High street footfall jumps 50 per cent as shops reopen for business June 15, 2020 Britain’s high streets have enjoyed a 52 per cent jump in footfall this morning, after shops opened their doors for the first time since the coronavirus lockdown was imposed in March. So-called non-essential retailers reopened this morning after the much-anticipated easing of lockdown measures by the government. According to Springboard data, footfall across all retail destinations [...]
Shops reopen to long queues as social distancing measures come into force June 15, 2020 Retailers this morning flung open their doors to the public for the first time since the coronavirus lockdown was imposed in March. People formed long queues outside Primark outlets in London and Birmingham this morning before the shops reopened at 8am, in a signal that despite fears that footfall would be low initially, there was [...]
H&M sales halve during lockdown months as retailer hopes for June recovery June 15, 2020 Sales at H&M halved during the second quarter of the year, after the coronavirus lockdown forced it to close four-fifths of its global stores during the outbreak. The world’s second-biggest fashion retailer’s net sales for the three months to 31 May were 28.7bn crowns (£2.45bn), 50 per cent lower than the same period last year. [...]
The City View: Robert Walters on the ‘perfect storm’ hitting the jobs market June 15, 2020 In this episode, Christian talks to Robert Walters, founder and CEO of Robert Walters, the London-listed global recruitment giant, about how the pandemic and lockdown has affected his business and what it means for professional recruitment in the months ahead. Robert is highly critical of the government’s messaging around easing the lockdown measures and offers a [...]
Shorter hours and portable loos: How London’s West End is reopening shops after lockdown June 15, 2020 The West End was one of the first areas of London to suffer the economic damage wrought by coronavirus, even before lockdown. By mid-February, people were already avoiding the usually bustling restaurants of Chinatown, following false reports that the disease could be caught more easily there. Now, after months of lockdown-induced hibernation, businesses across the [...]
Coronavirus death toll in UK rises by lowest since lockdown began June 14, 2020 The death toll in the UK from confirmed cases of coronavirus has risen by 36 to 41,698, the government said today. The increase is the lowest recorded since 22 March, the day before Prime Minister Boris Johnson implemented lockdown measures. The daily tally of deaths related to Covid-19 usually dips over the weekend due to [...]
Oxford Street braces for just 20 per cent of usual footfall when shops reopen June 13, 2020 Shops on London’s usually bustling Oxford Street are bracing themselves for as little as one-sixth of their usual footfall when they reopen on Monday. Coronavirus lockdown restrictions ease on 15 June, allowing retailers on Oxford Street, Regent Street, and others to fling open their doors for the first time since March. However, Jace Tyrrell, chief [...]
England’s coronavirus ‘R’ number rises to 0.8 to 1.0 range June 12, 2020 The reproduction rate of coronavirus infections in England has risen to 0.8 to 1.0, slightly higher than the rest of the UK. For the UK as a whole, the so-called R number remains at 0.7 to 0.9. Used by the government to inform decisions on easing lockdown, the R number represents the average number of [...]
Coronavirus UK death toll rises by 202 June 12, 2020 Deaths in the UK from coronavirus rose by 202 today, the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) said. As of 9am this morning, there have been 6,434,713 tests, with 193,253 tests conducted yesterday. A total of 292,950 people have tested positive so far. As of 5pm yesterday, of those who had tested positive for [...]
No more ‘Cinderella sector’ — we need to invest in further education for Londoners June 12, 2020 Like the rest of the UK, London’s economy has taken a body blow from Covid-19, with unemployment rising steeply and a widespread take up of the Job Retention Scheme (“furlough”). Some London industries have managed to stay active and engaged during lockdown, such as finance and business services, but a vast range — from accommodation [...]