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Mar- 2020 -25 MarchDepartment Stores
Fenwick closes online operations amid Covid-19 virus outbreak
Department store Fenwick has announced the temporary closure of its online operations amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Fenwick closed all its retail stores across the UK last week and has now ceased its e-commerce operations after the prime minister urged all stores selling “non-essential” products to close to help prevent…
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25 MarchAdvice
Keeping shop workers safe through Covid-19
This week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson advised workers across the UK to work from home if possible. But for thousands of workers, this simply isn’t an option – there are a large number of jobs that can’t be done sitting at the dining room table. The retail sector is a…
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19 MarchComment
What retailers might learn from the streaming industry
Television used to be simple. British viewers only watched the BBC for a number of years until ITV launched in 1955. Sometime later, more choice arrived in the form of BBC2 (1964) and the (then) outrageous upstart, Channel Four (1993). For a very long time, channels were clearly differentiated by…
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Feb- 2020 -19 FebruaryAnalysis
Inflation jumps, physical money nearing the end, immigration to prioritise skills, £150m film studio to launch
Inflation has reached its highest rate in six months, at 1.8%, after the price of fuel and energy rose over the course of the last year. The consumer prices index (CPI) which measures the rate by monitoring the price of consumer goods, was expected to come in at 1.6%, so…
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Jan- 2020 -31 JanuaryAnalysis
The whole Amazon thing is getting scary now
The ‘growth of online retail’ is now so proverbial that the phrase itself is nearly redundant. Is anyone surprised to learn this morning that Amazon has absolutely rampaged through the Christmas retail season, while scores of well-known bricks-and-mortar retailers reported a torrid set of financial results for the same period?…
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31 JanuaryOnline & Digital
Amazon sales skyrocket over Christmas period
Amazon has announced a 21% increase in sales to $87.4bn (£66.5bn) for the three month period ended 31 December 2019. The e-commerce giant also reported that operating income increased to $3bn (£2.9bn) in Q4, compared with $3.8bn (£2.8bn) in the fourth quarter of 2018. Net income also increased to $3.3bn…
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28 JanuaryShopping Centres
Intu continues disposals by offloading Spanish shopping centre
Shopping centre owner Intu has offloaded its second Spanish shopping centre as it attempts to fix its balance sheet. The company confirmed that a joint venture company through affiliates of Intu properties and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has exchanged contracts to sell Intu Asturias shopping centre to the ECE…
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Dec- 2019 -5 DecemberAdvice
Four tips to mastering millennial brand loyalty
Millennials can be demanding – they want variety, they want value for money, and they want everything to be available to them at the touch of a button – and quickly. Their demands are being met – from fast-fashion retailers delivering clothes to their doorstep the next day to Netflix…
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Nov- 2019 -18 NovemberComment
Mothercare: what was its formula for failure?
Last week it was announced that Mothercare, a constant of the British high street for over 50 years, had become the latest retail casualty — with all of its 79 stores set to close. But what went wrong for the maternity and baby brand? Mothercare is one of many brands…
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Oct- 2019 -25 October
Amazon Q3 profits fall 25% amid rising shipping costs
Online retail giant Amazon has reported a 25% fall in Q3 net income to $2.1bn (£1.6bn) despite a 24% increase in sales to $70bn (£54.5bn), as rising shipping costs dented its bottom line. For the three month period ending 30 September Amazon said its shipping costs surged 46% to $10bn…
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