July retail sales dampen hopes of quick high street recovery August 7, 2020 Retail sales continued to fall in July despite the reopening of non-essential stores, dampening hopes of a quick bounce back on the high street. Like-for-like sales in bricks and mortar stores fell 39.4 per cent in July compared to growth of 0.1 per cent in the same month last year. Last month was also the [...]
London hospitality firms call for free face masks at Tube stations August 6, 2020 London’s hospitality firms require urgent improvements to the “insufficient and inadequate” support provided for struggling businesses in the city centre, the leading industry body has said. In a letter to London mayor Sadiq Khan, UK Hospitality has set out a number of urgent measures that could encourage Londoners and domestic tourists to visit the centre [...]
Convenience store chain McColl’s swings to loss despite coronavirus spike in demand August 6, 2020 Convenience store chain McColl’s swung to a loss in the first half of the year despite a surge in demand during the coronavirus lockdown. The figures McColl’s reported a loss before tax of £1.3m in the 26 weeks ended 24 May, down from profit of £200,000 last year. McColl’s total revenue fell one per cent [...]
Pub chain JD Wetherspoon to cut up to 130 head office jobs August 6, 2020 Pub chain JD Wetherspoon will cut up to 130 head office jobs due to a downturn in the pub and restaurant industry during the coronavirus pandemic. The company announced this morning that 110 to 130 head office positions are at risk of redundancy. Wetherspoon blamed the cuts on a downturn in trading, a slowdown in [...]
Hammerson to raise £826m amid overhaul of leasing approach August 6, 2020 Retail landlord Hammerson this morning confirmed it is aiming to raise £826m to help it survive the coronavirus crisis, as it announced an overhaul of its leasing model. The shopping centre owner will tap investors for £551.7m through a rights issue, and is planning to sell its 50 per cent stake in Via Outlets for [...]
Boohoo inquiry calls for former Leicester factory workers to give evidence August 5, 2020 The inquiry into poor working conditions at factories used by Boohoo suppliers in Leicester has called for current and former employees to give evidence. Alison Levitt QC, who is leading the inquiry, urged members of the public to give evidence on working conditions in factories in Leicester, what Boohoo knew about the conditions and suggestions [...]
Ocado lists M&S products ahead of delivery partnership launch August 5, 2020 Marks & Spencer has begun listing products on the Ocado website ahead of their delivery partnership, which is scheduled to begin next month. The supermarket has added more than 750 new products, which will be available to buy through the Ocado website from 1 September. However M&S warned customers that it may not be possible [...]
Compulsory face masks ‘did not deter or encourage shoppers’ in July August 5, 2020 Compulsory face masks did not deter or encourage shoppers returning to the high street last month, the latest research showed. A quarter of consumers said they were more likely to go shopping after the face mask rule was brought in, while 21 per cent said the new restrictions would discourage them. In the week beginning [...]
WH Smith to cut 1,500 jobs as high street and travel footfall plummets August 5, 2020 WH Smith is preparing to cut 1,500 jobs, the high street retailer announced this morning, as it warned it expects to post a full-year loss of £75m due to the coronavirus pandemic. The retailer said it is reviewing its store operations across both its travel and high street businesses due to lower high street footfall [...]
Loungers shares jump on ‘encouraging’ post-lockdown sales August 5, 2020 Shares in Loungers, the owner of the Cosy Club and Lounge brands, surged this morning after the casual dining chain said it is “encouraged” by trading levels since reopening last month. Loungers’ share price jumped 13.49 per cent to 122p after the company said it was “confident” of its future after the coronavirus pandemic. The [...]