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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Oct- 2021 -13 OctoberHigh Street
Holland & Barrett to close stores on Boxing Day
Holland and Barrett is the latest store to announce plans to close all its stores in the UK and Ireland on Saturday, 25 December and Sunday, 26 December 2021, as a “thank you to colleagues for their efforts during the pandemic”. It follows in the footsteps of Morrisons, Marks and…
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12 OctoberHigh Street
John Lewis sees online sales surge to 70% of total sales
John Lewis has revealed it has seen a surge in online sales amid the Covid-19 pandemic with consumers changing the way they shop with online sales accounting for between 60% to 70% of the retailer’s total sales, up from 40% before the pandemic. The report, Shop, Live, Look 202, which…
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12 OctoberHigh Street
French Connection CEO to retire as H1 losses narrow
French Connection has revealed that its chairman and chief executive Stephen Marks will retire from the company following its completion of the £29m buyout deal. It comes as the group saw its losses narrow for the six-month period ending 31 July 2021 to £900,000 from £12.2m the previous year. During…
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12 OctoberSupermarkets
Tesco to appoint 30,000 Christmas workers
Tesco has announced it will recruit 30,000 temporary workers during the festive period. The grocer said half of those roles have been filled by temporary colleagues who joined Tesco during the pandemic and have had their contracts extended to cover Christmas. The UK-wide roles, in Tesco’s Superstores and Extra stores,…
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11 OctoberHigh Street
Poundland owner names new chief operating officer
Pepco Group, the owner of budget retailer Poundland, has announced the appointment of Trevor Masters as the group’s chief operating officer (COO), effective from 1 January 2022. Masters will be based in Poland and retain his current leadership responsibilities as managing director (MD) as well as providing “strategic direction and…
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11 OctoberGovernment
PM appoints ex-Tesco CEO Dave Lewis as supply chain adviser
The prime minister has appointed Sir David Lewis, former CEO of Tesco, as the UK Government’s supply chain adviser. The government said Lewis brings with him a “wealth of industry knowledge” and expertise to the new role. He will advise the PM and chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on…
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11 OctoberEconomy
Christmas footfall predicted to remain 17% below 2019 levels
Footfall across UK retail destinations will average -17% lower than in 2019 over the six week Christmas trading period from November 21 to January 4, continuing the current trajectory seen in September with footfall down -17.4%, according to a forecast by Springboard. It projects Black Friday will be more popular…
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11 OctoberCoronavirus
Consumer confidence hits lowest level this year
Consumer confidence has returned to pre-pandemic levels, but still hit its lowest point in 2021 following “record” highs earlier this year, according to PwC’s latest consumer confidence index. While inflation, ongoing concern over supply chains and empty shelves caused a slight decline in optimism, consumer confidence was +3 on the…
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7 OctoberHigh Street
‘Strong return’ to pre-pandemic shopping patterns, report finds
There has been a “strong return” to pre-pandemic shopping patterns, according to new data released by Airtime. The group assessed shopping patterns and retailer responses across 100 household brands, both on and offline, amongst its 1.5 million members during September 2021. Three in five consumers were reported to be shopping…
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7 OctoberHigh Street
Footfall continues steady improvement in September
Retail footfall continued to strengthen in September, narrowing the gap from 2019 to -17.4%, down from -18.6% in August, countering the downward trend in footfall often recorded in September. The month also saw a 20% increase on September 2020 levels. Springboard said that this month’s results go against the long-term…
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