Retail Week
January 27 2012
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Abercrombie & Fitch considers India expansion
Abercrombie & Fitch staff have visited India as it considers setting up shop in the country. An Abercrombie & Fitch spokesperson said: “We are constantly evaluating new opportunities for our brands, including new countries, for expansion.”Gap is also said to -
Ahold reports net sales growth
Grocery retailer Ahold has reported consolidated net sales of E30.3bn (£25.35bn) for 2011 – a 2.5% increase compared with the previous year and a 5.5% rise at constant exchange rates. An Ahold spokesperson said: “We continue to be well positioned in challenging market conditions.” In the US, sales improved 6.6% to $25.1bn (£16.1bn). In Ahold’s home market, sales grew 4.2%, while identical store sales increased 2.8%. -
Amazon considering entering India
Amazon may enter India via the launch of its market place platform in a bid to overcome foreign direct investment restrictions on multi-brand retail, it has been reported. Industry sources said the etail giant had already struck deals with other online retailers in preparation for the launch, which would initially make Amazon an aggregator but allow it to earn commission on sales. -
Amazon eyes chilled food offensive
Etail giant Amazon is gearing up to sell chilled foods in a move that would shake up the supermarket industry, sources have told Retail Week. -
Asda Income Tracker: Weekly spending power falls by £12
Asda has said UK families were £12 a week worse off in December 2011 than a year earlier. -
Asda loses new business boss Misra as it plans George Middle East push
Asda has lost another top executive as new business director Arnu Misra exits the business. -
Blockbuster Two Weeks Free Movies
Blockbuster is one retailer that’s not had an easy time of it over the last couple of years, as new services such as Lovefilm and streaming service Netflix are muscling in on its territory. -
Can click and collect be included in like-for-like sales?
A growing percentage of our web sales are click and collect. Can we include them in our like-for-like sales figures? -
Carphone Warehouse like-for-likes fall 4.7%
Carphone Warehouse will increasingly target “key opportunities” in smartphone and tablet sales and said that like-for-likes fell 4.7% in the third quarter. -
Carrefour’s global brand director departs
Carrefour’s global brand director Laurent Blum has left the retailer. Before his appointment by chief executive Lars Olofsson at the end of 2009, Blum was vice-president of Nestlé Waters France, responsible for marketing and sales. Blum will reportedly not be replaced, and his duties will be reassigned between the internal teams. For 2011 Carrefour reported gross sales of E1.5bn (£1.25bn), a 1.1% increase or 1.7% -
Christmas updates boost store stocks
As the Christmas trading season drew to an end, retailers of all sorts were in fashion. -
Co-op Food hires Steve Murrells as chief executive
The Co-operative has made two key appointments, including hiring Steve Murrells as the new chief executive of its food business. -
Cost cut or invest? The WHSmith choice
WHSmith’s cost-cutting strategy has worked well so far, but when is the tipping point set to happen? -
Cost-cutting at La Redoute
PPR-owned mail order retailer La Redoute may cut 250 jobs as part of a new cost-cutting initiative designed to make the retailer a pure-play online operation. The job losses would be mainly voluntary redundancies over a three-year period. Last week it was revealed that PPR was cutting 510 jobs at its Fnac books and music subsidiary. PPR aims to boost profitability at its Fnac and Redca -
Customers want convenience
Mary Portas is queen of shops, but is she queen of multichannel? -
Deadline for Peacocks bids looms as other retailers target the stores
Private equity firms including Permira and Cinven are understood to have ruled out buying Peacocks, while other investment firms and retailers eye its stores. -
Debenhams digital boss exits for Gucci
Debenhams’ digital head Harriet Williams has left the retailer to lead Gucci’s global ecommerce charge. -
Dolcis bought out of administration
The Jacobson Group has bought footwear retailer Dolcis out of administration. -
Drugstore Schlecker to file for insolvency
Drugstore retailer Schlecker is to file for insolvency. The development is not expected to have an immediate impact on the retailer’s staff or result in store closures in the short term.Schlecker failed to secure funds to keep it afloat while restructuring. “Necessary restructuring measures cannot be implemented as quickly as they would need to be, especially as planned bridge financing did not come through,” a spokesperson said. -
Feelunique.com ramps up overseas
Health and beauty retailer Feelunique.com is to ramp up its overseas presence by increasing its marketing activity as it strives to become the “Asos of the health and beauty market”, according to chief executive Aaron Chatterley. -
