Discounts push retail footfall to first January rise in nearly a decade February 6, 2025 Retail footfall rose year on year in January for the first time since 2016, although the boost was likely due to Brits delaying festive spending in favour of discounted goods in the new year sales. Footfall rose by 1.4 per cent in January 2025 compared to 2024 in all UK retail destinations, according to data [...]
High street sales grow but threat of closures looms February 1, 2025 High street sales grew in January but the gains failed to offset volume losses last year, leading analysts to warn of closures as costs mount. Total retail sales in discretionary spend categories grew by 7.1 per cent in January, although this comes off the back of a 0.8 per cent drop last January, according to [...]
Retail crime ‘spiralling out of control’ despite £1.8bn spent on protection January 30, 2025 Retail crime is “spiralling out of control”, hitting a new high last year despite billions spent on protection. Losses from customer theft reached a record £2.2bn, while retail violence and abuse increased over 50 per cent to more than 2,000 incidents a day, according to the British Retail Consortium’s (BRC) Annual Crime Survey. More than [...]
WH Smith: Travel drives growth ahead of possible high street exit January 29, 2025 Revenue at WH Smith rose four per cent in the first half of the financial year, driven by growth in its travel stores as it prepares to exit the high street. Total travel revenue rose six per cent like for like in the 21 weeks to January 25, while high street revenue dipped three per [...]
WH Smith pursuing sale of high street business January 25, 2025 WH Smith is in talks to sell its high street arm, as the £1.5bn company looks to focus entirely on its travel retail business. The company’s high street operation is made up of about 500 stores, employing around 5,000 people. “WH Smith confirms that it is exploring potential strategic options for this profitable and cash [...]
The Works: Arts and crafts retailer slashes losses as new strategy unveiled January 24, 2025 High street arts and crafts retailer The Works reported a significant improvement in profitability for the first half of its financial year, as it unveiled a new strategy. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) showed a market improvement, with losses narrowing from £8.5m to £2.8m since the same period last year. Adjusted [...]
Business rates to more than double in ‘final blow’ to UK retailers January 21, 2025 Business rates are set to rise more than 140 per cent for thousands of high street businesses across the UK in yet another cost pressure for brick-and-mortar businesses. Business rates, which are levied on all commercial properties, were cut by 75 per cent in 2022 as high street stores found themselves unable to cope during [...]
Boots warns of higher Budget costs amid sales surge January 10, 2025 High street pharmacy giant Boots has warned it faces “heightened cost pressures” in 2025 following the Autumn Budget as it revealed strong sales towards the end of last year. The new boss of the Nottingham-headquartered company, Anthony Hemmerdinger, added that while Boots has come under increased pressure, “the business is focused on navigating these and [...]
Greggs: Sausage roll-maker passes two milestones despite ‘subdued’ footfall January 9, 2025 Greggs reported a record-breaking year in 2024 as the sausage-roll maker surpassed two key milestones, but warned on headwinds in 2025 after “subdued” footfall. In an update to markets today, the high street bakery reported an 11.2 per cent uptick in total sales, which sprung the company upwards of its sales milestone of £2bn. However, [...]
Next: FTSE 100 retailer hikes profit guidance but warns on costs January 7, 2025 Retail industry bellwether Next has upgraded its profit outlook for the year after sales and growth exceeded expectations during the Golden Quarter. The FTSE 100 company hiked its expected profit by five per cent as sales jumped six per cent in the nine weeks to 28 December, nearly double its previous guidance of 3.5 per cent. [...]