Retail Week
January 28 2011

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£1m raised for Retail Trust

Over £1m was raised for the Retail Trust charity last night at The Retail Trust London Ball.
84% of retailers will pass on VAT rise in full

More than eight out of 10 retailers plan to pass on in full the VAT rise that came in to effect on January 4.
Ahold net sales up 4.4% to £25.2bn

During 2010, retail group Ahold’s consolidated net sales reached €29.5bn (£25.2bn), up 4.4% after adjustments or 5.7% on a non-adjusted basis. During the fourth quarter, consolidated net sales, which do not include the joint ventures ICA Group in Scandinavia and JMR, were €6.9bn (£5.9bn). This is an increase of 5.5% over the fourth quarter of 2009, after adjustments for constant exchange rates and the impact of an additional week in 2009 - a 2.6% increase on a non-adjusted basis.
Alexon warns on profits despite sales improvement

Womenswear group Alexon, which includes the Ann Harvey and Kaliko chains, reported group like-for-like sales up by 13.3% in the five weeks to January 22 but issued a second profit warning after gross margins were eroded.
Amazon ebooks outsell paperbacks

US etail giant Amazon has revealed that sales of ebooks have overtaken those of paperback physical books for the first time.
Argos-owner Home Retail ran slide-rule over Blacks

Argos-owner Home Retail Group was among the potential bidders for outdoors specialist Blacks Leisure, it has emerged
Asda Income Tracker: average family's spending power suffered largest fall on record in December

The average family’s spending power fell by £8 per week in December, the largest fall on record since the Asda Income Tracker began in January 2007.
Asda launches dating website

Asda has launched a dating website to pair up singles looking for love based on their shopping habits.
Asda poaches Tesco's personnel director

Asda has poached Tesco’s UK personnel director to be its HR director.
Asda told to make Price Guarantee clearer, rules ASA

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ruled that Asda must adapt some of its price guarantee adverts following complaints from some of its rivals.
Asos launches Facebook store

Etailer Asos has launched a transactional shop on social networking platform Facebook.
Banks are on board – for now

The extent of new lending by the banks continues to preoccupy politicians but for some hard-pressed retailers existing borrowing is front of mind.
Barry Hartog to retire from Clinton Cards

Clinton Cards group commercial director Barry Hartog is retiring from the board and will leave the retailer at the end of May.
BDO High Street Sales Tracker

BDO High Street Sales Tracker data for the week ending January 23 , 2011
Beales narrows losses by a third

Beales, the independent department store chain, has reduced its full year losses for the third year running.
Bench for sale with £250m price tag

Young fashion brand Bench and sister label Hooch have been put up for sale.
Blacks sale hopes fade

The potential takeover of Blacks Leisure may be pulled as several of the interested parties are reported to have walked away from discussions.
Blacks sale talks break down

Outdoors specialist Blacks Leisure has ended discussions with potential buyers after no agreement could be reached.
Blockbuster gets deadline extension for bankruptcy reorganisation plan

Blockbuster has received an additional three weeks from its lenders to file a bankruptcy reorganisation plan. The company received an extension to February 4 from January 14 to file a plan, a regulatory filing shows. It is common for debtors to seek such extensions and US bankruptcy courts routinely grant them.
Boux Avenue: first product pictures revealed

Entrepreneur Theo Paphitis has unveiled the first product images for his lingerie chain Boux Avenue which will open in late March.
Bravissimo to launch new womenswear fascia

Lingerie retailer Bravissimo is to launch a new fascia and expand its offer to a full womenswear range.
BRC calls for fine crackdown to be permanent

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has called for Her Majesty’s Court Service’s month long crackdown on unpaid fines, which begins today, to become permanent.
British Bookshops & Stationers attracts offers as bid deadline expires

The deadline for bids for British Bookshops and Stationers, which collapsed earlier this month, expired yesterday (Tuesday).
Burberry to move into Habitat store on Regent Street

Luxury fashion retailer Burberry is to take the store on Regent Street which is currently occupied by Habitat.
Carpetright warns on profits as sales plunge

