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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Jan- 2023 -25 JanuarySupply Chain
300 Amazon warehouse workers hold first UK strike
The GMB union has organised a strike for about 300 Amazon warehouse employees out of 1,000 at the e-commerce retailer’s Coventry depot today (Wednesday 25 January), the first to be held in the UK. The union has been working to boost its presence at the company, as today’s strike action…
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25 JanuaryClothing & Shoes
Footfall improves throughout 2022 but remains 14% behind 2019
UK footfall improved throughout 2022, but there still remains a “significant” 14.2% gap to pre-pandemic 2019 levels, according to Springboard’s annual retail review for 2022. However, the figure does mark “a steady improvement”, from -20.8% below 2019 in January 2022 to -10.9% in December 2022. The uplift from 2021, however,…
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24 JanuaryFeatures
Are BNPL schemes here to stay?
Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) schemes, which are a form of short-term financing that allows customers to purchase things and pay at a later date, often interest-free, have seen a boom in popularity in recent years. It is now considered the fastest-growing payment method around, with the whole BNPL industry…
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24 JanuaryHealth & Beauty
Boots offers 1,500 jobs to former Lloyds Pharmacy staff
Boots has announced that it will be recruiting for more than 1,500 pharmacy roles nationwide, extending the opportunity particularly to Lloyds Pharmacy staff that have been impacted by news of closures. The pharmacy retailer’s announcement comes as Lloyds Pharmacy will be closing 237 branches inside nationwide Sainsbury’s stores over the…
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20 JanuaryEconomy
December retail sales fall 1% despite Christmas boost
Retail sales volumes fell by 1% in December 2022 after a 0.5% fall in November 2022, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Alongside this, sales volumes were down 1.7% compared with pre-pandemic levels in February 2020. Non-food store sales volumes also dropped 2.1% over December. ONS…
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19 JanuaryHigh Street
Dunelm sales surge 18% in Q2
Dunelm has revealed that its total sales reached £478m in Q2, which was 18% higher than in the same period last year and an increase of 48% compared with pre-pandemic levels. For the period ending 31 December 2022, the group attributed its performance to customer demand for its Autumn and…
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19 JanuaryHigh Street
Boohoo revenues drop 11%
Boohoo has revealed its revenues dropped 11% to £637.7m in the three months to 31 December, in line with the online fashion retailer’s previous guidance. UK revenues declined by 11% year-on-year while international revenues fell by 10% after trade was “impacted by extended delivery times compared to pre-pandemic levels”. Boohoo…
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18 JanuaryHigh Street
WH Smith revenues up 41% amid strong travel sales
WH Smith has seen total revenues rise by 41% over the 20 week period ending 14 January 2023, with revenues also up by 20% against its pre-pandemic trading results as travel sales picked up. The group attributed its “strong” performance to its UK travel business, which saw total revenue increase…
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17 JanuaryNews
Lush sales soar 13.1% in December
Lush UK and Ireland has announced sales of £40.5m in December, exceeding forecasts and beating 2021’s sales by 13.1%, and up 11% versus pre-pandemic sales in 2019. Throughout the year, Lush invested £7.4m in growing its retail estate across UK and Europe through new shops, relocations and refits, with the…
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17 JanuaryHigh Street
Quiz sales up 11% over Christmas
Quiz group sales increased by 11% to £9.8m for the Christmas trading period ending 31 December 2022. Sales growth over Christmas was driven by a 19% increase in revenues generated across the retailer’s UK stores to £6.2m, which reflects “strong” like-for-like growth on the sales generated in the prior year…
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