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.
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Nov- 2020 -9 NovemberDepartment Stores
Harrods forced to reorganise £200m credit
Harrods has been forced to reorganise its £200m credit line due to the second national lockdown causing the closure of its flagship Knightsbridge store. According to The Sunday Times, the department store negotiated a revolving credit facility with the Qatar National Bank in August, to avoid breaching covenants it made…
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5 NovemberCoronavirus
Bank of England unveils £150bn covid support package
The Bank of England (BoE) has unveiled it will give the UK economy a further £150bn in crisis support and keep interest rates at a record low, due to the rapid rise in Covid-19 restrictions across the country. At the Banks latest Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), members stated that the…
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4 NovemberHigh Street
Covid-19 could shutter 18,000 stores permanently, report shows
18,000 more retail stores face permanent closure in 2020 as Covid-19 restrictions continue to damage the UK highstreet. According to the Guardian, a report published by the Local Data Company (LDC) has revealed that it predicts nearly 15,000 more outlets will be left empty in 2020, compared with 9,169 net…
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4 NovemberClothing & Shoes
Frasers Group increases stake in Mulberry to 29.7%
Frasers Group has more than doubled its stake in Mulberry, the luxury fashion company, from 12.5% to 29.7%. Mike Ashley’s retail group had bought its first set of shares in the firm in February of this year for almost £19m. At the time, Frasers said the move was part of…
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3 NovemberClothing & Shoes
ABF profit slumps as Primark hit by £2bn loss
Associated British Foods, the parent company of Primark, has announced that statutory operating profit tumbled 40% to £810m in the full-year ended 12 September 2020. In the same period, group revenue fell by 12% to £13.9bn following the impact of the ongoing pandemic. The full year decline in group revenue…
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3 NovemberClothing & Shoes
Laura Ashley returns to high street with Next partnership
Laura Ashley is set to return to the UK high street next year with a new partnership with Next, which will sell its homeware products and will launch a series of new stores. According to The Guardian, the clothing and home furnishing retailer said it will reintroduce its homeware via…
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2 NovemberHigh Street
Christmas footfall predicted to drop by 62%
Christmas footfall over the six weeks from Sunday 22 November to Saturday 26 December across all UK retail destinations will be down by 62%, according to the latest estimates from Springboard. The data analysts said the new national lockdown restrictions will see retailers miss out on the start of “essential”…
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Oct- 2020 -30 OctoberLuxury Goods
LVMH agrees to reduced Tiffany deal
LVMH has agreed to go through with its acquisition of Tiffany & Co following a lengthy legal battle, albeit for a reduced fee. In an update announced yesterday (29 October) LVHM said it had concluded an agreement with Tiffany “modifying” certain terms of their initial agreement to reflect a new…
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30 OctoberEconomy
UK shop vacancy rate increases to 13.2% in Q3
Shops in the UK are continuing to shutter, with the average shop vacancy rate increasing to 13.2% in the third quarter, according to data released by the Local Data Company and British Retail Consortium (BRC). On the high street, vacancies increased to 13% over the same period, in line with…
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29 OctoberClothing & Shoes
Shoe Zone to close fifth of stores over next two years
Shoe Zone has announced it expects to close a further 90 stores in the next 18 to 24 months, attributing the closures to the continued impact of Covid-19. The shoe retailer said it will close up to 45 stores by April 2021 in a move that will create “numerous” redundancies,…
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