Category Archives: Retail industry

Superdry returns to profit despite talks on £70m debt pile

Posted on by

Founder Julian Dunkerton says being ‘cool again’ with TikTok generation helped turn previous £37m loss into £18m profit

Superdry is in talks with its banks to renegotiate up to £70m debt, the fashion retailer revealed on Friday, but investors shrugged off concerns to send shares soaring more than 14% as founder Julian Dunkerton announced a return to profit.

Dunkerton claimed Superdry “was cool again”, with strong demand from the TikTok generation for items such as parachute pants and Afghan coats, as he revealed pre tax profits of £18m, a bounce back from a loss of almost £37m a year before as sales rose almost 10% to £610m in the year to 30 April.

Continue reading...

Tesco warns of cost inflation as it raises pay for third time in 13 months

Posted on by

Supermarket aims to make £500m of savings but will freeze prices on more than 1,000 products until 2023

Tesco has warned annual profits will be at the lower end of its hopes as it faces significant cost inflation, revealing it has raised pay for a third time in 13 months.

The UK’s biggest retailer said it was aiming to make £500m of savings this year to offset its higher costs, including more automated tills, but was uncertain how shoppers would behave in the run-up to Christmas.

Continue reading...

Currys raises pay for third time in 13 months amid staff shortage

Posted on by

Electrical goods retailer keen to attract and retain workers as cost of living increases

Currys has raised pay for the third time in 13 months to attract and retain workers amid a labour shortage and rise in the cost of living.

The electrical goods retailer said that from 30 October it was increasing rates by 3.5% to a minimum of £10.35 an hour (£11.43 in London), only a month after a previous rise came into effect.

Continue reading...

Which businesses will be open or shut on the day of the Queen’s funeral?

Posted on by

Many shops, cinemas, pubs and airports are choosing to limit their hours on Monday

Since it was confirmed last Saturday that Queen Elizabeth’s funeral would be held on Monday 19 September, a slew of businesses and services have said they will be reducing operations or closing for all or part of the day as a mark of respect.

With the day declared a bank holiday, many employers have given staff the entire day off and most shops will be closed. So what will be open on Monday and when?

Continue reading...

Pound falls as weak retail sales raise fears UK economy is in recession

Posted on by

On Black Wednesday anniversary, sterling hits 37-year low against dollar and 17-month low against euro

Fears that the British economy is already in recession after a slump in retail sales last month triggered heavy selling of the pound on international money markets taking it to a 37-year low against the dollar.

With average UK wages continuing to fall behind rising prices and the Bank of England expected to push up interest rates next week, sterling fell by more than 1% against the US currency to $1.135, its lowest since 1985.

Continue reading...

John Lewis suffers first half loss of £99m and warns of risk to staff bonuses

Posted on by

Outlook ‘uniquely uncertain’, says Partnership as it announces cost of living support for staff

The John Lewis Partnership has warned its annual staff bonus is at risk this year after it slumped to a first half loss of £99m and said the outlook in the run-up to Christmas was “uniquely uncertain”.

The group, which is staff-owned and includes the Waitrose supermarket chain, blamed soaring inflation for the loss in the 26 weeks to 30 July, which compared with a £29m loss before tax in the same period last year.

Continue reading...

Asos sales weaker than expected as cost of living crisis bites

Posted on by

August slump leads to online fashion retailer downgrading annual growth forecast to about 2%

Asos said sales in August were weaker than expected and warned that full-year profits would be at the bottom end of its guidance, with the cost of living crisis hitting cash-strapped shoppers.

The online fashion retailer, which made more than £190m in profits last year, expects profits for the year to the end of August to be about £20m.

Continue reading...

Bed Bath & Beyond executive falls to his death from New York tower, police say

Posted on by

Chief financial officer Gustavo Arnal, 52, fell from skyscraper on Friday, days after the company said it was closing several stores

The chief financial officer of the troubled home goods retailer Bed Bath & Beyond fell to his death from a New York skyscraper known as the “Jenga” tower on Friday, police said, just days after the company said it was closing several stores.

Gustavo Arnal, 52, joined Bed Bath & Beyond in 2020. He previously worked for the cosmetics brand Avon in London and had a 20-year stint with Procter & Gamble, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Continue reading...

Selfridges wants half of transactions to be resale, repair, rental or refills by 2030

Posted on by

Department store group says it is responding to customers’ demand for more sustainable shopping

Selfridges is aiming for almost half its interactions with customers to be based on resale, repair, rental or refills by 2030 as the upmarket department store responds to increasing demand for more sustainable shopping.

The retailer said it wanted to step up action after increasing sales of secondhand items by 240% to 17,771 pieces last year and facilitating 28,000 repairs, more than a third of which were pairs of trainers, in its effort to trade in a more environmentally sustainable way. It also rented out more than 2,000 items to customers and sold more than 8,000 refills.

Continue reading...

UK retailers blocking moves to end the killing of day-old male chicks

Posted on by

While France and Germany have introduced bans, Britain continues to slaughter 29 million unwanted chicks every year

UK retailers are blocking moves to end the killing of millions of day-old male chicks each year, farmers and breeding companies have said.

The industrial-scale culling of unwanted chicks is common practice around the world, with 330 million males slaughtered by crushing or gassing each year in Europe, according to campaigners, 29 million of those in the UK.

