Debenhams could return to the high street to land beauty deals for Boohoo June 16, 2021 Boohoo is reportedly in talks about opening a Debenhams store to land deals with beauty and cosmetic brands that want to operate with a physical presence. Boohoo chief executive John Lyttle told The Times that if the talks came to fruition one small Debenhams store would return to a high street just outside of London. [...]
Two-tiered recovery? High Streets struggle as one-in-seven shops sit vacant July 30, 2021 A wave of administrations, closures and downsizing has decimated the UK high street, with new figures out this morning showing one in seven shops are sitting empty – and the problem is getting worse. In the second quarter of 2021, the overall vacancy rate increased to 14.5 per cent across the UK, from 14.1 per [...]
High streets may never recover to pre-pandemic levels, minister warns July 6, 2021 The number of shoppers on the high street may never again hit pre-Covid levels, as a combination of working from home and shopping online could permanently change consumer habits. Speaking to MPs on the Communities Select Committee, Luke Hall, minister for regional growth and local government, suggested a full recovery for the high street could [...]
Warm weather and half-term tempts shoppers back to the high street June 7, 2021 The number of shoppers in retail destinations rose by 11.6 per cent last week, with a combination of warm weather, a bank holiday and half-term tempting punters back to the high street. The number of shoppers on the high street rose by 17.4 per cent last week, according to the latest data from Springboard, while [...]
Consumer spending grew in April as high streets and hospitality reopened May 11, 2021 Consumer spending was up 0.4 per cent higher last month than in April 2019, as Brits rushed out to take advantage of the easing of lockdown restrictions. Last month the first major move away from a full lockdown took place, with shoppers finally allowed to visit non-essential retail stores, and hospitality venues – so long [...]
Summer shoppers hesitant to return to high streets as footfall down 34% on pre-pandemic levels August 6, 2021 High street footfall in July was down by one third on the same month in 2019, before the pandemic, showing businesses still have a long way to go in rebuilding lost trade. High street footfall declined by 34.6 per cent in July compared to 2019, 1.2 percentage points below last month’s rate, according to data [...]
Wilko may look like Woolies 2.0, but a new buyer should save it from collapse August 11, 2023 Wilco’s collapse into administration put tens of thousands of jobs at risk, but the high street staple should have a future if a buyer sees beyond the hysteria, writes George MacDonald.
Retail footfall dips for first time since June as Brits shun high streets and shop online August 26, 2021 Retail footfall dipped for the first time in two months last week driven by Brits shunning high streets and continuing to shop online despite the lifting of Covid restrictions, according to new data released today. Figures published by the Office for National Statistics, and supplied by Springboard, show the volume of total retail footfall slid [...]
Big banks shun demand for SME lending as larger firms prioritised May 29, 2024 Big banks are set to withdraw even further from funding small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) this year, data shared exclusively with City A.M. suggests, as high street lenders face criticism for prioritising larger firms.
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 [...]