Exclusive: Sky to open first retail stores as it takes on high street rivals August 28, 2020 Sky is set to open its first ever brick-and-mortar retail stores in the UK as the broadcaster and telecoms giant defies faltering footfall to turn up the heat on its rivals. The media group is poised to open its first outlets in the coming months, providing a physical point of sale for its mobile, TV [...]
High tech the solution for the returning High Street May 29, 2020 With Number 10 announcing that retailers can begin to re-open from June 15th, all eyes turn to the fortunes of the businesses which make up Britain’s high streets and bring colour to our communities. After three months of closure for most of these retailers, the news will provoke a mixture of reactions. Most are desperate [...]
July retail sales dampen hopes of quick high street recovery August 7, 2020 Retail sales continued to fall in July despite the reopening of non-essential stores, dampening hopes of a quick bounce back on the high street. Like-for-like sales in bricks and mortar stores fell 39.4 per cent in July compared to growth of 0.1 per cent in the same month last year. Last month was also the [...]
UK retailers encouraged to boost exports after Covid-19 batters high streets September 8, 2020 UK retail and consumer brands will be encouraged to ramp up international exporting and online sales amid dwindling high street footfall as part of the government’s coronavirus bounceback plans. The Department for International Trade today unveiled a raft of measures to support brands with exporting and improving their ecommerce platforms after the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated [...]
Primark: Oxford Street and Stratford stores to be transformed in £100m UK revamp February 8, 2024 Primark is investing £100m into stores this year, with its sites in Oxford Street and Stratford set for a revamp. The budget retailer said 700 new jobs will be created in 2024 as a result of new stores and extensions. Its Westfield Stratford store will almost double in size to more than 81,000sq. ft to [...]
Retail footfall growth doubles as consumers return to high streets July 13, 2020 Retail footfall growth more than doubled last week as consumers visited high street cafes, pubs and restaurants after lockdown restrictions were eased. Footfall across all UK retail destinations rose by 10.6 per cent last week compared to the week before. During the previous week footfall grew just 4.1 per cent, according to the latest research [...]
High street footfall suffers even as retail starts to reopen July 13, 2020 The woes of the British high street continued as June footfall dropped to less than half the level of last year, even as stores started to reopen. June saw an annual decline of 56.6 per cent in June, according to data from retail intelligence firm Springboard, but it was a marked improvement on the year-on-year [...]
Tui to close 166 high street stores and cut 270 jobs July 30, 2020 Package holiday firm Tui will close 166 of its high street stores, it announced today, after a slump in the travel sector caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The tour operator said that the decision will impact 900 jobs, but only 270 of these are at risk of being cut. Tui will try to move the [...]
UK shoppers start to return to the high street after lockdown July 10, 2020 Shoppers returned to the UK high street last month as lockdown restrictions were eased, however visitor numbers were well below pre-coronavirus levels, according to the latest data. Footfall analysis by the British Retail Consortium and Shoppertrak showed that footfall in June was down 63 per cent compared to the previous year, although this was 19 [...]
A New Look for high street retail? Here’s what matters in the Covid-19 world September 16, 2020 It has been what Sir Alex Ferguson used to call “squeaky bum time” for fashion retailer New Look these past few days. On Monday it was being reported that British Land and Landsec, two of the chain’s biggest landlords, were preparing to vote against the proposed company voluntary arrangement (CVA) which would have switched the [...]