Gail’s to open 40 bakeries after creating 500 jobs December 1, 2025 Bakery chain Gail’s is to open 40 new sites by the end of February after creating almost 500 jobs during its latest financial year. The London-headquartered business said the new locations will all be open by 28 February, 2026, and it has plans to launch similar numbers “going forward”. The expansion comes after Gail’s opened [...]
Argos loses more than £200m as over 2,000 jobs cut December 1, 2025 Argos lost more than £200m during its latest financial year as over it cut over 2,000 jobs. The retailer, which is owned by FTSE 100 supermarket giant Sainsbury’s, has reported a pre-tax loss of £223.2m for the 12 months to 1 March, 2025. The loss comes after Argos posted a pre-tax profit of £37.3m in [...]
Buyer of WH Smith in late stage talks to snap up leading footwear chain November 30, 2025 The investment firm which bought WH Smith is in advanced talks to takeover a privately owned footwear retailer as it looks to snaps up more UK high street staples. Modella Capital is in late stage talks to buy Wynsors World of Shoes, which trades from approximately 50 standalone shops across the the north of the [...]
Budget: Reeves introduces ‘permanently lower’ taxes for retail and hospitality November 26, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has confirmed she will introduce permanently lower business rates for retail, hospitality and leisure firms, paid for by higher levies on big properties. Retailers have been crying out for business rates reform for years, with concerns that the tax creates an unfair playing field between high street and online firms, which only owe [...]
87% of UK Shoppers Changed Their Shopping Habits Amid Rising Costs, ShipStation® Survey Finds November 26, 2025 Value, recommerce, and delivery reliability are shaping 2025’s Black Friday and Christmas shopping across all generations
Retail confidence falls at its fastest rate since 2008 November 25, 2025 Confidence amongst retailers has dropped at its fastest rate in 17 years as firms become increasingly pessimistic about their fortunes amid high taxes and low spending. Retailers expect demand to remain subdued heading into December, with sales set to fall again – albeit at a somewhat slower pace, according to the CBI’s latest quarterly Distributive [...]
Next hikes dividend after NIMBY backlash sparks Essex land sale November 25, 2025 Retail giant Next has offloaded a highly contested piece of land in Essex after a group of NIMBYs blocked its plans to build a distribution centre. The firm completed the sale on November 21, bringing to a close its intention to develop the Waltham Abbey site and generating £54m in cash. Next has said it [...]
Aero Commerce Partners With DNA Payments to Deliver Unified In-Person and Online Retail Experience November 24, 2025 Aero, one of Europe’s leading eCommerce platforms, has partnered with DNA Payments to bring retailers a single unified sales and payment platform, across website and in-person purchases. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251124370572/en/ With Aero’s Web-based POS and DNA Payments’ Wi-Fi enabled terminals, merchants can now run every part of [...]
Reeves delays Shein import clampdown to 2029 November 22, 2025 Rachel Reeves will wait four years before scrapping a controversial tax break that benefits low-cost foreign retailers such as Shein and Temu, hitting British high street chains who had pushed for immediate action in next week’s Budget. The chancellor has confirmed she will abolish the UK’s ‘de minimis’ rule, which exempts parcels worth under £135 [...]
Retail sales drop in pre-Budget disappointment November 21, 2025 Retail sales fell 1.1 per cent in October, following a 0.7 per cent rise last month, in a “disappointing” start to the all-important festive season ahead of the budget next week. Sales in clothing were particularly affected as shoppers took a more cautious approach, with spending “constrained by consumer nervousness amid mixed messaging from a [...]