Job Losses
This coverage examines job losses within the UK retail sector, investigating store closures, restructuring initiatives, supplier impact, and workforce reductions. Reporting highlights trends in employment shifts, cost strategies, and executive decisions — offering insight for HR leaders, operations managers, and business executives dealing with staffing challenges and strategic planning.
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Jan- 2019 -29 JanuaryAnalysis
The UK’s high street woes
There are few sectors where the effects of the faltering UK economy have been more starkly visible than the retail sector. It seems that every day the media presents another story about a high street name facing financial difficulty. There are a multitude of factors playing into the softening consumer…
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28 JanuaryHR
Tesco refuses to deny 15,000 job losses
Tesco has refused to deny reports that it is to cut 15,000 jobs as part of an overhaul of its store operations in a £1.5bn cost cutting plan. A spokesperson refused to deny the reports, telling Retail Sector it was “always looking at ways to run our business more simply…
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21 JanuaryEconomy
Retail job losses to increase by 27,000, analysis suggests
Online retailers are having a “profound effect” on the commercial property market as the value in retail property is set to fall by 15.9% this year, new research has predicted. Furthermore, job losses and store closures have been forecasted to increase by 26,918 and 3,764 respectively compared with 2018 across…
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9 JanuaryHigh Street
Mothercare sales plunge 11.4% during third quarter
Embattled retailer Mothercare has reported an 11.4% drop in UK like-for-like sales in its Q3 trade update, which covered the 13 week period to 5 January 2019. According to the group the results reflect a combination of the “difficult consumer backdrop” and the “aggressive discounting activity undertaken in the prior…
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Nov- 2018 -22 NovemberHigh Street
Mothercare revenues down 13% in half-year results
Mothercare’s half year results for the 28 week period to 6 October 2018 saw revenues drop by 13% to £295m. Worldwide sales decreased by 9.8% to £566m, compared with £627m during the period last year, and group adjusted loss before taxation was reported to be £6.2m. In July, the British…
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8 NovemberAdvice
Preparing retail for what’s to come right up to and beyond Brexit
Next, one of the biggest British retail names, recently reported ‘better-than-expected’ quarterly results but raised a red flag on Brexit-related risks to its business and the industry as a whole. With threat of online competition already causing uncertainties, ambiguity around Brexit has added to the challenges keeping retailers alert. This…
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1 NovemberHigh Street
Mothercare culls 200 head office jobs
Mothercare has axed around 200 staff from its head office in an attempt to cut costs and save up to £20m. The job cuts are part of Mothercare’s restructuring program and 50 new jobs are expected to be created in the department, bringing the net job losses to roughly 150.…
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Oct- 2018 -30 OctoberClothing & Shoes
Sports Direct to rescue Evans Cycles with half of its stores to shutter
Sports Direct is to rescue Evans Cycles after it fell into administration on 7 September, with owner Mike Ashley saying the retailer will have to shutter half of its stores to save the business. The closures would result in hundreds of job losses with Evans Cycles, which has been running…
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9 OctoberHigh Street
Consumer spending in September dips amid ‘summer hangover’
UK retail sales decreased by 0.2% on a like-for-like compared with September 2017, when it had increased 1.9% from the preceding year. According to new figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG’s sales monitor, total sales increased by only 0.7% in September, against an increase of 2.3% in…
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4 OctoberFeatures
Ten retailers defying high street blues in 2018
This year will likely go down in history as a turning point for high street retail in the UK, with a slew of firms going under, announcing job losses, store closures, or just going under completely. We have put together a list of those which, despite the blues, are making…
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