Retail news

• Retail sales tumble across Britain in wet April; energy price cap falls 7% – business live

  24-05-2024 08:33
  
  Retail sales slumped by more than expected in April as wet weather kept shoppers away from the high street
  Retail sales across Great Britain in April are much weaker than expected.Economists polled by Reuters had expected a drop of around 0.4% on the month, so they’ll be startled to learn that volumes shrank by 2.3%.The 2.3% m/m fall in retail sales volumes in April was much bigger than most expected (CE forecast -0.5% m/m, consensus -0.4% m/m), due to the unusually wet weather discouragin
  
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• ScS leadership team sees mass resignations under new owner

  27-09-2024 15:51 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Several senior executives at ScS have resigned as the transformation under new Italian owner Poltronesofà accelerates.
  Several sources familiar with the upcoming departures informed The Furnishing Report that stakeholders were notified that key board members have collectively submitted their resignations.
  In addition to Renzo Ricci, the owner of Poltronesofà, who will remain in his position, the current trading company board includes commercial director James Heese, along with Mari
  
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• Fenwick bolsters leadership team as losses widen in ‘challenging year’

  27-09-2024 14:24 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Fenwick has brought two new senior executives to its team as it eyes “an exciting new period of growth” despite sales falling and losses widening.
  The department store has named Susan Gordon as its new chief people officer alongside Joseph Wright as its new chief trading officer, Retail Week reports.
  The appointments, alongside new CEO Nigel Blow who was hired earlier this year, are expected to “strengthen the Fenwick executive structure” as well as boost its commercial
  
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• Fenwick bolsters leadership team amid ‘challenging’ enviroment

  27-09-2024 14:24 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Fenwick has brought two new senior executives to its team as it eyes “an exciting new period of growth” despite sales falling and losses widening.
  The department store has named Susan Gordon as its new chief people officer alongside Joseph Wright as its new chief trading officer, Retail Week reports.
  The appointments, alongside new CEO Nigel Blow who was hired earlier this year, are expected to “strengthen the Fenwick executive structure” as well as boost its commercial
  
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• UK supermarkets failing to tackle antibiotic misuse, new report finds

  27-09-2024 13:58 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  UK supermarkets are not doing enough to ensure its suppliers use antibiotics in the most responsible way, a new report has revealed.
  New regulations were rolled out in the UK this year to limit the use of antibiotics in farming, with British farmers no longer covered by EU rules.
  The law states that antibiotics should not be used to compensate for inadequate animal husbandry or poor hygiene.
  Despite this, new research by the Alliance to Save Our Antibiotics (ASOA), looking at the practices of th
  
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• Aldi converts 30% of HGV fleet to eco-friendly fuel

  27-09-2024 12:12 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Aldi is converting over 30% of its fleet of owned HGVs to hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) fuels in a bid to cut its carbon footprint.
  The move will cover more than 160 HGVs based at the German discounter’s Cardiff, Swindon and Neston distribution centres, and is expected to cut Aldi’s carbon emissions by approximately 15,400 tonnes of CO2e per year.
  If introduced across Aldi’s entire fleet of over 550 HGVs, the change could reduce an additional 55,100 tonnes of CO2e per y
  
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• UK supermarkets not doing enough to tackle antibiotic misuse, report says

  27-09-2024 12:00
  Findings come amid growing concerns about overuse of medicines in farm animals and rise of superbugsNone of the UK’s large supermarket chains are ensuring their suppliers use antibiotics in the most responsible way, an assessment by campaigners has found, despite heightened concerns about their overuse in farm animals.Supermarkets play an important role in the fight against superbugs, because most of the world’s antibiotics are used on livestock and retailers can enforce strict stand
  
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• eBay UK launches luxury consignment service with Luxe Collective

  27-09-2024 10:46 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  eBay UK has launched its new consignment service for luxury items, giving users direct access to expert sellers who will list and sell their items on their behalf.
  The online giant has partnered with experienced luxury seller, Luxe Collective to power the service, known for selling coveted pre-owned luxury goods, eBay said the business brings “unrivalled expertise to the consignment service”.
  Launching initially for designer handbags, consumers can list and sell their new and pre-own
  
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• Jigsaw expands Irish presence with Brown Thomas tie-up

  27-09-2024 10:18 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Jigsaw has partnered with department store chain Brown Thomas, in a bid to increase its presence within the Irish market.
  The fashion retailer is now available to shop within the Limerick and Blanchardstown concessions, as well as online on the Brown Thomas website.
  Jigsaw head of retail Vikky Baker said: “As a renowned name known for delivering quality and premium experiences on the high street, Brown Thomas shares our commitment to excellence and aligns perfectly with Jigsaw’s uniq
  
