Productivity
This coverage explores productivity in the UK retail industry, focusing on workforce effectiveness, operational efficiency, process innovation, and cost control. Reporting provides insight into how retailers optimise resources and performance to remain competitive — supporting executives, managers, and professionals driving improvement initiatives.
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Sep- 2025 -30 SeptemberHigh Street
Card Factory profits fall despite revenue uplift
Card Factory has announced that its adjusted profit-before-tax has fallen 46.4% to £7.5m for the six months ended 31 July, compared with £14m in HY25. The company put this down to the timing of efficiency-focused investments including an upgrade to its point of sale till system. Despite this, the group’s…
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22 SeptemberFeatures
Journey to AI: build strong foundations for retail success
While AI has been grabbing headlines and presenting a vision of what is to come, AI is real and effective right now, and it forms the keystone of the retail industry’s future. But for many businesses, the journey to AI feels like a daunting one. Fragmented data systems, legacy processes,…
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22 SeptemberSupermarkets
Asda announces renewed AI and Cloud Collaboration with Microsoft
Asda has agreed a new collaboration deal with Microsoft, marking one of the largest technology deals in UK retail, which will see it accelerate Asda’s transition to a cloud-first operational model, powered by Microsoft’s artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies. The supermarket giant said Microsoft Azure will “serve as the…
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18 SeptemberHigh Street
Next CEO warns UK economy faces ‘anaemic growth’ despite HY profit uplift
Next has revealed that its profit-before-tax rose 13.8% to £515m for the half year ended July 2025 as its CEO warned that the UK is facing “anemic growth”. It comes as the group’s revenues rose 10.3% to £3.25bn, helped by favourable weather and business gained during the M&S cyber attack…
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Aug- 2025 -28 AugustComment
How retailers can keep frontline staff from feeling undervalued and overstressed
In retail, the shop floor is where the customer experience comes to life. It’s where expectations are met — or missed. Yet for decades, frontline employees, the people most directly responsible for shaping that experience, have often been left without the tools, recognition, and support they need to thrive. For…
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14 AugustEconomy
UK quarterly GDP beats expectations despite slowdown
UK GDP grew 0.3% in the three months to June, behind the 0.7% it grew in the first quarter, as a result of US tariffs and higher business costs, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). However, it is better than expected growth as economists polled by…
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11 AugustTechnology
Currys to expand its B2B division
Currys is rebranding and expanding its business-to-business (B2B) division in a move to capture a greater share of the UK’s small business technology market. The retailer has relaunched Currys Business and opened three new business hubs in Stevenage, Solihull and Exeter, taking the total to 57 nationwide. A further three…
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4 AugustDepartment Stores
Debenhams launches AI academy for employees
Debenhams Group has launched an AI skills academy, a new programme aiming to provide its employees with practical AI skills. The academy is being rolled out in partnership with workforce development platform Multiverse. It will be fully funded through the group’s £1.35m apprenticeship levy, and provide employees with “structured, on-the-job…
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1 AugustOnline & Digital
Amazon sales rise 13% in Q2 but profit outlook softens
Amazon has welcomed better than expected trading in its second quarter, as revenues rose by 13% to $167.7bn (£130.8bn), but has warned that Q3 profits may not meet expectations amid ongoing tariff uncertainty. Operating income hit $19.2bn (£15.0bn) in the quarter ended 30 June 2025, compared with $14.7bn (£11.5bn) in…
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Jul- 2025 -24 JulyDIY
Wickes hits record market share as H1 sales rise 5.6%
Wickes has “gone from strength to strength” in the first half of the year, with sales up by 5.6% year-on-year to £847.9m, as the group also hit a “record” market share. Over the period, volume-led growth momentum was reported across all areas of the business, and retail sales rose by…
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