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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Mar- 2024 -5 MarchEconomy
Deal activity in F&B recovered in 2023, Grant Thornton finds
Deal activity in the food and beverage sector rebounded last year compared with 2022, when dealmaking was put on pause due to the emerging cost of living crisis, according to new research from Grant Thornton. According to the firm’s research, there was an uptick in M&A activity across the sector…
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4 MarchDepartment Stores
Frasers rescues Wiggle from administration
Frasers Group has acquired online bicycle retailer Wiggle out of administration, The Sunday Times has reported. Frasers reportedly agreed a deal to purchase the brand and intellectual property of both Wiggle and Chain Reaction Cycles, another online bike store. The Times said it was understood that the Sports Direct owner…
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1 MarchFeatures
Five ways to enhance in-store experience
Customers’ in-store experiences are thought to act as triggers for their purchasing decisions. Therefore, developing a genuinely distinctive retail customer experience could be the difference between getting new customers and slipping into the background in a highly competitive industry like retail. Consumers today seek for remarkable experiences rather than just…
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Feb- 2024 -28 FebruaryFeatures
The history of online shopping
While online shopping as we know it found its roots in the mid 1990s after the invention of the first ever web browser, ‘electronic shopping’ was thought up in 1979 by English inventor Michael Aldrich. He invented the earliest form of e-commerce, which allowed online transaction processing between business and…
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27 FebruaryClothing & Shoes
Asos relaunches influencer programme
Asos has relaunched its Asos Insider influencer programme after the initiative was previously wound down in 2020 due to the pandemic. The online retailer said the programme will allow fashion and style influencers from across Asos to “offer customers inspiration, beauty, fashion, and style advice across social channels”. The reintroduction…
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27 FebruaryDIY
Homebase owner eyes second sale in four years
Hilco Capital has reportedly put Homebase up for sale for the second time in four years after acquiring the business for £1 in 2018. According to reports from The Times, Hilco has already sounded out potential buyers such as B&M and The Range. Hilco originally acquired Homebase from Australian firm…
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16 FebruaryHigh Street
NWEC calls for return to tax-free shopping as tourist spending gap widens
The New West End Company (NWEC) has called for the return of tax-free shopping as the gap between the number of international visitors in London and the spending associated with them widened in the final quarter of last year. According to the latest figures released by NWEC, despite a recovery…
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15 FebruaryNews
Today’s news in brief-15/2/24
The UK has entered a technical recession as its GDP contracted by 0.3% in the final quarter of 2023. This marks the first recession since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. The decline in GDP was larger than expected, with key sectors like manufacturing, construction, and wholesale experiencing significant downturns.…
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15 FebruaryEconomy
UK enters technical recession as GDP contracts 0.3% in Q4
The UK fell into a technical recession after gross domestic product (GDP) shrank by 0.3% in the final three months of 2023, according to the ONS latest report. The news marks the first time the UK has entered a recession since the first half of 2020, when the initial Covid-19…
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9 FebruaryHigh Street
Waterstones pre-tax profits plummet amid tech issue
Waterstones revealed that pre-tax profits fell to £11.2m in the year ending 29 April 2023 from £50.6m reported last year, as a technical issue led to a backlog of orders from bookshops. Waterstones has attributed its performance to a technical issue at its central distribution, following the introduction of a…
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