Pandemic
This coverage examines the impact of pandemics on the UK retail industry, focusing on operational disruption, financial challenges, consumer behaviour shifts, and recovery strategies. Reporting highlights store closures, safety measures, supply chain pressures, leadership decisions, and lessons learned to enhance resilience. Tailored for executives and managers, it provides insights to navigate crisis situations and strengthen preparedness.
-
Dec- 2025 -9 DecemberOnline & Digital
Naked Wines returns to profitability as revenue falls amid strategic reset
Naked Wines has returned to adjusted EBITDA profitability in the first half of its financial year, as cost reducing measures led to lower revenues in line with its plans to refocus on core customers. The trading for the 26 weeks to 28 September 2025 (HY26) showed “significant progress” against the…
Read More » -
5 DecemberFeatures
How retailers can keep staff from feeling undervalued and stressed
On a Sunday afternoon in Germany, some McDonald’s employees used to make a 45-minute trip for a task that now feels almost absurdly analogue: checking a paper rota. As Abby Guthkelch, VP Executive Advisory at Flip, recalls, there was “a crazy story of, um, people having to drive 45 minutes…
Read More » -
3 DecemberFeatures
Inside Quiz’s measured return to store expansion
Quiz Clothing is entering a new phase. After two difficult years marked by falling demand due to fading relevance with its core shopper, and a short spell in administration, the Glasgow-based fashion retailer is preparing to expand again. The business, which operates 40 UK stores and works with franchise and…
Read More » -
Nov- 2025 -26 NovemberEconomy
BUDGET: Income tax bands frozen, minimum wage to increase, NI-exempt pension threshold scrapped
Income tax and NI thresholds will be frozen while the minimum wage will rise by 50p from April 2026, the chancellor Rachel Reeves said in her Autumn Budget statement today. Reeves announced a series of tax changes in other areas, including salary-sacrificed NI contributions on pensions, as part of measures to…
Read More » -
21 NovemberEconomy
Retail sales slip as shoppers await Budget and Black Friday
Retail sales volumes fell by 1.1% in October 2025, the first monthly drop since May, as retailers reported that many shoppers held off spending in the run-up to Black Friday. The fall followed a revised 0.7% rise in September and a 0.5% increase in August. Supermarkets, clothing stores and mail…
Read More » -
19 NovemberHigh Street
WHSmith CEO steps down amid ‘extremely serious’ accounting errors
The CEO of WHSmith has resigned with immediate effect as the group published a report that revealed the extent of “extremely serious” accounting errors in its North America division. Following an independent review from Deloitte for FY23 to FY25, a report concluded that the division’s treatment of supplier income was not…
Read More » -
12 NovemberFeatures
Will live facial recognition technology help retailers crack down on theft?
According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), retailers in the UK have spent £1.8bn combating the rise in retail crime since the pandemic. In its annual crime survey, the BRC found that customer theft rose by more than 20% to £2bn, taking the total cost of crime – including prevention…
Read More » -
12 NovemberHigh Street
Toy sales rise for first time since Covid as adult collectors boost market
The UK toy market has grown for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic, according to new data from market analyst Circana, as rising demand from adult collectors and strong sales of building sets helped lift the sector. Toy sales reached £3.9bn in the 12 months to August 2025, up…
Read More » -
11 NovemberComment
Flexible working: the new norm retailers can’t afford to ignore
Flexible working changed during the pandemic and for many it offered a newfound sense of balance. But five years on, flexibility is under pressure. Across the sector, “return-to-office” mandates are on the rise. John Lewis is one example, now requiring its commercial teams to spend “at least three days a…
Read More » -
4 NovemberLuxury Goods
Mulberry boss calls on govt to scrap tourist tax
Mulberry CEO Andrea Baldo has called on the government to consider scrapping the tourist tax as it looks to increase growth in the economy. Baldo told The Telegraph that reintroducing tax-free shopping for tourists would “be beneficial for the economy”. He also believes that it would help luxury manufacturers such…
Read More »