Carpetright has warned on profits as sales plunged in the UK and Ireland.
Christmas Trading: The good, the bad, and the ugly

Terrible weather hit retail hard this Christmas, but some managed to prosper regardless. Rebecca Thomson wraps up Christmas 2010 with the help of OC&C’s Christmas trading index
Christopher North

With a keen eye for data and background in publishing the new Amazon UK managing director seems the perfect fit for the online giant.
Clarks Originals unveils spring ad campaign

Clarks will launch its first international advertising campaign for its Clarks Originals collection next month when it will also open a pop-up store for the sub-brand at its store in London’s Regent Street.
Consumer confidence goes into tailspin

Consumer confidence crashed in January, when it plunged at a rate not seen since the recession of the early 1990s.
Consumer confidence up in fourth quarter

Consumer confidence rose in the final quarter of last year as consumers felt more positive about job prospects and their personal finances.
Delhaize Group revenue increases 4.6% to £17.7bn

Delhaize Group has reported revenues of E20.8bn (£17.7bn) for 2010. This represents an increase of 1% at identical exchange rates or 4.6% at actual exchange rates, due to the strengthening of the US dollar by 5.2% against the euro compared with 2009. Organic revenue growth was 0.9%.Delhaize Group added 68 stores last year, bringing its total to 2,800 by December. US operations generated revenues of $18.8bn (£11.8bn), a decrease of 1% year on year while like-for-like sales decreased by
Directors leave Comet in the wake of dire trading update

Two Comet directors are to exit the business and redundancy consultations have begun with other head office staff as the electricals specialist battles to recover after disastrous Christmas trading.
Double-dip fears hit general retail stocks

Retail stocks were hit as the economy went into reverse, renewing fears of a double-dip recession, and Bank of England governor Mervyn King warned of plunging living standards.
Dune creates IT platform to back expansion plans

Dune aims to have 250 overseas stores within the next three to four years, up from the 150 shops it had previously planned. 50 will be wholly owned stores and the other 200 will be franchises.
Everything Everywhere to launch contactless payment on mobiles

Retailer and operator Everything Everywhere, the company created from the merger between T-mobile and Orange, will launch a contactless payment service that allows customers to pay on the mobiles by early summer.
Experian Footfall: Week 3, 2011

Experian Footfall index data for the week ending January 23, 2011
Five IT trends for future growth

For many retailers the focus this year will be on cost control and maintaining margins rather than revenue growth. Yet research from Planet Retail shows that an astute use of technology helps retailers achieve better margins, lower costs and higher sales.
Former M&S boss Rose and Waitrose chief Price named Government happiness advisors

Former Marks & Spencer chairman Sir Stuart Rose and Waitrose managing director Mark Price have both been named members of the advisory panel set up to measure happiness.
Former owners buy 12 Suits You stores

Peter Lucas and Arafa Holding, the former owners of collapsed menswear chain Suits You, have acquired 12 of its 66 stores through Baird Group and relaunched them under the Suitdirect fascia.
Former TK Maxx boss Susanne Given joins John Lewis

John Lewis has appointed Susanne Given, the former managing director of TK Maxx in the UK and Republic of Ireland, to a senior product or fashion role at the department store chain.
Gareth Jones

Retail director, Shop Direct
Goodbye Ann, hello Man

Lingerie retailer Ann Summers is to rename four of its prominent stores ‘Man Summers’ in the run-up to Valentine’s Day in an attempt to lure in male customers.
H&M final quarter profits hit by cotton price hikes

H&M, the Swedish fast fashion chain, said that profits fell in the final three months of its financial year after being impacted by the rising price of cotton.
Habitat to exit Regent Street store

Habitat is closing its Regent Street store in Central London because it “no longer fits” with the retailer’s strategy.
Haldanes readies hard discounter model Ugo

Independent food group Haldanes is to invest in a raft of initiatives to revitalise the hard discounter model when it launches its “Netto plus” chain at the end of April.
Hamleys up for sale

Frozen food chain Iceland also up for sale as Landsbanki sells off assets as part of winding up process
HMV begins closing stores

HMV has shut nine shops as part of its plans to close 60 across the group as it seeks to cut costs.
Homestyle profits drop 19% but Reid acquisition boosts turnover

Homestyle, the furniture retailer that operates chains including Harveys and Bensons for Beds, has revealed a 19% fall in profits in the year to June 26, while turnover increased.
House of Fraser names director of ecommerce

Department store chain House of Fraser has appointed Andy Harding as director of ecommerce.
How can emerging technologies such as iPads benefit retailers?

