John Lewis ditches ‘never knowingly undersold’ pricing pledge February 25, 2022 John Lewis will ditch its iconic “never knowingly undersold” pricing pledge on the grounds it does not reflect the current retail landscape, as high street stores look to fend off competition from online retail giants.
Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group snaps up online retailer Studio after firm’s funding bid fails February 25, 2022 British retail conglomerate Frasers Group, which owns shops including House of Fraser and Evans Cycles, has acquired online and mail order shopping company Studio Retail Group, following the firm’s collapse earlier this month. Frasers Group – the firm initially set up as Sports Direct International by British retail billionaire Mike Ashley – has acquired Studio [...]
On the Beach posts promising results as travel sector recovers February 25, 2022 Package holiday retailer On the Beach said it had begun to see the first “green shoots of recovery” in the Autumn of 2021, before the recovery was spoiled by the spread of the Omicron variant. On the Beach said its sales in September and October 2021 were higher than they were before the pandemic, in [...]
‘Perfect storm’ of headwinds crimps UK optimism February 25, 2022 A “perfect storm” of headwinds gripping households with the tightest financial squeeze in a generation is eroding Brits’ optimism, reveals a closely watched survey published today. Concern about the impact soaring inflation will have on household finances drove UK consumer confidence to its lowest level in over a year, plummeting to minus 26 points this [...]
Monsoon and Accessorize eye 20 new stores as fashion brands progress Covid recovery February 23, 2022 The Monsoon and Accessorize group has said it is eyeing 20 new store openings this year, as the fashion group continues to recover from Covid. In results published on Wednesday, the group revealed sales of £196m and EBITDA of £17.4m for the 12 months to 31 December 2021. The firms were acquired by Adena Brands [...]
Ted Baker steams ahead with UK expansion despite Omicron dent to sales February 23, 2022 Ted Baker is set to steam ahead with its UK expansion plans – with hopes of a least three new stores each year over the next three years – despite the Omicron-induced dent to sales. The retailer saw sales plunge 42 per cent during the Omicron surge, in comparison with the final quarter of 2019. [...]
Ofgem appoints Yü Energy Retail to take on customers from two fallen firms February 21, 2022 Yü Energy has taken on customers from fallen suppliers Whoop Energy and Xcel Power - boosting its books with 550 customers.
Rampant inflation to swell government’s interest bill once again February 20, 2022 Soaring inflation will swell the government’s interest bill to eye-watering levels, official figures released this week are expected to show. The cost of servicing the UK’s stock of debt has already broken several records in recent months, including hitting its highest ever level for a December at £8.1bn. Fresh figures published by the Office for [...]
January retail sales boosted as cost of living crisis looms February 18, 2022 January retail sales volumes lifted 1.9 per cent last month while retailers prepare for consumers to limit spending as bills soar. According to the latest retail data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), sales volumes marked the largest monthly increase since April 2021 when non-essential retailing reopened. An increase came after a four per [...]
Payments fintech Storfund lures in Amazon executive to ramp up product development February 16, 2022 UK payments fintech Storfund has lured in an Amazon payments executive as it looks to accelerate its product development and ramp up growth into new markets this year.