UK online SMEs confident despite economic headwinds August 21, 2025 A wave of online small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) entrepreneurs are showing confidence in their future, despite wider economic pressures, a new report from eBay UK suggests. The study found that nearly four in five, or 78 per cent, of online small businesses expect to see growth over the next 12 months, with a third [...]
Tiktok gives retailers a headache with boom in returns culture July 18, 2025 Retailers are facing a conundrum. Their customers are searching for and buying clothes via Tiktok and Instagram, but those same social media customers are increasingly less likely to keep the clothes they buy. A surge in the number of clothes sent back to retailers has caused issues with both costs and with environmental goals, but [...]
Exclusive: Amazon Prime Day UK sales top £2bn despite consumer caution July 14, 2025 Amazon’s biggest UK shopping event on record has delivered a much needed adrenaline shot to Britain’s faltering retail sector – with online spending during its four-day Prime event topping £2bn for the first time. Consumers splashed out £2.08bn online between the 8th and the 11th July, driven by steep discounts on everything from baby toys [...]
Shein files for Hong Kong IPO as London listing prospects wane July 8, 2025 Shein has filed for an initial public offering in Hong Kong as the prospects for the firm’s London listing continue to wane. The Singapore-based business last week confidentially filed a draft prospectus for the Hong Kong Exchange and sought approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), according to the Financial Times. The fast-fashion firm [...]
Holly Tucker: I was lost after leaving Not On The High Street June 19, 2025 Holly Tucker, founder of retail behemoth Not On The High Street, tells us about leaving her business and setting up anew in this week's Square Mile and Me.
Asos replaces finance chief after just one year June 17, 2025 Asos’ chief finance officer Dave Murray has stepped down from his role after 15 months as the struggling commerce giant continued to push a turnaround. He will be replace by Aaron Izzard, who currently serves as director of group finance at Asos. Murray, who will leave to “pursue other opportunities”, has helmed Asos’ finance division [...]
M&S: FTSE 100 retail giant resumes online orders after cyber attack June 10, 2025 Marks and Spencer has resumed online orders six weeks after a cyber attack forced it to pause e-commerce operations. On its website, M&S said that customers “can now place online orders for home delivery to England, Scotland and Wales”, while deliveries to Northern Ireland will restart in the coming weeks. In a Linkedin post, managing [...]
JD Sports: Shares drop on tariff uncertainty despite higher dividend May 21, 2025 JD Sports has raised its dividend on a double-digit rise in revenue after an uptick in European and North American demand. Shares, however, dropped more than seven per cent as the retailer warned that the visibility in US trading was uncertain due to the tariff impact. Overall revenue grew 12 per cent to £11.45bn in [...]
Co-op: All forms of payment now working after cyber attack May 14, 2025 The Co-op has told its customers that all forms of payments are now working at its stores and online while stock levels should improve by this weekend. The Manchester-headquartered group, which operates almost 2,400 stores around the UK, said it is in “the recovery phase” after suffering a significant cyber attack which caused two weeks [...]
Zara boss calls for crackdown on fast-fashion tax loophole May 9, 2025 The head of Zara’s parent company has called for a US-style crackdown on shipments of small goods in Europe to “level the playing field” between Chinese and European firms. Chinese giants Shein and Temu have heavily disrupted the global fashion market in the last few years, putting pressure on older companies. Part of their meteoric [...]