How can emerging technologies such as iPads benefit retailers?
ICA Group net sales drop 0.8% to £8.9bn

SWEDEN
In Focus: Poundstretcher

Poundstretcher has become one of the forgotten names of UK retailing, despite being a significant player in the evolution of the variety store into value retailing.
JD in talks to buy JJB

JD Sports Fashion has confirmed that it is in early talks to buy rival sports chain JJB Sports.
Jerónimo Martins to open neigbourhood store chain

Portuguese retailer Jerónimo Martins is planning to open a new chain of small franchised neigbourhood stores over the coming months. The retailer will open two wholly owned stores under the new banner and will then work towards its expansion under a franchising scheme. The new business model will be developed in co-operation with independent retailers.
JJB Sports fined £455,000 by FSA

JJB Sports has been fined £455,000 by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) for failing to disclose the true costs of two acquisitions under the previous management.
John Lewis steps up security

John Lewis is to implement high-end security tags beyond its branded fashion products and will extend its use of security tagging earlier in the supply chain.
John Lewis suffers weekly sales fall

Sales at department store chain John Lewis went into reverse last week but the retailer said its full-year performance would be strong.
Jones Bootmaker in £40m sale

Jones Bootmaker is set to be snapped up by Dutch group Macintosh Retail Group in a deal which is believed to value the footwear chain at £40m.
Joules considers sale of minority stake

Lifestyle retailer Joules has appointed investment banking group Rothschild to advise on its growth and investigate the potential sale of a minority stake.
Kantar Worldpanel: Audio-Visual Entertainment

The latest Kantar Worldpanel Audio-Visual Entertainment data for the 52 weeks ending November 28, 2010 vs 2009
Kiddicare expects mobile to make up 20% of sales this year

Nursery retailer Kiddicare expects 20% of its sales to come from mobile within 12 months as its newly launched sites start driving sales.
'Little Waitrose' convenience fascia trialled

Waitrose is trialling a new fascia for its convenience stores, Little Waitrose.
Lush temporary website to open next week in response to cyber-attack

Ethical beauty retailer Lush is to open a temporary website next week, having closed its UK site after it was targeted by hackers.
M&S fully integrates Per Una after management shake-up

Marks & Spencer womenswear label Per Una will be fully integrated into the retailer’s core womenswear operations following a management restructuring this week.
Marks & Spencer restructures womenswear management team

Marks & Spencer has unveiled a raft of management changes at its clothing business as part of chief executive Marc Bolland’s new strategy, Retail Week can reveal.
Marks & Spencer to open Champs-Elysees store this summer

Marks & Spencer is to open a store in Paris on the Champs-Elysees as early as this summer, it is understood.
Migros records £16.35bn in net sales

Supermarket chain Migros has reported preliminary group net sales of CHF25.03bn (£16.35bn) for 2010, representing a slight increase of 0.3% compared with 2009.Lower prices of Migros’ products, alongside a currency-related decline in sales in the travel business, affected Migros Group’s sales during the year. The retail segment of the group reported a 0.8% decrease excluding VAT to CHF21.2bn (£13.8bn) - a real sales increase of 2.9%.
Morrisons veteran Mark Gunter to retire

Morrisons group retail director Mark Gunter is to retire in June 2012.
Mulberry celebrates rocketing festive sales

Sales at luxury brand and retailer Mulberry soared over the festive period, showing consumer appetite for ‘It Bags’ is yet to be sated.
Neal's Yard hires new MD

Neal’s Yard Remedies has appointed Carl Atkinson as its new managing director.
Not just a pretty face

Successful collaborations between retailers and celebrities now require the famous faces to do much more than just smile for the camera.
O2 launches own free in-store Wi-fi

