Prada has secured Versace at a €180m discount amid market turmoil and after months of speculation
Prada has agreed to buy the Versace fashion brand for €1.25bn ($1.38bn) from the fashion conglomerate Capri Holdings.
It comes after months of speculation about a potential deal to combine the two Italian fashion houses and, more recently, rumours that the acquisition was set to collapse after market upheaval in response to President Trump’s tariff policies.
Continue reading...Shoppers also face more ‘shrinkflation’ as manufacturers ‘try to offset rising production costs’
Exchanging Easter eggs and tucking into a roast dinner are among the highlights of the spring holiday but Britons face paying more for this year’s celebrations after a sharp rise in the price of essentials such as chocolate, lamb and hot cross buns.
A leg of lamb joint now costs on average £13.94 a kilo in supermarkets, which is 10%, or £1.31, more than last year, according to the price analysts Assosia. Over two years, the jump is nearly 27%, or approaching £3 more a kilo, based on the pre-promotion price across Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons.
Continue reading...Under terms of deal with Hobbycraft owner, 233-year-old brand will become TGJones
WH Smith is to sell its 480 retail stores to the Hobbycraft owner, Modella Capital, in a deal worth £76m, and has confirmed that the 233-year-old brand will disappear from the high street after a “short transitional period”.
Under the terms of the deal, the high street business, which employs 5,000 staff, will be rebranded as TGJones. WH Smith is retaining its brand for its travel shops.
Continue reading...Axa and Scottish Widows back ShareAction campaign for chains such as Next to pay at least £12.60 an hour
Major investors including Axa and Scottish Widows are backing shareholder resolutions pressing retailers Next, Marks & Spencer and JD Sports to increase pay for thousands of workers.
More than 100 individuals and eight institutional investors, which manage over £1tn in assets, are backing an effort to encourage companies to pay a “real living wage”, which is designed to ensure workers can cover necessary household costs.
Continue reading...Swedish furniture retailer’s arrival is seen as crucial to hopes of reviving the London shopping street
Ikea will be bringing its mix of meatballs, lampshades and kitchen planning to London’s Oxford Street from 1 May, when the world’s largest furniture retailer finally opens its store 18 months late.
The company said its three-floor outlet, in the former Topshop base, would house a 130-seat Swedish deli and showrooms, as well as offering one-to-one design consultations.
Continue reading...A similar number have also seen staff abused as shops say crime is spiralling out of control with 55,000 thefts a day
Nearly a quarter of Britons have witnessed shoplifting in the past year and seen physical or verbal abuse of shop workers as criminals become “bolder and more aggressive”.
A survey carried out for the British Retail Consortium (BRC) by the market research firm Opinium found Nottingham to be a UK hotspot for retail crime where 32% of residents said they had witnessed shoplifting. London was close behind on 29%.
Continue reading...Company says successful turnaround of the heritage brand will provide the blueprint for the rest of the group
The online fashion retailer Boohoo is rebranding as Debenhams, after buying it out of administration four years ago, as it took a £40m hit on excess stock in its brands aimed at younger shoppers.
Debenhams, founded as a single store in London in 1778, disappeared from the high street when it collapsed in 2021, costing thousands of jobs. Boohoo then swooped for the brand and relaunched it as an online-only retailer.
Continue reading...Walgreens Boots Alliance sold to Sycamore Partners and ends almost a century of trading on public markets
The US owner of the high street pharmacy chain Boots is to be taken private in a $10bn (£7.8bn) deal that will bring an end to almost a century of trading on public markets for Walgreens Boots Alliance.
The company, which operates more than 1,800 Boots stores in the UK, has been sold to the US private equity firm Sycamore Partners after struggling in the internet era as customers have turned to online shopping for cheaper products.
Continue reading...Two-year-old waited in emergency department for three hours before suffering a cardiac arrest and dying. Follow today’s news headlines live
Victoria to offer contactless public transport tickets from next year
Victorians will be able to use their phones, bank cards or smartwatches to pay for public transport travel from “early next year in a staged approach”, according to reports.
Following a successful start of a ticketless bus trial in Wangaratta, the Allan Labor Government will begin switching on tap-and-go technology across Victoria’s public transport network from early next year in a staged approach – meaning some passengers will soon be able to use their bank cards, phones and smart watches to travel on full fare tickets.
The new ticketing system will continue to be underpinned by extensive technical testing and will be carefully rolled out starting with rail from the beginning early next year – allowing full fare passengers more ways to pay for their travel.
Continue reading...New raft of measures labelled Ronan’s law include tougher sentences for those caught selling blades to under-18s
Retailers will be required to report suspicious or bulk purchases of knives, and those caught selling blades to under-18s will face tougher sentences under a new raft of measures to clamp down on young people’s access to weapons labelled Ronan’s law.
