HMV and Debenhams to shut stores as high street makes difficult start to the year January 5, 2020 HMV and Debenhams have confirmed that they will close stores in a challenging start to the year for UK high streets. Music store HMV said that it would shut three stores at the end of January, new new tenants set to take up the leases immediately. Read more: High street sees slight increase in December [...]
Who killed Toys ‘R’ Us? February 5, 2018 Toys ‘R’ Us, the $6.9bn (£5bn) toy-store chain, became one of US retail’s biggest-ever bankruptcies when it filed for so-called ‘Chapter 11 protection’ last September. Market watchers were quick to point the finger of suspicion at Amazon. But is that right? In the spirit of Agatha Christie, we ask: who killed Toys ‘R’ Us? In [...]
The Gym Group eyes Toys R Us sites as it targets further expansion March 20, 2018 Toys R Us sites are among the opportunities being considered by fast-growing budget gym operator The Gym Group, which reported annual results this morning. The company, which is the only London-listed fitness group, is targeting another 15 to 20 new openings in 2017, on top of the current estate of 128. Chief executive John Treharne [...]
Everything is awesome as Lego looks to open more than 100 new stores September 3, 2019 Lego will open 105 new stores across the world this year as the company was buoyed by its association with the Marvel franchise in the first half of the year. The brick-maker is expanding rapidly across China where it expected to have 140 stores in 35 cities by the end of the year. Read more: [...]
Mothercare in talks to spin off struggling UK stores July 25, 2019 Mothercare is set to sell or separate its 79 UK stores as part of the struggling retailer’s ongoing evolution towards an international franchising model. Read more: Mothercare annual loss jumps to £87m, delayed results reveal The retailer for parents and young children is in conversations with prospective groups about the deal, according to Sky News, [...]
Hilco eyes up struggling retailer Bathstore June 21, 2019 Restructuring fund Hilco is set to pounce on UK retailer Bathstore as it teeters on the edge of collapse, it is reported. Hilco, which has already taken over struggling high street names like HMV and Homebase, is in the process of preparing for a take over of Bathstore, according to Sky News. Read more: Now [...]
High street stalwart Boots mulls more than 200 possible store closures May 28, 2019 Boots, Britain’s largest chain of chemists, looks set to become the latest victim of high street turmoil as its US owner eyes several hundred store closures. Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA), the pharmacy retailer's US parent, is reportedly looking at bringing down the shutters on more than 200 Boots outlets across the UK over the next [...]
Toy retailer The Entertainer posts bumper sales growth in Christmas trading January 18, 2019 The Entertainer toy group has reported strong sales growth over the Christmas period despite retailers facing the most challenging festive trading season in a decade. The family-owned retailer, which sells online and through its stores, said sales for the five weeks to 29 December were up 22.4 per cent on the same period in the [...]
Revealed: The high street retailers that collapsed in 2018 January 7, 2019 To many analysts, 2018 was seen as the year the death knell was sounded for the high street, with the number of retailers falling into administration rising for the second year in a row, according to Deloitte. A total of 125 retailers collapsed last year and there was a 53 per cent increase in Company [...]
Sears chairman wins auction for troubled department store chain with $5.2bn bid January 16, 2019 The chairman of bankrupt US department store chain Sears has won an auction for the retailer with a bid of $5.2bn (£4bn). Read more: Bidders table competing offers for struggling HMV Eddie Lampert prevailed in the auction today after weeks of back-and-forth negotiations. Lampert’s bid, made through his hedge fund, ESL Investments, will keep up to [...]