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 -30 SeptemberClothing & Shoes
Boohoo profits dented in H1 despite ‘record’ sales
Boohoo has welcomed “record” first-half sales of £976m in the six months ending 31 August 2021. Despite this, profitability was slightly dented with adjusted EBITDA down by 5% to £85.1m. The group claimed that profitability was impacted by a number of “cost headwinds” driven by short-term factors largely relating to…
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29 SeptemberDepartment Stores
Next raises guidance but warns of staff shortages
Next has raised its full-year guidance following a strong performance in its half-year results, and now expects its profit-before-tax to be £800m, up 6.9% against 2019, £36m ahead of its previous guidance of £764m. The group also anticipates its full price sales guidance for the rest of the year to…
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28 SeptemberFeatures
Have we reached a ‘peak’ in e-commerce M&A?
It has been mentioned time and again, the e-commerce boom has been led by Covid-19. The past 18 months have undoubtedly seen a myriad of digital retailers expand exponentially. M&A interest within the sector has also swelled to unseen levels. Yet, is this spike sustainable? Will e-commerce firms continue to…
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28 SeptemberHigh Street
EG group acquires 52 KFC restaurants
The Issa Brothers’ EG group has announced the acquisition of 52 Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) restaurants in the UK from Amsric group for an undisclosed sum. It revealed the acquired network, across the south and south-west regions, comprises more than 1,600 team members and a mix of “high-quality” drive thru…
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28 SeptemberHigh Street
Card Factory narrows H1 losses to £6.5m
Card Factory has announced that it has narrowed its pre-tax losses for the six-month period ending 31 July 2021 to £6.5m, up from losses of £22.2m the prior year. Revenue for the period grew by 16.3% to £116.9m up from £100.5m in 2020, and was boosted by the group’s transactional…
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27 SeptemberSupermarkets
Aldi to create 2,000 new roles as part of £1.3bn investment
Aldi has announced that it is planning on creating more than 2,000 new jobs next year and investing £1.3bn in a bid to further accelerate its stores, as the retailer’s trading continues to be steady. The announcement comes amid a recent trading update for the full-year ending December 2020, where…
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24 SeptemberClothing & Shoes
Nike Q1 revenues climb 16% to £8.9bn
Nike has announced that group revenues increased 16% year-on-year to $12.2bn (£8.9bn) in Q1 FY22. The global retailer also revealed that net income climbed 23% to $1.87bn (£1.36bn) in the three-month period ended 31 August 2021, compared with $1.52bn (£1.11bn) the previous year. Revenues at the group’s EMEA and North…
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23 SeptemberClothing & Shoes
French Connection receives takeover offer of £29m
French Connection has announced that it has received a buy-out offer of £29m by its second largest shareholders Apinder Singh Ghura, Amarjit Singh Grewal and KJR Brothers Limited. The offer comes as its share price increased by 15% to 26.9p, giving it a market value of roughly £26m. The company,…
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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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