Superdry urges investors to vote against founder Julian Dunkerton’s return March 11, 2019 Superdry will hold a shareholder meeting on 2 April to vote on the reinstatement of Julian Dunkerton after months of rising tensions between the founder and the board. The fashion retailer confirmed the meeting in a circular sent to shareholders this morning, but urged them to vote against the reappointment of Dunkerton. Read more: Hundreds of [...]
February retail footfall hits five-year low March 11, 2019 Retail footfall dropped by two per cent last month, making 2019 the weakest February for footfall in five years, according to research published this morning. February saw the 15 consecutive month of footfall decline, and suffered a deeper plunge than the previous year when footfall was down 0.2 per cent, British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Springboard [...]
Audiobook popularity soars as sales increase 13 per cent March 11, 2019 The popularity of audiobooks has continued to soar as sales of the format grew 13 per cent last year. Sales of audiobooks have increased 87 per cent since 2014, according to research by Nielsen Book, and they now account for five per cent of all book purchases after doubling their share of fiction sales. Read [...]
Klarna rival Laybuy partners with Footasylum in UK launch March 10, 2019 Klarna rival Laybuy, which offers a “buy now, pay later” service, has launched in the UK today in a partnership with shoe shop Footasylum. Online Footasylum customers will be given the option to pay using Laybuy from today, and it will be rolled out in the brand’s 70 high street stores later this year. Read [...]
Sir Philip Green sells former BHS headquarters for £44m March 10, 2019 Retail tycoon Sir Philip Green has sold a former BHS headquarters in London as his fashion empire Arcadia faces challenges on the high street. Green, who has been under fire over allegations of racial abuse and sexual harassment – which he denies – has sold Marylebone House to property investment company Aprirose for £44m. Read more: [...]
Asda to stop selling single knives by end of April March 9, 2019 Asda has announced plans to remove single kitchen knives from sale in response to growing concerns over knife crime. The supermarket chain said the knives would be removed from all stores by the end of April following a rise in knife-related deaths across the UK and in London. So far this year at least 39 [...]
MPs investigate Debenhams’ pension schemes as retailer struggles to stay afloat March 8, 2019 MPs are scrutinising the Pensions Regulator’s possible involvement in Debenhams’ refinancing discussions after the retailer issued a second profit warning earlier this week. Read more: Debenhams shares jump on Mike Ashley power grab Work and pensions committee chair Frank Field wrote to the regulator’s chief executive, Lesley Titcomb, to probe its involvement with the struggling [...]
Ikea releases kama sutra guide for bedroom satisfaction March 8, 2019 Swedish furniture retailer Ikea has released a "kama sutra" e-book that presents an array of options for positions that bedroom furniture could be displayed in. The US marketing campaign includes a 44-page e-book with illustrations of various styles accompanied by kama sutra phrases as well as a TV advert. Read more: Goals Soccer Centres' shares plummet [...]
Technology can save the high street and future-proof the entire retail ecosystem March 8, 2019 Ever since the first online transaction over a quarter of a century ago, we’ve been bombarded with a growing number of claims that the high street is dead and online is king. The recent downfall of former offline strongholds such as BHS, Toys R Us, and House of Fraser are often cited as evidence that [...]
Ladbrokes owner GVC shares plunge as bosses offload majority of their holdings March 8, 2019 Shares in GVC plunged 18 per cent this morning as chief executive Kenneth Alexander and chairman Lee Feldman offloaded the majority of their holdings in the online gambling company. Alexander sold £13.7m of stock and Feldman sold £6m of his holding, prompting other investors to dump their shares despite assurances that the pair will not [...]