Our high streets are in grave danger June 12, 2019 For decades, the local high street has been the jewel in the crown of UK towns and cities, boasting an array of thriving local businesses and big-name stores. However an outdated business rates system, coupled with the rise of online retail giants, has left them in grave danger. This is a watershed moment for our [...]
Ranked: Sports Direct tops poll of UK’s most loathed brands October 23, 2018 House of Fraser owner Sports Direct is the UK’s most loathed brand, according to consumer finance website Money Saving Expert. However, billionaire Mike Ashley's bottom-placed retail giant may have been hurt by a social media campaign against the company, admitted the website, which asked 7,600 readers to rank 52 household name brands. Read more: Mike [...]
High street faces chilly week ahead as disappointing festive trading updates expected January 6, 2019 High street retailers are expected to be further under the cosh by the end of the week, with a flurry of quarterly trading updates due in the coming days. Troubled department store Marks and Spencer is one of several set to reveal yet another fall in sales over the festive period, according to analysts at [...]
Christmas sales grow at St Pancras International despite retail gloom January 15, 2019 Commuters choosing to do their Christmas shopping at St Pancras International station grew 6.3 per cent in 2018 compared to the year before, according to figures released by the station's operator today. The rise was driven by growing passenger numbers and strong growth in non-food sales, the company said. St Pancras has welcomed a number of [...]
All I want for Christmas… is for retailers to get real and rethink their festive ads November 20, 2018 TV has long been a staple of Christmas advertising, highlighted by the millions of people who look forward to the annual John Lewis spot. This year, the retailer reportedly spent millions of pounds on a cameo from Elton John, though it is being tight-lipped about exactly how much. However, while the department store’s festive offering [...]
Retail administrations rise for the second consecutive year January 5, 2019 The number of retail administrations has risen for the second year in a row after 125 retailers collapsed in 2018. Administrations rose six per cent last year from 118 in 2017, and 26 of the retailers that collapsed were large brands, compared to 17 the year before. There was a 53 per cent increase in [...]
Dido Harding slammed for ‘three per cent’ Test and Trace success rate November 10, 2020 Baroness Dido Harding has been slammed by MPs for the “three per cent” success rate of England’s contact tracing programme, as the Test and Trace chair faced her first formal grilling in the Commons. Health and social care committee chair Jeremy Hunt pressured Harding to explain why only “three per cent of the total theoretical [...]
Westfield Stratford and Westfield London boost Christmas shopping footfall January 4, 2019 Westfield London and Stratford City saw record festive footfall this year, helping to dispel fears of retail gloom over the Christmas period. Christmas footfall was up 11 per cent year-on-year with 15.6m visitors visiting the centres from the start of November, the owner of the two shopping centres, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, announced today, while Boxing Day shoppers hit 350,000 [...]
Raab: Stop blaming Brexit for poor business performance September 13, 2018 Brexit secretary Dominic Raab today told businesses to stop blaming Brexit for poor performance and “take responsibility”. His comments come in the wake of John Lewis posting a 99 per cent drop in profits in its half-year results this morning, which it partly attributed to Brexit. Read more: Bank of England: Hold fire until there [...]
Raab: Stop blaming Brexit for poor business performance September 13, 2018 Brexit secretary Dominic Raab today told businesses to stop blaming Brexit for poor performance and “take responsibility”. His comments come in the wake of John Lewis posting a 99 per cent drop in profits in its half-year results this morning, which it partly attributed to Brexit. Read more: Bank of England: Hold fire until there [...]