UK retail parks fare better in lockdown than high streets and shopping centres April 20, 2020 The number of shoppers visiting the UK’s retail destinations plunged by a record amount last month due to coronavirus, however a surge in supermarket demand helped to shield retail parks. UK retail footfall plummeted 44.7 per cent in March due to the mandatory lockdown which restricted movement and forced all non-essential stores to close. In [...]
Coronavirus: Debenhams and Arcadia in talks with landlords over store closures April 19, 2020 Major high street retailers including Debenhams and Topshop owner Arcadia are negotiating with landlords over whether stores will reopen after the coronavirus lockdown ends. All non-essential retailers were ordered to close when the government implemented restrictions to slow the spread of coronavirus last month. However, some stores will not reopen when the lockdown is relaxed [...]
Coronavirus: Asda cancels clothing orders with suppliers April 19, 2020 Asda has cancelled around a quarter of clothing orders with suppliers due to plummeting demand during the coronavirus crisis. The supermarket has said it will pay 50 per cent for the completed cancelled orders, rising to 60 per cent for Bangladeshi suppliers. Asda said it will honour more than 75 per cent of its orders [...]
Pessimism & reluctance April 17, 2020 A moment of nostalgia for sterling and relief for the euro. Sterling was not unduly worried this week, having a surprisingly successful week. Over the eight-day week it strengthened by an average of 0.5%, losing out only to the puzzlingly mismatched Australian dollar and Japanese yen. It added one euro cent and one and one [...]
Coronavirus: When are supermarket opening times for NHS and pensioners? April 17, 2020 As the UK heads into lockdown because of the coronavirus outbreak, supermarkets have enforced tighter restrictions and changed opening hours. Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday ordered all “non-essential” shops to close, leaving supermarkets one of the few stores to remain open. In recent weeks supermarkets have struggled to keep shelves replenished as consumers embarked on [...]
Kurt Geiger: Customers will remember retailers’ coronavirus response April 17, 2020 Businesses that protect employees and support the NHS during the coronavirus pandemic will be rewarded by customers when the crisis is over, according to Kurt Geiger’s chief executive. “Customers will remember who has done the right thing, and who maybe hasn’t, and we want to be on the right side of that when we come [...]
Primark owner ABF confirms eligibility for coronavirus loan April 17, 2020 Primark owner Associated British Foods has announced that it is eligible for funding from the government’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility during the coronavirus outbreak. All of the budget retailer’s 376 stores across 12 countries have been closed since March 22, which represents a loss of £650m net sales each month. However the company is hoping [...]
China’s economy shrinks for first time in decades on coronavirus hit April 17, 2020 China’s economy shrank for the first time in nearly three decades of records in the first quarter as the coronavirus pandemic hit spending and production. Gross domestic product (GDP) fell 6.8 per cent in the quarter ended March compared to the same period the previous year, official data showed today, slightly larger than the 6.5 [...]
US stocks fall after dire jobless claims data April 16, 2020 US stocks have fallen in the wake of yet more shocking employment data and as states and the federal government debate lifting coronavirus measures. The Dow Jones index was down one per cent in early trading. The S&P 500 had dropped 0.5 per cent but the Nasdaq was 0.2 per cent higher. Stocks were volatile [...]
Coronavirus: More than 5m Americans made new jobless claims last week April 16, 2020 The number of Americans making new jobless claims topped 5.2m last week, official figures have shown, as the coronavirus crisis crashes the economy and sends unemployment skyrocketing. The figure compares to 6.6m new claims last week. It takes the number of people who have made new jobless claims in the last month to an astounding [...]