Finance chief quits high street pawnbroker H&T Group as business refocuses April 30, 2021 High street pawnbroker H&T Group this morning announced the departure of its chief financial officer to allow it to focus on the “future needs and priorities of the business”. Finance chief Richard Withers will leave the business at the end of next month after just three years in the role. The move is due to [...]
Retailers prepare to reopen doors as shoppers look forward to returning to high street April 6, 2021 Retailers are preparing to reopen their doors next week after months of closure, with many consumers looking forward to returning to the high street. Research published this morning showed that 84 per cent of Brits said they are likely to visit their local high street or shopping centre next week, after non-essential stores reopen on [...]
Peacocks rescued from administration, saving 2,000 high street jobs April 6, 2021 High street retail chain Peacocks has been rescued from administration after being bought by an investment consortium, saving around 2,000 jobs. Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group, the retail empire owned by billionaire businessman Philip Day, has agreed to support the sale of its high street brand. EWM Group said it had backed a bid by an [...]
Delivery slot shortage gives welcome boost to High Street February 20, 2021 Overwhelmed supermarket delivery services have given bricks and mortar retailers a boost during the UK’s Covid-19 lockdowns. Key announcements by Boris Johnson have led to spikes in demand for services such as Ocado. And that, according to research by retail search platform NearSt, has seen Brits looking closer to home for essentials. Their platform, which [...]
Boots hikes profit forecasts as pharmacy sales offset high street slump March 31, 2021 The US owner of Boots today hiked its profit forecasts for the full year as higher pharmacy sales helped offset lower footfall during lockdown. Walgreen Boots Alliance posted an 8.4 per cent increase in profit to $1bn (£725m) in the second quarter, driven by a rise in comparable pharmacy sales in the US. Revenue for [...]
Future of high streets look bleak as the end of Covid-19 rent debt relief nears May 5, 2021 The future of UK high streets appears bleak today, as 71 per cent of high street businesses expect further job losses without government or landlord support, according to commercial restructuring specialists Cedar Dean. As the end of the rent moratorium approaches, 80 per cent of high street tenants still face ‘unproductive’ discussions with their landlords. [...]
High street recovery blown off course as footfall drops 6.1 per cent May 4, 2021 Wind and rain blew the high street recovery off course this week as footfall dropped 6.1 per cent, according to figures from retail insight company Springboard. The number of shoppers across all retail destinations fell by two per cent last week from the week before. Meanwhile, footfall rose by 2.8 per cent in shopping centres [...]
Breaking: TUI to shut 48 more high street stores across Britain March 23, 2021 Travel giant TUI confirmed this evening that it is planning to close 48 more of its retail stores across the UK. Britain’s biggest tour operator said the travel industry and the high street “are both facing unprecedented pressure” due to the coronavirus pandemic. All 273 employees affected by the decision will be offered new roles [...]
Back to basics: Three ‘Rs’ can revive the High Street February 9, 2021 The news this week that Asos has bought Topshop, Topman and Miss Selfridge from the failed Arcadia group is the latest evidence of the rapidly increasing dominance of younger online retailers over the traditional bricks-and-mortar fashion stores. The deal comes hot on the heels of Boohoo agreeing to pay £55m for the Debenhams brand last week. And [...]
Stop blaming lazy landlords for empty shops and look for the cause not the symptom January 11, 2023 We're blaming landlords for empty high streets because we're too scared to look at the real problem underneath, the falling incomes across the country putting retail in a binds, writes Dominic Curran.