Breakfast briefing: Retail news on Tesco and Uniqlo

Tesco to close Blinkbox Books

Tesco will close the e-book business in the coming weeks after failing to reach an agreement with Waterstones for the sale of Blinkbox Books, reported The Telegraph. Tesco has completed the sale of Blinkbox Music to rival platform Guvera for £5m. Tesco’s decision to give up Blinkbox Books puts 60 jobs at the book division under threat.

Also, Sky News learnt that Sir Keith Mills, the entrepreneur who founded the Nectar loyalty programme and led London’s bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games, is being asked to spearhead a £2bn takeover bid for Tesco’s customer data unit, Dunnhumby.

Uniqlo to enter Canadian market

Uniqlo plans to open its first Canadian stores in the autumn of 2016 as part of a broader push to become the world’s top fashion retailer, said Reuters. Uniqlo has 1,500 stores worldwide and will be opening stores in Toronto at two of North America’s top performing malls, Yorkdale Shopping Centre and Eaton Centre. The news follows Target Corp’s announcement of pulling out of Canada, shuttering 133 stores and putting 17,000 employees out of work. Uniqlo’s Toronto stores will be 24,000 square feet and 28,000 square feet, respectively. Uniqlo also plans to launch in Vancouver at a later date.