Supply Chain
This coverage examines supply chain strategy and performance within the UK retail industry. Reporting highlights logistics innovation, inventory management, sourcing practices, supplier relations, technology adoption, and responses to disruption. Focused on efficiency, resilience, and commercial impact, it provides insights for retail executives and managers optimising operations and ensuring continuity.
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Mar- 2020 -13 MarchClothing & Shoes
Gap sales increase despite ‘challenging year’
Fashion retailer Gap has reported a 1% increase in net sales to $4.7bn (£3.7bn) in its fourth quarter results, despite a “challenging year”. Interim CEO Bob Fisher said the company began to see “stabilisation” in Q4, driven “primarily by improvements in Old Navy’s performance”. However, Gap, the parent company of…
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10 MarchHigh Street
DFS sales slide amid ‘challenging’ conditions
DFS has announced that its group revenue fell by 5.7% to £488m in the half-year period ended 29 December 2019. The furniture retailer said that such results were “as expected” against a “strong” comparative period, however, which was bolstered by “latent demand” and a higher opening order book. Meanwhile, gross…
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5 MarchClothing & Shoes
H&M launches global supply chain initiative
H&M announced it will be launching a new initiative to provide other retailers access to its global supply chain, in what it says is a bid to “accelerate sustainable change”. The initiative, entitled Treadler, will begin to offer access to its global supply chain as a service to external companies…
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4 MarchComment
Three tip for warehouse transformation
It wasn’t very long ago when fulfillment was described as: “Just logistics.” How times change. And with the speed and accuracy of deliveries enabling competitive advantage, warehousing is high on boardroom agendas. While this change is good news, it comes with challenges. Along with consumers’ expectations for ever faster delivery,…
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3 MarchHigh Street
Greggs hails ‘exceptional’ record-breaking year
Bakery chain Greggs has reported a 13.5% increase in total sales to £1.1m for the year ended 28 December 2019. In what was a ‘record-breaking’ year for the group, company-managed shop like-for-like sales were also up 9.2%. Pre-tax profit excluding pre-tax charge was up 27.2% to £114.2m, with an overall…
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Feb- 2020 -25 FebruaryHigh Street
Hotel Chocolat revenues soar in half-year results
British chocolatier Hotel Chocolat has reported a 14% increase in revenues to £91.7m for the half-year period ended 29 December 2019. The retailer said the strong sales growth reflected “continued brand appeal and ongoing product innovation”. It also opened nine new stores in the UK, bringing its portfolio to 125…
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20 FebruaryComment
Mindfulness in omnichannel retail – the key to a successful future
Mindfulness and being more conscientious about the impact of retail operations is fast becoming a top business priority for online brands, and one we will continue to see develop in 2020. With 88% of consumers wanting retailers to help them make a difference, being aware of the implications that retail…
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14 FebruaryAnalysis
German stagnation, Javid out, RBS gets environmental, Norton no-show
The German economy has stagnated due to significant falls in spending and exports. New figures show that GDP ‘flat lined’ (financial jargon for neither growing nor contracting) in the final quarter of 2019, bad news since economists and analysts had hoped that it would grow about 0.1%. It means Germany’s…
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14 FebruaryHigh Street
M&S to shutter two distribution centres putting almost 700 jobs at risk
Marks and Spencer has announced plans to shutter two of its distribution centres in spring 2021, putting nearly 700 jobs at risk. The affected sites are the Thorncliffe and Long Eaton distribution centres, which are operated by XPO and DHL respectively, and each employed around 330 staff. It comes amid…
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12 FebruaryTips
Looking to capitalise on the UK’s vegan retail movement – read this first
“Vegan” is one of the biggest buzzwords of the late 2010s and an anticipated key concept across hundreds of industries in 2020 and beyond. It’s clear that this is a term that’s going to be associated with success, especially in the UK’s ever-evolving fashion scene. Initially starting off as a…
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