UK retailers must adapt business models to survive pandemic, experts say July 31, 2020 Around half of UK retailers must pivot their businesses in order to avoid collapse during the coronavirus pandemic, industry experts said. UK retailers need to move away from traditional, store-centric models and embrace online shopping, the latest KPMG Ipsos Retail Think Tank (RTT) said. The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated changes that were already happening in [...]
UK house prices rebound sharply after stamp duty cut July 31, 2020 UK house prices unexpectedly bounced back in July after tumbling in June, as pent-up lockdown demand was released and the stamp duty cut cheered buyers and sellers. Building society nationwide said British prices jumped 1.7 per cent in July compared to a month earlier, when they fell 1.6 per cent. Analysts had been expecting a [...]
Exclusive: Top Tory MP says Russia ‘taken hostage by mafia gang’ July 31, 2020 Tom Tugendhat MP, the chair of the foreign affairs select committee, has said the Russian state has been “taken hostage by a mafia gang”. The country is a “shell of its former self”, the MP for Tonbrige and Malling told City A.M’s The City View podcast. His comments came after a top UK security committee [...]
Pandemic research protects Yougov from coronavirus slump July 31, 2020 Research data group Yougov said it has been “very resilient” to the coronavirus crisis, as a drop off in normal business was offset by a spike in pandemic-related analysis. Yougov said this morning it is “yet to see any material impact of Covid-19 on its business”. “While the Group has been very resilient and is [...]
Pets at Home shares rise on jump in pet ownership July 31, 2020 Shares in Pets at Home jumped this morning after the retail chain reported a surge in demand for pet ownership after the coronavirus lockdown. Pets at Home said there were “tangible signs” of an increase in animal owners “as people adopt new attitudes to work and leisure pursuits” following the lockdown. A jump in pet [...]
Retail vacancies to spike in coming months, experts warn July 31, 2020 Retail vacancies crept up in the second quarter but the industry warned of a spike in empty properties when the full impact of the coronavirus pandemic hits the high street. In the second quarter the shop vacancy rate in Britain increased to 12.4 per cent, from 12.2 per cent in the first three months of [...]
Argos scraps catalogue after 50 years as shoppers move online July 30, 2020 Argos will stop printing its iconic catalogue after almost 50 years due to the increasing shift to online shopping. The retailer said it would stop producing the catalogue due to changing customer shopping habits. The bi-annual catalogue will no longer be regularly printed by the end of January 2021, according to reports. Argos first launched [...]
French supermarket chain Casino sees pandemic costs eat into profits July 30, 2020 French supermarket chain Casino reported a jump in revenue in the second quarter due to a surge in stockpiling triggered by coronavirus lockdown, but extra costs related to the pandemic ate into profits. Operating profit fell 15.3 per cent to €386m (£348.34m) in the first six months of the year as extra staff bonuses, in-store [...]
SCS shares jump as furniture sales soar after lockdown July 30, 2020 Shares in furniture retailer SCS jumped this morning as it reported a surge in demand following the coronavirus lockdown. Order intake before lockdown was down 4.2 per cent on the previous year, plunging 92.5 per cent below 2019 levels during lockdown. Demand bounced back as restrictions were eased, with order intake between 24 May and [...]
John Lewis may convert department stores into affordable housing July 30, 2020 John Lewis is considering converting some of its store estate into housing in an attempt to strengthen its services business as the high street battles the impact of the coronavirus crisis. The retailer, which owns the department store chain and Waitrose, said it is exploring the concept of new mixed-use affordable housing with third parties. [...]
