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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Sep- 2021 -23 SeptemberSupermarkets
Supermarkets warn of panic-buying amid ongoing labour crisis
Leading UK supermarkets are reportedly concerned about a surge in panic-buying during the run-up to Christmas, as supermarkets continue to face an “array” of pressures including the ongoing HGV driver shortage. The boss of Iceland has today warned customers against panic-buying over the period, as managing director Richard Walker told…
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23 SeptemberEconomy
Card retail transactions up to 81%, survey finds
Debit and credit card retail transactions surpassed four in every five pounds spent in 2020 (81%, up from 78% in 2019), according to the latest annual payments survey published by the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Cash use now accounts for just 15% of total spending in retail (down from 20%…
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23 SeptemberDIY
DFS returns to profit in FY21
Furniture retailer DFS has announced that it has returned to profitability in its latest results for the 52-week period ending 27 June 2021. During the period, underlying pre-tax profits reached £105.8m from a previous year’s loss of £63.1m. Revenue also grew by 47.4% to £1.06bn from £724.5m in 2020 and…
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22 SeptemberNews
Fenwick losses widen to £112m
Department store chain, Fenwick, has revealed its losses have widened to £112m for the 52-week period ending 29 January 2021. The company said the results come after what it called “the most difficult trading conditions in living memory” with the Covid-19 pandemic forcing its stores to be closed for 21…
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22 SeptemberHigh Street
Pret unveils £100m expansion plan despite losses
Pret A Manger has unveiled plans to double the size of its business within the next five years, as it looks to expand into five new markets by the end of 2023. In addition, the group plans to open around 200 new UK stores over the next two years alone,…
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21 SeptemberFeatures
September’s retail results: The winners and losers
Retail can be argued as the industry that has shifted the most as a direct result of the global pandemic, and continues to change as we enter a post-pandemic period. The rise of e-commerce has been accompanied by high profile high street closures, supermarkets have become the centre of private…
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21 SeptemberSupermarkets
Convenience stores see sales outperform UK supermarkets
Grocery spend at UK convenience stores increased by +3.3% in the last four weeks ending 11 September 2021 – outperforming UK supermarkets, which rose by +0.6% during the same period, according to data released by NielsenIQ. NielsenIQ explained the shift toward the convenience channel is a result of a “gradual…
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17 SeptemberFeatures
eyezon – Reinventing live video for retail
Tell us more about the history of eyezon and how it got started The company started a little over four years ago, initially as an R&D project. We didn’t launch with the idea of being a business immediately. It was a team of textual web developers, software developers, and marketing…
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17 SeptemberHigh Street
BIRA calls on gov to appeal card payment fees
British Independent Retailers Association (BIRA) has added its voice to a group of trade bodies appealing for parliament to intervene and protect British businesses and consumers from the cost of anti-competitive practices in card payments. The association has joined the British Retail Consortium (BRC), Association of Convenience Stores (ACS), Federation…
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17 SeptemberHigh Street
Retail sales fall 0.9% in August, ONS reveals
Retail sales volumes fell by 0.9% in August 2021, marking the second consecutive month-on-month decline, according to the latest Office of National Statistics (ONS) data. Despite the drop in sales, the results still remained 4.6% higher than their pre-pandemic February 2020 levels. Online sales rose to 27.7% in August from…
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