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• Tesco widens retail media tie-up to use shopper data

  27-09-2024 09:19 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Tesco has widened its retail media partnership with The Trade Desk to provide brands access to its Clubcard data.
  The expansion of the Tesco Media and Insight platform, powered by Dunnhumby, is designed to give retailers and advertisers maximum ad campaign control and optimisation, giving them direct access to to anonymised audience segments.
  Brands will be able to use the grocer’s first-party Clubcard data instead of relying on third-party cookies to plan targetted campaigns, prompted by
  
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• Amazon UK paid corporation tax for first time in four years

  27-09-2024 09:15 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Amazon’s UK arm has paid corporation tax for the first time in four years, after the end of a “super-deduction” tax break brought in by Rishi Sunak.
  The delivery giant’s UK Services paid £18.7m in “current tax” last year on its £27bn of sales, which is believed to have been largely corporation tax.
  Amazon paid £932m in “direct taxes” on its sales, including corporate tax and business rates, amounting to roughly 3.45% of its revenu
  
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• Tesco gears up to relaunch F&F clothing online

  27-09-2024 08:57 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Tesco is gearing up to relaunch its online F&F clothing range during the coming months, after axing its non-food website Tesco Direct in 2018.
  The grocer’s fashion offering, which is set to be launched later this year, will sit alongside its new marketplace, Drapers reported.
  It is thought that Tesco head of Woosh, Greg Bertrand, was hired as head of online for F&F earlier in the year and has been in charge of the fashion relaunch.
  The new online clothes range marks the first time
  
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• Bravissimo acquired by Wacoal Europe

  27-09-2024 08:45 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Bravissimo has been acquired by the Wacoal Europe lingerie and swimwear manufacturer. Wacoal owns the Wacoal, Freya, Fantasie, Elomi and Goddess brands, most of which Bravissimo... View Article
  
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• Celebrating the People in Retail Awards 2024: A night of inspiration, recognition & achievement

  27-09-2024 08:12 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Last night, the People in Retail Awards 2024 brought together over 400 professionals from across the retail industry for an unforgettable celebration of excellence, dedication, and... View Article
  
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• Asda to convert IT systems in smaller stores over Christmas to minimise disruption

  26-09-2024 20:02 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Asda will prioritise converting the IT systems in its smaller stores for the rest of the year to minimise disruption from its ‘Project Future’ transformation over the Christmas period.
  The retailer said it would concentrate its transformation efforts on 850 smaller sites, including petrol stations, smaller supermarkets, and Asda Express convenience stores over the golden quarter, rather than its larger stores where the bulk of its customers shop.
  The conversion of its superstores and
  
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• Bravissimo snapped up by lingerie giant Wacoal Europe

  26-09-2024 18:09 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Bravissimo has been snapped up by lingerie and swimwear manufacturer Wacoal Europe.
  Wacoal Europe owns the brands Wacoal, Freya, Fantasie, Elomi and Goddess. Bravissimo has been selling Freya, Fantasie and Elomi products for many years.
  Under its new ownership, the retailer, which sells lingerie and swimwear in sizes D cup and above, will continue operating as a separate company, with Leanne Cahill remaining as its CEO.
  The lingerie brand will also continue to be run from its office and warehous
  
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• Harrods boss apologises over Al Fayed allegations: ‘We failed our colleagues’

  26-09-2024 15:14 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Harrods managing director Micahel Ward has said the business “failed our colleagues” as he apologised following sexual misconduct allegations against the department store’s former owner, Mohamed Al Fayed.
  Ward said it was clear Al Fayed “presided over a toxic culture of secrecy, intimidation, fear of repercussion and sexual misconduct”.
  The Harrods boss, who worked for Fayed for four years, said he was “not aware of his criminality and abuse” and descri
  
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• Updated: Morrisons inks £331m property deal

  26-09-2024 15:00 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Morrisons has confirmed it is set to wipe £331m off its debt pile following a 45-year ground rent deal with real investor Song Capital.
  The private equity-backed supermarket has agreed for the investment firm to earn an income stream from 75 of its stores until 2069, as previously reported by Sky News.
  The grocer will retain ownership of the stores’ freehold. Related StoryMorrisons sales nudge up as it focuses on availability and loyalty26/09/2024 x 12:19 PMThe deal was announced alo
  
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• Aldi boss tells shoppers ‘you don’t have to compromise on quality’ after Panorama investigation

  26-09-2024 14:34 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Aldi boss Giles Hurley has sent shoppers an email highlighting the BBC Panorama’s investigation into supermarket price-matching.
  The email said the documentary “revealed some eye-opening findings,” including the fact that many Tesco goods that claimed to be Aldi price-matched were not like for like.
  Writing in the email, he said: “The programme, which aired on BBC One, highlighted that nearly a third of Tesco’s matched products contain less of the main ingredient co
  