Flying Brands sales fall
Flying Brands suffered a fall in sales over Christmas from £4.47m to £3.29m. -
Forget trivia, focus on what matters
I start with some shocking news: Waterstone’s is reverting to its original logo in the Baskerville serif font and dropping its apostrophe in order to reflect a truer and confident picture of the business. -
Former chief exec finds new passion
Terry Green, former chief executive of Tesco Clothing and Bhs, has developed a passion for painting following his departure from the grocery giant. -
Former Dixons boss Clare to become Comet chairman
Former Dixons chief executive John Clare will take over as chairman of electricals retailer Comet following completion of its sale to private investor OpCapita next week. -
Furniture Village sales rise but profit takes a hit
Furniture Village has defied the gloom in the big-ticket sector by posting rising sales in its full-year figures, but the retailer remains cautious on prospects. -
Garden Centre Group in exclusivity talks with Terra Firma
Garden Centre Group is to enter exclusivity talks with private equity firm Terra Firma, it is understood. -
Gemma Metheringham
Joint managing director, Karen Millen -
Glasgow Buchanan Street 91% let as Fat Face and Skechers sign up
Retailers including Watches of Switzerland, Skechers and Fat Face have signed up to Land Securities’ Glasgow Buchanan Street development, which is now 90.7%pre-let. -
Government rules out changes to pre-pack legislation
The Government has scrapped the introduction of new legislation which aimed to “improve transparency and confidence” in pre-pack administration deals. -
Halfords partners with Olympic Cycle champion Victoria Pendelton
Halfords has partnered with World and Olympic Cycle champion Victoria Pendelton to design an exclusive range of women’s bikes. -
Hawkins Bazaar back in the game
The owner of Hawkins Bazaar, Primary Capital – which bought back the business out of administration last week – plans to revive the toy retailer by focusing on concessions and online as it appoints a new chief executive. -
Home Depot and eBay to extend PayPal trial
Home improvement retailer The Home Depot and eBay will extend their PayPal in-store payment trial service from five stores to 51 in the San Francisco area. Pilot customers can pay for items via their PayPal account at The Home Depot’s point-of-sale systems using either a PIN via their mobile phone or by presenting a specialised PayPal card.PayPal hopes to expand the service to include location -
Ikea can’t leave quality behind in bid for growth
In a year that brought several high-profile failures in the UK’s home and home improvement sectors, including the demise of Focus, Möben and Dolphin, Ikea was busy enjoying another record breaking year. -
In focus: Foot Locker
Where does the US giant fit into the competitive UK sports retail landscape? -
Karen Millen to expand online offer across Europe
Fashion retailer to launch local language websites in the hope of repeating German sales success. -
Kate upping retail return rates
The Duchess of Cambridge’s penchant for a high street ensemble has undoubtedly had a fillip on many retailers’ sales. -
Kiddicare acquires 10 former Best Buy stores
Online baby products retailer Kiddicare has snapped up the leases of 10 former Best Buy stores. -
LVMH mulls bid for Goldsmiths owner Aurum
Luxury goods group LVMH’s private equity firm is mulling a bid for jewellery group Aurum, which operates Goldsmiths, Mappin & Webb and Watches of Switzerland. -
Management shake up as Irisa and Jacques Vert businesses merge
Private equity owner Sun European Partners has merged its two womenswear businesses Jacques Vert and Irisa, formerly Alexon, and has appointed Jacques Vert chief executive Paul Allen to head up the newly formed business. -
More shoppers head for mobiles to do Christmas shopping
Mobiles searches accounted for one in five online retail searches in the fourth quarter, with the number of searches on smartphones and ipads 169% up on last year. -
Morrisons brings back pay day offers
Morrisons has brought back its Big Pay Day Price Crunch campaign to capitalise on January pay packets. -
Morrisons receives £40m payment to take on Best Buy stores
Morrisons is to be paid £40m to take on the 10 empty Best Buy stores it is converting to Kiddicare. -
New York store design: A year’s a long time in retail
There have been some dramatic changes in Manhattan’s retail landscape over the past 12 months and the visual merchandising bar has been raised yet again. John Ryan reports. -
Not a groundbreaking offer
The manager of Sainsbury’s Balham store in London offered shoppers just what they wanted in the middle of one of the warmest winters in recent years: shovels, and lots of them. -
NRF: Why technology matters to retail
