Lidl to invest £1.3bn in UK store expansion February 20, 2020 Budget supermarket Lidl has announced it will invest £1.3bn in store expansion across the UK in the next two years. The German discounter – which has opened 50 new stores in the last 12 months – said this morning that it has committed to investing in growing its store portfolio in 2021 and 2020. The [...]
Victoria’s Secret to go private in $525m deal February 20, 2020 US lingerie giant Victoria’s Secret will be taken private after owner L Brands sold a controlling stake to investment firm Sycamore Partners, valuing the firm at $1.1bn. L Brands announced this afternoon that it will sell a 55 per cent stake to the private equity firm for around $525m. L Brands will retain a 45 [...]
Greggs honours Stormzy with first ever ‘black card’ February 20, 2020 Stormzy has become the first person to receive a Greggs black card, as part of the chain’s VIP service which it launched today. Ahead of his European tour, Greggs sent the rapper a black membership card with a pair of Greggs slippers. In a welcome video, broadcasted to Stormzy’s followers, the new concierge service boasts [...]
UK retail sales jump 1.6 per cent in January after Tory election victory February 20, 2020 UK retail sales excluding fuel jumped the most in almost two years in January, official figures showed today. Retail sales rose excluding fuel 1.6 per cent compared to the month before as the new year got underway, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. And retail volumes rose 0.9 per cent to recover from falls [...]
Laura Ashley scraps dividend after doubling losses to £4m February 20, 2020 Struggling retailer Laura Ashley will not pay an interim dividend after losses more than doubled in the first half of the year amid a “challenging” trading period. The figures Laura Ashley reported total group sales of £109.6m, down from £122.9m a year earlier, for the first half of the year. The decline in total revenue [...]
WH Smith removes Telegraph from railway station stores February 19, 2020 WH Smith has stopped selling the Telegraph in some of its branches following a dispute over prices. The decision to stop selling the newspaper in its railway station shops comes after the Telegraph increased the price of its daily, Saturday and Sunday editions earlier this month. However, the newspaper publisher has not yet increased the [...]
EU immigration proposals ‘disastrous’ for hospitality industry February 19, 2020 Parts of Britain’s hospitality industry have lashed out at the government’s new EU immigration proposals, with the sector’s leading trade body calling them “disastrous”. The government’s long-awaited post-Brexit immigration proposals were released last night. From January, all EU immigration applicants will need to speak English, have a job offer in the UK with a salary [...]
Laura Ashley shares bounce back after lender offers lifeline February 19, 2020 Shares in Laura Ashley jumped more than 45 per cent today after the struggling retailer secured access to a £20m lifeline following emergency talks with its lender. The high street brand said today that discussions between Malaysian owner MUI Asia and Wells Fargo over access to a working capital facility had concluded. In a statement this [...]
Coronavirus outbreak: Sportswear giants Puma and Adidas warn on trading impact February 19, 2020 German sportswear giants Puma and Adidas have warned that the outbreak of coronavirus in China has hurt trading due to the temporary closure of stores and a drop in footfall. Puma said the outbreak will impact sales and profits in the first quarter of the year, after it was forced to shutter more than half [...]
All Beales stores set for closure as no buyer found February 18, 2020 Department store chain Beales is preparing to shutter all of its stores after administrators were unable to find a buyer for the business, putting hundreds of jobs at risk. KPMG said it will “continue discussions with a number of interested parties for a sale of the business as a going concern” but has begun preparing [...]
