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 [...]
Slow fashion: Retailers embrace second-hand clothing to draw in thrifty eco-conscious fashion lovers January 23, 2023 High street retailers are following in the footsteps of their online rivals, offering more second-hand clothes to lure in shoppers wanting to steer clear of fast fashion and hunt for bargains amid a cost of living crisis. The second-hand clothing market has exploded over the last decade to an estimated £6.5bn last year, largely thanks [...]
Waitrose stops selling single-use vapes January 3, 2023 Waitrose has stopped selling single-use vapes due to concerns about the negative impacts on the environment and young people’s health. “While we have robust controls under our Challenge 25 Policy, we are concerned about the risk these products pose by appealing to younger people – as well the environmental impact,” the supermarket said in a [...]
John Lewis seals £500m deal with Abrdn to enter rental property market December 2, 2022 John Lewis has signed a £500m deal with investment giant Abrdn to enter the rental property market. The agreement announced today will see the High Street titan deliver a thousands new homes a year, with a view to having built 10,000 in the next decade. In a bid to diversify and move away from dependency [...]
Retailers balance ‘sadvertising’ and festive joy in this year’s Christmas adverts November 13, 2022 Retailers have faced pressure this year to put out adverts that not only have a feel good factor, but also do good. Against the backdrop of a gloomy winter, where many families will be forced to cut back on Christmas celebrations and gifts in order to keep the fridge stocked and heating on, getting the [...]
John Lewis posts £92m loss after ‘unprecedented cost inflation’ September 15, 2022 John Lewis Partnership has posted a £92m loss before tax, blaming shoppers spending less due to inflationary pressures in the first half of the year. This was versus a £69m profit compared to the same period last year, although the partnership said on Thursday it was “not unusual for us” to make a loss in [...]
Brits ditch the loungewear and head back to the office: John Lewis September 5, 2022 Non-wired bras, velour tracksuits, jigsaws and wall-mounted desks have fallen out of favour with British shoppers as they put the lockdown lifestyle behind them, annual John Lewis sales figures suggest. The retailer’s annual How We Shop, Live And Look report suggests customers are “casting off the trappings of a life in lockdown” with sales of [...]
John Lewis chair says lockdown retirees should return to work to tackle economic turmoil August 9, 2022 John Lewis head Dame Sharon White has urged the government to encourage lockdown retirees back into work to avoid stagflation. The retail chief warned that ministers should address labour shortages in order to prevent the economic situation from worsening, in an interview with BBC on Tuesday morning. “There’s not a business in the UK that’s [...]
The new landlord in town: John Lewis to build homes on two London Waitrose sites June 9, 2022 John Lewis is preparing to pitch itself to Londoners as an affable landlord, revealing plans for two rental developments at Waitrose sites in the city. The retailer set out early plans to for build to rent developments in Bromley and West Ealing in London, as well as a vacant John Lewis warehouse in Reading. The [...]
John Lewis boss: Government must help struggling households amid cost of living crisis May 13, 2022 John Lewis chair Dame Sharon White has called on ministers to produce a support package for households struggling with the cost of living squeeze. The government should be helping families in the way it did to steer the country through the Covid pandemic, the retail boss said on ITV’s Peston programme on Wednesday evening. Boris [...]