O2 is to replace its paid for Wi-fi service in 450 stores by April this year with its own free Wi-fi service.
O2 store managers most at risk due to retail restructure

O2 store managers are most at risk by store closures and the management restructure, according to the Communication Workers Union.
Ocado launches Pet Corner microsite

Online grocer Ocado is aiming to take a slice of the pet products sector with a dedicated microsite devoted to the category.
Ocado records pre-tax profit in Q4 and reduces full year losses

Ocado has made a pre-tax profit in the fourth quarter of £300,000 and reduced pre-tax losses for the year by 52%.
One in three retailers to cut back staffing levels

More than a third of retailers plan to reduce staffing levels in the next three months, compared with just 13% this time last year, and only 4% plan to increase them.
Online streaming

With Amazon taking control of Lovefilm and Netflix flying high across the pond, all the signs suggest online streaming is set to become the norm
Pace of retail growth slowing, CBI reports

Retail sales volume rose in the early part of January but store chiefs expect the pace of growth to slow.
Page pledges to grow Lloydspharmacy

Incoming Lloydspharmacy managing director and former Woolies commercial chief Tony Page has vowed to expand the business.
Poundworld to roll out multi-price store format

Single price point retailer Poundworld is to roll out it multi-price format, Discount UK, as it opens its second store in Stevenage.
Primark records a 12% Christmas sales increase

Value fashion giant Primark shrugged off the effect of the snow before Christmas to record a 12% increase in sales, but warned that EBITDA margins will fall during the second half.
Qataris in talks to buy Hamleys

Talks are at an advanced stage between Landsbanki and the Qatari royal family over the sale of the collapsed Iceland bank’s majority stake in toy store Hamleys according to reports.
Republic appoints Guy Critchlow as COO

Fashion retailer Republic has appointed Guy Critchlow, formerly at Marks & Spencer and Kookai, to the position of chief operating officer.
Retailers sign up to Facebook's new discount service

Retailers including Argos and Debenhams have teamed up with Facebook to offer location-specific deals to users of the social network.
Sainsbury's appoints non-exec from Google

Sainsbury’s has appointed Matt Brittin from Google as a non-executive director.
Sainsbury's increases market share, while Morrisons dips

Sainsbury’s was once again the only one of the big four to increase market share at the start of the year, while Morrisons experienced a slight dip.
Sainsbury's unveils Royal Wedding t-shirt

Sainsbury’s has been caught by Royal Wedding fever and has designed a celebratory t-shirt in honour of the couple.
Scottish government has it wrong on retail

You might expect that politicians would be thankful that retailers are creating jobs and prosperity, but there’s one part of the UK where the government seems hell-bent on an anti-big business agenda.
Scottish Parliament advised by committee to scrap planned levy on large retailers

Retailers are unlikely to have to pay extra tax on larger stores in Scotland after the Local Government and Communities Committee of the Scottish Parliament voted in favour of annulling the proposed Large Retailer Levy.
Selfridges Group finalises de Bijenkorf deal

Selfridges Group, the group which owns iconic department store chain Selfridges, Irish department store Brown Thomas and Canadian department store business Holt Renfrew, has completed its acquisition of Dutch luxury department store chain de Bijenkorf.
Showtime in the stores

Spontaneity and innovation should be cherished in retail, says Jacqueline Gold
Sir Terry Leahy calls on governments to ensure low-carbon growth

Tesco chief executive Sir Terry Leahy has called on governments around the world to work with private companies to ensure innovation in low-carbon growth is not hindered by red tape.
Snow takes edge off M and M’s Christmas

Sales at home shopping group M and M Direct jumped 15% in the six weeks to January 2, despite the loss of £2.5m of sales due to snow.
Sourcing from Bangladesh: Out of the comfort zone

It’s cheaper, but sourcing from Bangladesh brings with it a whole host of logistical challenges. Just how much of a supply opportunity is there in this corner of Asia? Charlotte Hardie reports
SportScheck, Berlin: A store of two halves

Otto-owned retailer SportScheck’s new Berlin store successfully combines technology with tradition. John Ryan pays a visit
SRC challenges Scottish levy

The Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) has challenged Scottish finance secretary John Swinney to answer five key questions about the proposed retail levy when he appears at the Scottish Parliament later today.
Supermarket sales dip in January

Supermarket sales were suffered from a seasonal hangover with a dip of 0.2% in the four weeks to January 22 according to Nielsen’s grocery figures.
Susanne Given confirmed as John Lewis fashion chief

John Lewis has confirmed that Susanne Given will be buying director of fashion when she joins the department store chain.
Talent from the street

Retailers are benefiting by giving the formerly homeless a leg up into work, finds Joanne Ellul
Taxing big stores won’t save small shops

“It is only fair that the largest, profitable businesses make a greater contribution and if this helps sustain businesses in many of our town and city centres that is an added advantage.”
Tesco slashes laptops and clothing prices

Tesco is slashing prices on all laptops and adults’ clothing lines by 20%, which the grocer said gives customers a VAT-free deal.
Tesco to open new DC for dotcom and Express

Tesco is to open a new distribution centre later this year to service its dotcom and Express businesses.
Tesco to standardise stock management globally

Tesco is overhauling its stock reduction process as part of its ongoing bid to standardise IT across its business.
Tesco's incoming boss sets up executive committee

Incoming Tesco group chief executive Philip Clarke has set up an executive committee to take effect on March 1 when he succeeds Sir Terry Leahy.
The ultimate retail board

What mix of personalities and skills make up the perfect board, asks Charlotte Hardie
Times change. So do stores

You can learn just as much about a store’s performance by going back as you will on the initial visit.
Toom Baumarkt and Hellweg Profi-Baumärkte to establish new buying group

Rewe Group’s DIY arm Toom Baumarkt and DIY retailer Hellweg Profi-Baumärkte have established a new buying group, subject to the approval of the Federal Cartel Authority. It is called DIY Union and will have a sales volume of about E3bn (£2.6bn) at its disposal.
Urban Outfitters, Spitalfields

Wander around Spitalfields in east London and you could be forgiven for thinking that you’re in a branch of Urban Outfitters: all is tastefully decayed and generally expensive.
Waitrose hits £5bn sales

Waitrose notched up sales of over £5bn for the first time in the year to January 29.
Walmart pledges healthier food with no added extras

Walmart is to embark upon a five-year plan to make its food offering healthier.
Waterstone's to close 11 shops

Waterstone’s will close 11 stores as part of parent HMV’s plan to shed 60 stores across the group this year.
WH Smith AGM blow

WH Smith suffered a blow at its AGM yesterday when nearly a third of its shareholders who voted refused to back the remuneration report.
WH Smith like-for-likes fall 5%

WH Smith group like-for-likes dropped 5% in the 21 weeks to January 22.
What it’s like to work at Asos

The inside view from senior people partner Heidi Badelek
Wheway to leave Best Buy Europe

Scott Wheway is to stand down as chief executive of Best Buy Europe. He is replaced by Best Buy Europe chief operating officer Andrew Harrison, who has been promoted to president.
WHSmith sales slip over key period but margin improves

Bookseller and stationer WHSmith pleased analysts with improved margin despite a worse-than-expected sales decline during the peak period.
Will participating landlords be able to recharge the cost of CRC allowances to the tenant?

Following plans to divert revenue raised by the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) Energy Efficiency Scheme, will participating landlords be able to recharge the cost of CRC allowances to the tenant?
Wolfson attacks planners for holding back economy

Next chief executive Lord Wolfson of Aspley Guise has attacked planners for holding back economic growth.
Woolworths Australia lowers profit expectation

AUSTRALIA
Woolworths sales increase 9.8%

Food and clothing retailer Woolworths has announced that preliminary group sales increased 9.8% year on year for the 26 weeks to December 26.This compares with sector growth of 5.9% during the same period. Clothing sales grew by 11.5%, 2.3 percentage points higher than the average in comparable stores (9.2%).The retailer has also appointed former M&S chairman Sir Stuart Rose as a non-executive director.
X5 Retail Group net retail sales rise

RUSSIA

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Retail Week
January 28 2011