Named after Ronan Kanda, the 16-year-old killed in Wolverhampton in 2022 by a teenager carrying a 22in ninja blade he had ordered online, the new laws are part of a raft of anti-knife crime plans announced by the government on Wednesday.
Continue reading...End of ‘de minimis’ policy for Chinese goods also expected to hit bigger fashion retailers such as Asos and Boohoo
Many UK-based independent sellers on marketplaces such as eBay and Amazon could suffer a significant hit to US sales from planned changes to import rules under Donald Trump, with experts comparing the impact to a second Brexit.
The new rules, which mean all parcels originating or made in China and being sold into the US must pay import duty – of as much as 15% on fashion items – and an additional 10% tariff, are also expected to impact bigger online clothing retailers such as Asos and Boohoo.
Continue reading...From John Lewis to Cos, high street stores are selling coats costing more than £1,000 in a move to cast themselves as ‘luxe’ brands
If you were given £1,000 to splurge on the high street, what would you buy? Perhaps a head-to-toe new season wardrobe from Zara? Enough knitwear to see you through several winters, or maybe a lifetime supply of socks from Marks & Spencer?
Whatever you decide, you’d need to factor in the cost of a taxi to lug all those bags back from the shops. Or at least, once upon a time you would. These days, a grand is easy to spend on a single item – and it’s all thanks to the rise of the four-figure coat.
Continue reading...Watchdog upholds complaint about advert that digitally altered clothing and used low angle to accentuate long legs
The UK advertising watchdog has banned an advert from high street retailer Next for featuring an “unhealthily thin” model in digitally altered clothing.
The advertisement, which ran on its website, featured a model marketing Next’s “power stretch denim leggings”.
Continue reading...European Commission also urges EU lawmakers to phase out exemption on customs duties for parcels under €150
Parcels sent from China by online retailers such as Shein and Temu will face strict new customs controls as part of a crackdown by the European Commission on “dangerous products” flooding the EU market.
Brussels officials also urged EU lawmakers to phase out the exemption on customs duties that is allowed for parcels under €150 (£125), which enables foreign suppliers to sell cheap goods in the bloc without paying the tax.
Continue reading...Kantar figures could be good news for government as food price rises have fuelled persistent UK inflation
Grocery inflation slowed in January – for the first time in six months – as retailers ramped up promotions to attract budget-conscious shoppers.
The price of groceries increased by 3.3%, easing from 3.7% in December, as the costs of toilet roll and cat food fell but those of chocolate, butter and chilled juices rose, according to analysts at Kantar.
Continue reading...British retailer says it plans to explore strategic options for the future of its stores
WH Smith is exploring potential options for its high street business, including a sale, the British retailer said.
More details soon …
Continue reading...Consumer advocates call for more transparency around ‘shrinkflation’ as supermarkets continue to defend against price-gouging allegations
Australia’s biggest supermarket chain, Woolworths, is selling a significantly smaller stick of Brut deodorant for more than double the unit price of the old product, in an extreme example of “shrinkflation” that leaves shoppers paying more for common household products.
While not unlawful, the pricing decision rubs against heightened public criticism of strategies employed by supermarkets, which have consistently defended themselves against price gouging allegations during a cost-of-living crisis.
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Continue reading...Macsween working to circumvent food regulations that have banned traditional recipe in US for more than 50 years
Scotland’s largest haggis maker is creating a “compliant” recipe of the nation’s most famous dish to circumvent strict American food regulations after more than 50 years in exile.
The decision by Macsween of Edinburgh comes after traditional haggis was banned by the US authorities in 1971, taking issue with the sheep’s-lung component of the recipe, which was then prohibited for use as human food by federal regulation.
Continue reading...MPs examining plans for legislation were told 11,500 staff on the contracts, which do not guarantee weekly shifts
The owner of Sports Direct has confirmed that two-thirds of its retail workforce remain on zero-hours contracts ahead of new legislation designed to limit their use.
Frasers Group told MPs who are examining plans to strengthen protection for employees that 11,500 staff were on the contracts, which do not guarantee any weekly working shifts, and did not receive compensation even if shifts were changed at the last minute.
Continue reading...Tributes paid to Italian known for images that drew attention to social themes including HIV/Aids and racism
Tributes have been paid to Oliviero Toscani, the Italian fashion photographer renowned for the provocative images used in Benetton’s advertising campaigns, who has died aged 82.
Toscani, who for two decades was the art director of the global clothing chain, died on Monday after being hospitalised close to his home in the Tuscan town of Cecina.
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