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• Amazon UK pays corporation tax for first time since 2020

  26-09-2024 14:06
  
  End of ‘super-deduction’ means Amazon UK Services paid £18.7m last year, as British arm raked in sales of £27bnAmazon’s main UK division has paid corporation tax for the first time since 2020 after the end of a “super-deduction” tax break introduced by Rishi Sunak.Amazon UK Services, which employs more than half of the group’s UK workers, said it paid £18.7m in “current tax” last year, which is understood to have been largely corp
  
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• Morrisons sales nudge up as it focuses on availability and loyalty

  26-09-2024 13:19 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Morrisons sales nudged up during its third quarter, as the retailer focused on availability and loyalty across the business.
  From 29 April to 28 July, sales were up 2% to almost £4bn as the supermarket said it made further progress across its three strategic pillars: commercial excellence, operations optimisation and new value creation.
  It added an additional 50 products to its Aldi and Lidl price match, bringing its total goods to almost 300.
  The grocery giant made a significant inve
  
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• Morrisons agrees £331m property deal on extra long leases to cut debt pile

  26-09-2024 12:37
  Transaction will reportedly provide investment firm Song Capital with ground rent on 76 supermarkets for 45 yearsMorrisons has raised £331m to cut its debt pile through the sale of ground leases on 76 supermarkets as part of a turnaround plan under the new chief executive, Rami Baitiéh.If all the proceeds are used to pay down debt, Morrisons would have net debt of £3.6bn, down from as much as £8.6bn at the end of last year. Continue reading...
  
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• Selfridges boosts retail media offer as it launches sponsored products

  26-09-2024 12:30 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Selfridges has teamed up with adtech firm Criteo as it introduces sponsored products on its website for the first time.
  As part of a new two-year partnership, Criteo will also power the luxury retailer’s onsite display, which it said would give shoppers “a fully personalised experience, creating opportunities for Selfridges’ brand partners to access retail networks”.
  With access to Selfridges’ luxury shopper audiences, the pair hope the new tie-up will be able to &l
  
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• Boots introduces over 25 new beauty brands as it launches biggest ever beauty marketing campaign

  26-09-2024 09:55 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Boots has introduced 25 new beauty brands over the summer as it continues to revamp the beauty shopping experience in its stores. Brands added to the... View Article
  
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• Pepco Group continues to be impacted by supply chain disruption

  26-09-2024 09:27 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  Pepco Group is expecting to deliver strong increases in revenue and EBITDA in its current financial year despite its performance being impacted by supply chain disruption.... View Article
  
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• Poundland owner Pepco battles ongoing supply chain disruption

  26-09-2024 09:24 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Pepco Group’s fourth-quarter like-for-like sales fell year on year due to ongoing supply chain disruption.
  For the 51 weeks ending September 22, the Poundland and Dealz owner saw total revenue rise 10%, driven by new store openings, but like-for-like dipped 3.1%.
  Disruption to shipping through the Suez Canal, due to attacks militants in the Red Sea, has continued through 2024.
  “Pepco has continued to be impacted by supply chain issues, affecting the consistent and timely availability
  
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• H&M warns on profit target amid higher costs and intense competition

  26-09-2024 09:24
  Swedish fast-fashion chain’s struggle to boost margins a blow to new chief Daniel Ervér
  
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• H&M hit by flat sales in ‘challenging’ quarter as it lowers profit forecast

  26-09-2024 09:05 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  H&M Group has posted flat sales in the UK and across key European markets in its third quarter as colder weather in June hit early trading.
  For the three months to 31 August, the fashion giant saw global net sales slip 3% to SEK 59bn (£4.3bn) from SEK 60.9bn (£4.5bn) during the same period last year. In local currencies, sales were flat.
  As a result, the group has updated its outlook, now expecting its operating margin for the year to be below 10%, down on its previous earnings t
  
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• Co-op fights £40m shoplifting losses with AI-powered security

  26-09-2024 08:32 via retailgazette.co.uk
  
  Co-op is now using artificial intelligence to detect offenders carrying concealed weapons or stolen goods after it revealed leakage costs from theft and fraud rose by almost 20% to £40m in the first half of the year.The technology, currently being trialled, can also detect physical assaults on staff and notify a central monitoring station operated by Mitie to request support, The Guardian reported.The retailer, which returned to profit this week despite the surge in shoplifting, has spent
  
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• L’Occitane Group chief executive steps down

  26-09-2024 08:22 via theretailbulletin.com
  
  L’Occitane Group has announced that Laurent Marteau has stepped down from his roles of chief executive officer and board member. The group said he had made... View Article
  
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