Pandemic: High Street demise leads to explosion in demand for gigantic warehouses August 31, 2021 The enforced closure of high street stores saw the trend towards greater online sales rocket further this year, with retailers having to invest further into their warehousing capabilities to cope with delivery demand. In fact, the explosive growth in e-commerce, as a result of the pandemic, has seen almost 15m sq ft of new “super [...]
High street loses 83 per cent of department stores in five years August 27, 2021 The UK high street has lost 83 per cent of its main department stores in the five years following the collapse of the BHS group. More than two-thirds of these shops remain unoccupied as shoppers have switched to online stores, commercial property information provider CoStar Group found. Some 237 big stores that were once occupied [...]
Hundreds of ex-Debenhams staff launch legal action over lack of redundancy consultation August 20, 2021 Hundreds of Debenhams workers are launching legal action after they claim they were not given adequate notice for redundancy. Up to 800 former employees of the department store are participating in two group actions to employment tribunals, led by Simpson Millar and SDM Legal. Former staff said Debenhams should have collectively consulted with employees for [...]
Britain 2030: Writing off the high street is unambitious; its future is bespoke, local and community-driven August 20, 2021 After years of decline, the Covid-19 pandemic further hammered the high street, leading to boarded up shops and mass job losses, and some to declare the high street “dead”. But writing off the high street could prove to be unambitious, as, with the help of local government and private stakeholders, the post-pandemic high street could [...]
Mike Ashley: Will the headline-grabbing Sports Direct boss go quietly? August 5, 2021 Frasers Group boss Mike Ashley is to relinquish his position as chief executive of the retail group after decades in the spotlight but there are suggestions the billionaire will continue to call the shots. The Sports Direct founder will hand over the reins next year to his daughter’s fiancé, Michael Murray, the group confirmed in [...]
Mike Ashley to hand reins of Sports Direct retail empire to future son-in-law August 5, 2021 The board of Frasers Group confirmed suspicions that CEO Mike Ashley will be replaced next year by his daughter’s fiancé, Michael Murray, in the group’s financial update. 31-year-old Murray is currently the firm’s “head of elevation” and has been in charge of modernise the owner of Sports Direct and House of Fraser, as well as [...]
Mike Ashley ‘set to step down’ as chief exec of Frasers Group August 3, 2021 Mike Ashley is reportedly set to hand control of his retail empire to his prospective son-in-laww after nearly 40 years in charge of Sports Direct. The Telegraph reported that the Frasers Group chief executive could confirm the decision alongside the firm’s results on Thursday. It is expected that he will become the deputy chairman of [...]
Boohoo chief summoned to US court to explain ‘fake’ sales promotions claim July 31, 2021 The head of online fashion retailer Boohoo has been summoned to give evidence in a US court over allegations that the company promoted fake sales to attract customers. Mahmud Kamani will give evidence to a Los Angeles court remotely on or before 15 August in a four-hour deposition. Boohoo is accused of tricking customers into [...]
COVID-19 and the economic impact on UK businesses July 23, 2021 The COVID-19 pandemic has left a lot of business struggling, but how bad is the overall outlook for them? We’ve spoken to Michelle Elliot CA, partner at FRP based in Glasgow, about whether we can expect a tsunami of insolvencies or if UK businesses are coping better than expected. Michelle is a Chartered Accountant and [...]
Boohoo to bolster Debenhams stores and e-commerce sites in the Middle East July 14, 2021 Boohoo, which bought Debenhams for £55m, has partnered with the Alshaya group to bolster the ex-high street staple’s presence in the Middle East. Kuwait-based Alshaya, which currently run Debenhams stores in shopping malls, will have exclusive rights to operate the Debenhams stores and local e-commerce sites in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Oman and [...]