Wales
This coverage highlights retail developments and economic trends specific to Wales, examining store openings and closures, regional sales performance, employment issues, and policy changes affecting the retail sector. Reporting provides retail managers and executives with insights into the unique challenges and opportunities shaping retail operations across Welsh towns and cities.
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Jul- 2021 -1 JulyNews
Innovating retail spaces for a successful future
Whilst the growth of online consumer shopping was highly publicised during the prolonged periods of Covid-19 lockdown, the relaxing of the rules for non-essential retailers in England and Wales has led to a 174% rise in high street footfall. It’s a figure that shows the high street is certainly not…
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Jun- 2021 -7 JuneHigh Street
ACS calls on gov to ensure DRS scheme is ‘workable’ for local shops
The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has called on the government to ensure that the deposit return scheme (DRS) which will be introduced in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is workable for local shops and does not leave them out of pocket. The scheme is currently scheduled to be introduced…
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May- 2021 -26 MayGovernment
BRC calls for increased protection as shop worker abuse jumps 7%
The BRC is continuing to push the government for a “statutory offence” for assaulting, threatening, or abusing retail workers, after staff report on average 455 incidents of violence and abuse each day. A study, which was conducted by the group as part of its ‘2021 Retail Crime Survey’, showed that…
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21 MayHigh Street
Retail sales climb 9.2% in April
Retail sales across the UK increased 9.2% in April 2021 when compared to the previous month, as the easing of restrictions included the opening of non-essential retail across England, Wales, and Scotland during the period. According to the ONS’s retail sales data, sales grew 42.4% year-on-year due to April 2020…
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12 MayEconomy
UK economy shrinks 1.5% in Q1 despite signs of recovery
The UK economy shrank by 1.5% during the first three months of the year due to the impact of the national lockdown. According to the latest figures by the ONS however, the contraction shows a marked improvement on the first lockdown last year when gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by…
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Apr- 2021 -30 AprilHigh Street
Card Factory trading performance ‘exceeds expectations’
Card Factory has announced that its performance following the reopening of stores in England and Wales “exceeded its expectations”. The company has also revealed that it has agreed headline terms for refinancing of the group with its current syndicate of commercial lending banks, with a further update due in the…
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20 AprilClothing & Shoes
Primark to repay furlough relief despite seeing HY profits halve
The owner of Primark, Associated British Foods (ABF), has revealed that it intends to repay £121m in relief repayment, despite profits falling 50% to £319m for the 24 weeks ended 27 February 2021. The government support schemes enabled the company to preserve its entire 65,000 workforce for Primark. While overall…
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9 AprilHigh Street
Total UK footfall decreases by 69%, BRC tracker finds
Total UK footfall decreased by 68.7% in March (Yo2Y), marking only a 4.9% improvement from February, according to the latest British Retail Consortium (BRC) Sensormatic tracker. The data, which covered the five weeks from 28 February to 3 April 2021, showed that the footfall drop in March was above the…
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8 AprilDepartment Stores
Debenhams to reopen its stores one last time
Debenhams has announced that it will reopen its stores in England and Wales on 12 April to complete its final closing down sale. The sale will offer limited-time bargains, with up to 70% off fashion and home products and up to 50% off beauty and fragrance lines. The reopening is…
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8 AprilSupermarkets
M&S outlines lockdown reopening plans
Marks and Spencers has announced its plans to reopen ahead of the retail sector’s return in England and Wales on 12 April 2021. From 12 April, the supermarket chain will reopen its clothing and home spaces to customers for the first time since the most recent outline. As part of…
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