Fashion industry blues: Sector falters as it loses £750m and sales suffer deepest decline since 2009 January 12, 2017 Britain's fashion market struck a feeble pose last year, when it suffered its deepest sales decline since August 2009, according to figures from Kantar Worldpanel. Sales fell by two per cent in the 52 weeks to 18 December compared to the year before, Kantar found, knocking nearly £750m off its total value. In October, Kantar had already [...]
UK retail scores “solid yet unspectacular” end to 2016 January 10, 2017 Retailers are bracing themselves for a possible slowdown in consumer spending this year, but the sector ended 2016 in (relatively) good health, thanks to a strong performance on Christmas week. Like-for-like sales in UK retail increased one per cent year-on-year in December 2016, according to figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG, improving from a [...]
Consumer spending cooled in December after post-Brexit spending spree January 10, 2017 Consumer spending cooled towards the end of 2016, pointing to a slowdown in Britain's spending spree following the Brexit vote. In October and November, consumer spending growth hit 5.5 per cent and 5.1 per cent respectively, according to Barclaycard. But this figure fell to four per cent growth year-on-year in December. Read more: Aldi bags [...]
Online retailers including Asos and Boohoo set to be the winners of the festive season January 8, 2017 Retailers with a strong online offering are set to be some of the biggest winners of the festive season's trading, with analysts pencilling in sales jumps for Asos and Boohoo of 30 per cent and 46 per cent respectively. The City had been fearful that the festive period was a bloodbath for retailers after Next [...]
Christmas Day online shopping will peak at this surprisingly late time for the post-millennial “Generation Z” December 25, 2016 Most people will be aiming to put their feet up after Christmas lunch today and zone out in front of the TV – but there's one group of people who will be driving a late-night shopping boom this evening. Not content with their new stash of presents, "Generation Z", the post-millennial cohort who were born in [...]
Lingerie brand Bluebella secures £1m through crowdfunding for US expansion December 14, 2016 The British brand which created the official Fifty Shades of Grey lingerie has raised £1m – double its original target – in a crowdfunding campaign. Bluebella turned to its fans for help funding an expansion to the US, and reached a grand total of £1,088,700 by the time the campaign ended. Founder Emily Bendell said: [...]
Asos is creating 1,500 new jobs at its Camden headquarters December 12, 2016 Asos has proven online fashion retail is still firmly en vogue – after it said it wants to create another 1,500 jobs at its Camden headquarters, and is taking another 40,000 sq ft to house them. The roles will stretch across disciplines including technology, marketing, content and retail, it said this morning. That means it [...]
Black Friday UK 2016: Fashion deals available today November 25, 2016 Black Friday is upon us so it's probably time to completely overhaul your wardrobe – here's a roundup of the best deals among high street and designer brands. Asos has a massive 20 per cent off all clothing if you use the code GOGOGO – the sale is running over the weekend. High street favourite [...]
M&S dresses for success by choosing food over fashion November 9, 2016 As Marks & Spencer announces its turnaround plan, now is a great time to analyse how the retailer has reached this point, and whether a revival is possible. M&S reported falling sales and profits in the six months to the end of September and said it will close more clothing and home stores, and convert many [...]
Asos to move employees onto a higher living wage in the next 18 months October 18, 2016 Hitting back at accusations that it mistreats workers, Asos said today it will be moving employees onto the living wage foundation level of pay over the next year and a half. The Living Wage Foundation sets a separate minimum wage for employers that companies opt-in for. Currently, companies in the scheme pay a minimum of £8.25 [...]