Recipe box firm Gousto expects to report first annual profit in 2020 July 27, 2020 Recipe box company Gousto announced today that it expects to turn a profit for the first time this year due to a surge in demand created by the coronavirus pandemic. Gousto, which reported an operating loss of £12.5m in 2019, said it expects to announce a “significant, maiden profit” in 2020. Revenues for the first [...]
Retail footfall dips as face coverings become mandatory in English stores July 27, 2020 Retail footfall dipped slightly at the end of last week as face coverings became mandatory in English stores. Visitor numbers at retail destinations in England fell 1.7 per cent on Friday and Saturday. On Friday it became compulsory to wear a face covering in shops in England. However it is too early to identify the [...]
Oak Furnitureland to cut 160 jobs amid store closures July 27, 2020 Oak Furnitureland is preparing to permanently close 27 showrooms, putting 163 employees at risk of redundancy in the latest blow for the UK retail industry. The furniture retailer, which was bought by investment firm Davidson Kempner Capital Management last month, said adverse trading conditions after the coronavirus lockdown had forced it to close stores. All [...]
Boohoo to open ‘model garment factory’ in Leicester July 27, 2020 Boohoo, the fast fashion retailer facing allegations of poor working practices at its factory in Leicester, is setting up its own clothing manufacturing facility in the city. The e-commerce giant purchased a former car showroom site in Leicester about six weeks ago to develop a model garment factory in a joint venture with a supplier. [...]
Sainsbury’s trials queuing app for local lockdowns July 27, 2020 Sainsbury’s has launched a virtual queuing app to prepare for potential local lockdowns, with trials beginning at five UK stores today. Customers will be able to use the Ufirst app to queue at stores in Pimlico and Uxbridge in London from today. The supermarket will also test the app at stores in Newham Royal Wharf, [...]
City Harvest redistributes 1.5m meals to hungry Londoners July 27, 2020 Though Covid-19 may have been labelled by some as The Great Equaliser it has only enhanced London’s social inequalities, according to a charity dedicated to redistributing excess meals to the hungry. Food poverty has increased in the wake of rising unemployment and school shutdowns, with more than 3m Brits going hungry due to the coronavirus [...]
Rishi Sunak mulls online sales tax for e-commerce retailers July 27, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak is mulling a new tax on online retail sales to ease pressure on the struggling UK high street. In a call for evidence published last week the Treasury sought industry views on a potential online sales tax for e-commerce retailers to help physical stores compete. The tax, which would exist alongside business [...]
City Pub Group toasts return to profitability after reopening July 27, 2020 City Pub Group this morning toasted a return to profitability since reopening after the coronavirus lockdown. The pub chain, which has so far reopened 32 of its 48 pubs, said total sales for the three weeks since reopening on 4 July were £1.8m. On a like-for-like basis sales have reached 63 per cent of pre-pandemic [...]
Bottoms up: Naked Wines sales surge even as lockdown ends July 24, 2020 Online wine seller Naked Wines today said its sales surged 67 per cent in June compared with last year as orders continued to rise even after the easing of the coronavirus-triggered lockdown in Britain. The company also announced the departure of chairman John Walden, who has led the group through the sale of the Majestic [...]
French Connection secures injection from Hilco to help with pandemic fallout July 24, 2020 Fashion retailer French Connection has agreed a £15m liquidity deal with buyout group Hilco Capital to help keep the business going for another two years. French Connection said a deal had to be found as it was ineligible for the government’s coronavirus support schemes. Hilco will provide the retailer with a £15m working capital facility, [...]