Continue reading...

Rising energy costs ‘will force thousands of corner shops to close’

Posted on by

Association of Convenience Stores urges chancellor to provide more financial support for small shops

Thousands of corner shops will be forced to close due to surging energy costs unless the government steps in with emergency support, a trade body has said.

The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has written to the chancellor, Nadhim Zahawi, saying that without financial support its members will be driven out of business. “We will see villages, housing estates, neighbourhoods and high streets lose their small shops,” the letter says.

Continue reading...

M&S pledges to put recycling at heart of Marble Arch store redevelopment

Posted on by

Mark & Spencer says 95% of materials will be recovered, recycled or reused amid growing opposition

Marks & Spencer has pledged that 95% of the materials in its Marble Arch building in Oxford Street, west London, will be recovered, recycled or reused as it fights back against heavy opposition to its plan to flatten the shop.

In the run-up an inquiry into the scheme, scheduled to begin on 25 October, the retailer said some materials would be reused directly on site within its new building as part of its efforts to “promote circular economy principles”.

Continue reading...

Massive queues in Moscow as shoppers take last chance to shop at H&M

Posted on by

Retailer halted operations in Russia after invasion of Ukraine but has reopened for limited time to sell remaining stock

Long lines of Russian shoppers formed outside H&M stores in Moscow shopping centres this week when the Swedish fashion retailer reopened its doors to sell off stock before pulling out of Russia for good.

Along with a series of other western brands including Ikea, Nike, and the Zara owner, Inditex, H&M halted operations in Russia after the invasion of Ukraine on 24 February but opened its doors one last time this week to clear out remaining goods.

Continue reading...

Visits to shopping centres and high streets dip below pre-pandemic levels

Posted on by

South of England experiencing faster recovery than north, Scotland and Northern Ireland

Visits to high streets and shopping centres dipped to below pre-pandemic levels last month, with the north of England – plus Scotland and Northern Ireland – trailing behind the south in terms of the overall recovery from Covid-fuelled gloom.

Footfall decreased by 14% in July compared with 2019, reversing gains made in April, as retailers struggled to entice shoppers amid a heatwave in the third week of the month and surging inflation.

Continue reading...

School uniforms: UK parents urged to buy early amid supply problems

Posted on by

Supplier warns of Covid-related disruption, amid calls for VAT on over-14s’ school clothes to be axed

The holidays have only just begun for many children but families are being warned not to leave uniform shopping to the last minute because of potential shortages of official school blazers and jumpers.

The specialist retailer School Uniform Direct, which supplies scores of UK schools, has written to thousands of customers urging them to place orders for branded clothing as soon as possible.

Continue reading...

UK e-commerce firm THG ends investment deal with Japan’s SoftBank

Posted on by

Company, which owns sites such as Lookfantastic and Zavvi, blames ‘global macroeconomic conditions’

The online shopping group THG has ended an agreement under which the Japanese conglomerate SoftBank had agreed to invest in it, blaming “global macroeconomic conditions”.

The company formerly known as The Hut Group, which owns a range of internet health and beauty retailers, secured $730m (£610m) of new investment from a division of SoftBank to help fund expansion of its technology platform a few months before it listed in London.

Continue reading...

Aldi gives second pay rise in year amid high demand for UK workers

Posted on by

Supermarket chain’s move comes as employers face fierce competition for staff after Covid and Brexit

Aldi has raised pay for shop workers for the second time in a year in the latest sign of the intense competition for workers in the UK.

From September, the grocery discounter is to put up hourly pay by 40p to a minimum of £10.50 outside the M25 and to £11.95 in London, an increase of at least 3.5%.

Continue reading...

France orders air-conditioned shops to save energy by shutting doors

Posted on by

Minister says open doors lead to 20% more consumption as restrictions on illuminated signs also announced

Air-conditioned shops throughout France will have to keep their doors shut or risk a fine of €750 (£635), a French minister has announced, after the mayors of several major cities unveiled a similar rule during the country’s heatwave last week.

Agnès Pannier-Runacher, the minister for ecological transition, said leaving doors open with air conditioning on led to “20% more energy consumption and … is absurd”. A decree confirming the decision will be issued in the coming days.

Continue reading...

Prices fall as UK heatwave produces glut of soft fruit

Posted on by

Yields of cherries, strawberries and blueberries could more than double on the same time last year

The UK heatwave has produced a glut in strawberry, cherry and blueberry harvests prompting a wave of discounts in stores and lower prices for British farmers.

Strawberry farmers said they were picking as much as 30% more fruit than usual, and blueberry growers at least 50% more this week as temperatures topped 40C on Tuesday in some parts of England. Yields are expected to be double that of the same week last year in the week ahead. Blackberry harvests are expected to be up 80% on the same time last year this week according to the British Berry Growers association.

Continue reading...

Co-op Group to cut 400 jobs at Manchester head office

Posted on by

The group blamed rising inflation for job losses as it vows to protect shoppers from higher prices

The Co-op Group is cutting 400 jobs at its head office in Manchester as the retailer said it faced tough trading conditions amid rising inflation.

The job cuts come after the Co-op, which employs more than 63,000 people including 4,000 at its head offices, warned in April of continuing problems with food supplies and inflation after its annual profits more than halved amid supply chain disruption and higher staff wages.

Continue reading...