Can a team of retail veterans solve Argos’ catalogue of woes? Retail The death of the Argos catalogue in 2021 after nearly half a century prompted a period of mourning for many in Britain – including the retailer’s new owner. “I used to sit around the kitchen table putting green shield stamps into books,” Richard Pennycook said on Friday, referring to the original iteration of the catalogue. [...]
Sainsbury’s to sell Argos in £120m cut-price deal Retail Sainsbury’s has said it will sell long-struggling catalogue retailer Argos for £120m, a fraction of the £1.4bn it bought it for a decade ago. The supermarket giant has struck a deal with Swift Partners – a new company led by On the Beach chairman Richard Pennycook and former Morrisons boss Trevor Strain. Their takeover will [...]
Currys hands outgoing boss Alex Baldock £2m pay rise Retail FTSE 250 giant Currys has handed its outgoing boss Alex Baldock a more-than-£2 m pay rise, capping off the chief executive’s successful turnaround of the business. The electrical retailer handed Baldock a £6.3m total pay package this year, marking a 54 per cent hike from last year’s £4.1m. Baldock joined Currys in 2018 and is [...]
Greggs eyes 3,500 sites – but its plans could prove to be flaky July 30, 2026 Sausage roll titan Greggs is already a fixture of almost every British high street, but it’s not done yet. Felix Armstrong chews through its latest expansion plans As Brits jet off to Spain for their summer holidays this year, they will be met with a familiar sight as they touch down at Tenerife airport. Beloved [...]
On a roll: Greggs shares soar as it doubles down on aggressive expansion July 29, 2026 Shares in Greggs soared on Wednesday as the bakery chain said it plans to reach at least 3,500 stores in the UK after a jump in profit in the first half of the year. The sausage roll purveyor reported a 20 per cent boost in pre-tax profit to £76m in the six months to June, [...]
Next and Frasers go head to head for control of Harvey Nichols July 28, 2026 Retail giants Next and Frasers are set to go head to head for control of ailing department store Harvey Nichols when the Hong Kong-owned firm takes bids from British suitors later on Tuesday. The Knightsbridge-headquartered department store chain was put up for sale last month by its owner, Hong Kong billionaire Sir Dickson Poon, and [...]
Brits dodge the high street as heatwave boosts online shopping July 24, 2026 Retail sales jumped in June as the heatwave and heavy discounting drove Brits towards online shopping. The volume of retail sales jumped by one per cent in June, having slowed slightly from 1.2 per cent growth in May, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Online shopping grew to the largest proportion of total [...]
Social media ban driving ‘screen-free’ sales, The Works boss says July 23, 2026 The boss of discount retailer The Works has said the government’s crackdown on social media usage has driven customers towards the “screen-free activities” offered in his stores. Gavin Peck, chief executive of the Aim-listed retailer, believes Labour’s incoming social media ban has pushed up demand among parents for analogue activities for their children and was [...]
Warehouse tax could threaten high street businesses, Burnham warned July 20, 2026 Andy Burnham‘s plans to hike taxes on warehouses to pay for business rates cuts for pubs and shops could backfire and raise costs for high street businesses, industry figures have warned. The UK Warehousing Association (UKWA), a trade body representing retailers including Amazon, Co-op and John Lewis, has written to the new Prime Minister urging [...]
Modella-owned Hobbycraft survives restructuring July 20, 2026 Hobbycraft has survived a restructuring led by its new owner, divisive high street private equity firm Modella Capital. The UK’s largest craft retailer has completed its 13-month company voluntary arrangement (CVA) ahead of schedule, reporting a jump in online users. The company’s emergence from its restructuring defies recent gloom around Modella’s swoops on other high [...]