UK retail sales’ sluggish new year start as cash-strapped Brits go online to nab deals February 17, 2023 UK retail sales remained muted in January following December’s fall, with fuel sales spiking and prices continuing to plummet. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) released the figures which showed retail sales volumes increased by just half a per cent last month. This comes after it dipped by 1.2 per cent in December, despite the [...]
High Street retail race: Marks and Spencer predicted to overtake John Lewis by 2026 February 8, 2023 Marks & Spencer will overtake John Lewis in the rankings of the UK’s biggest retailers by 2026, according to a new sales forecast. Tesco will retain its position as the largest retailer, followed by Sainsbury’s, but Amazon is on track to move into the top three within the next few years, industry title Retail Week [...]
The High Street in 2023: Full of tech and hyper-local but still with 17th century touches December 28, 2022 In order to save the Great British high street of the 21st century in 2023, one may need to go back in time and take inspiration from the 17th century. Far from the vision of a super futuristic, tech-heavy world, a desire for face-to-face contact and micro communities, which has been accelerated by the pandemic, will drive [...]
Political and economic uncertainty pushes retail footfall down by 2.3 per cent October 24, 2022 Political uncertainty and economic instability contributed to a dip in retail footfall, with high streets being hit the hardest. Across the UK as a whole, there was a marked decline in footfall for retailers by 2.3 per cent last week, New figures from Springboard show. The data shows in the three retail sectors, high streets, [...]
High street firms face ‘battle’ to recruit staff after labour pool shrinks October 18, 2022 High street businesses are facing a “battle” to recruit staff against the backdrop of a shrinking workforce, with many workers having left the country or unable to work due to sickness. Industry chiefs lamented the vacancy crisis facing businesses ranging from retailers to restaurants to care homes at a committee meeting of the economic affairs [...]
Former Boots exec in talks to join oligarch linked investment fund LetterOne September 26, 2022 A former executive at the firm that owns Boots is in talks to join the board of Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman’s Luxembourg headquartered investment vehicle LetterOne. Former Walgreen Boots Alliance co-COO Alex Gourlay is in advanced talks to become a non-executive director at LetterOne after stepping down from the pharmacy owner earlier this year, [...]
1 in 3 high street businesses miss out on rates relief September 20, 2022 The Government failed to support a third of high street businesses in England promised a discount on their business rates bills, according to new data. Property specialists at Gerald Eve found that just 272,000 out of a promised 400,000 retailers, leisure and hospitality venues were able to claim a 50% discount on the commercial property tax announced [...]
Store closures at lowest rate in seven years as high street bounces back August 29, 2022 Store closures are at the lowest rate in seven years, despite the increasing pressure on the high street.
High Street footfall nosedives by staggering 25 per cent with London commuters and foreign travellers not returning June 27, 2022 High street footfall fell 25 per cent in May, from the previous month, according to RSM UK’s analysis of the latest data from Datscha, published this morning. London continues to be hit by hybrid working with less workers commuting into the city, and international and business travel is still not back at full capacity. Whereas [...]
The Works brings back dividend as demand for cheap books and Peppa Pig toys boosts sales May 20, 2022 Discount retailer The Works has reinstated its dividend after telling investors its sales are now significantly higher than at pre-pandemic levels, on the back of a record Christmas and booming demand for books. The firm said it had capitalised on the “BookTok” trend on social media platform TikTok to boost sales of its discount [...]