when…
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5 JuneCoronavirus
Online sales reach 10-year high
British retailers recorded a 10-year high for online sales in May while the continued lockdown measures kept high streets empty, according to new figures by accountancy and business advisory firm BDO. According to BDO’s High Street Sales Tracker (HSST), total like-for-like sales, consisting of both in-store and non-store sales, declined…
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May- 2020 -15 MayCoronavirus
Poundland to reopen 36 stores across the UK
Discount chain Poundland has revealed it is set to open 36 stores across the UK next week as it begins to reopen its store estate. While most of Poundlands stores have remained open for “essential” shopping, In March, the retailer closed around 100 stores that were located close to another…
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