2012 will be a key year for retailers, with spending constrained and structural changes hitting hard. Retailers at this year’s NRF conference showed they’re tackling the hurdles head on, finds Rebecca Thomson. -
Ocado blow as FD departs
The bears have come out again for online grocer Ocado, as its shares slipped after the news that its finance director Andrew Bracey is to step down. -
Ocado slashes prices in online price war
Ocado has cut prices on a huge range of products as competition for online grocery spend tightens. -
Past Times buyer unlikely
Collapsed gift retailer Past Times is unlikely to be salvaged out of administration as KPMG embarks on a store closure strategy, it is understood. -
Paul Mason quits Radley
Paul Mason has stepped down as chairman from handbag and accessories brand Radley. -
Primark is proving its value as others struggle
Within hours of administrators taking control of fashion retailer Peacocks last week, rival Primark had a different story to tell. -
Primark Northern Irish workers back call for strike
Primark staff in Northern Ireland have overwhelmingly backed industrial action in protest at the retailer’s attempt to impose a second year of pay freezes. -
Primark optimistic for 2012 after strong sales
The squeeze on consumers will lessen in 2012, directors of Primark’s parent company believe. -
Profile: Richard Kirk, former Peacocks group chief executive
The former Peacocks group chief executive fought to the bitter end to save the retailer and the people working for it. -
Promotional coupons
The economic downturn and Tesco’s underwhelming Christmas results in particular have highlighted customers’ desire for vouchers. -
Republic co-founder steps back from executive role
Co-founder of fashion group Republic Carl Brewins has stepped back from day-to-day involvement in the business after 26 years. -
Retail 2012
Retail Week reveals the highlights from our latest free-to-subscriber research into forecasts from the UK’s leading retailers. Joanna Perry reports. -
Retail employment edges up 0.5% but outlook remains gloomy
Retail employment rose by a “modest” 0.5% in the final quarter of 2011 but the outlook remains downbeat, as 38% of retailers prepare to cut staffing levels this quarter. -
Retail rent regime still outdated
High street rents must match the new reality, not stay artificially high, says Simon Burke. -
Retail sales suffer steepest fall in three years, says CBI
Retail sales suffered their biggest fall in three years in January, according to the CBI Distributives Trades Survey. -
Right technology, right time
Technology is no longer a back-office service – it’s driving sales and changing how people shop. Rebecca Thomson discovers what’s next for retailers at the NRF conference in New York. -
Shop Direct chief executive Newton-Jones to exit
Shop Direct chief executive Mark Newton-Jones is to leave the home shopping giant. -
Strong online sales drive John Lewis growth
John Lewis sales rose 11.4% last week driven by a “cracking” online performance. -
SuperGroup eyes efficiency savings with new warehouse
SuperGroup is to move to a new distribution centre which is set to make its operation more efficient. -
The Co-operative makes senior job cuts
Seven senior managers are to leave The Co-operative as the economic downturn hits one of the UK’s largest businesses. -
The mobile multiplier
The upshot of Retail Week’s webinar on online Christmas trading is that retailers must now start to think about mobile as multiple channels. -
The People's Supermarket to expand
The People’s Supermarket (TPS) is targeting new locations across the UK. -
Tributes paid to MFI legend Derek Hunt
Friends and colleagues have paid tribute to Derek Hunt, the former MFI boss identified with the retailer’s glory days, who died last week aged 72. -
Turnover improves at Shoprite
African grocery retailer Shoprite issued results for the first half of its financial year to December 2011. Turnover improved 13.2% to ZAR41.1bn (£3.3bn) while like-for-likes rose 8%. In its home market, the retailer’s sales increased 12.3% and by 6.8% on a like-for-like basis. Official statistics put food inflation at 9% with internal inflation at Shoprite significantly lower at about 5%. The full financial report will be issued on February 21. -
Verkkokauppa.com, Helsinki
Verkkokauppa.com is quite a mouthful for those not conversant with Finnish, but this is the name of Finland’s second largest electronics retailer. -
Video: Vision Express launches new ad
Man’s best friend will do anything to care for his owner, even saving him from an ugly pair of glasses, according to Vision Express’s new tv ad. -
Waitrose and Boots pare back product partnership
Upmarket grocer to phase out health giant’s products and replace with own-brand. -
Walker lines up £150m as Iceland deadline nears
Iceland founder Malcolm Walker has arranged £150m of backing from a Canadian pension fund to enable a bid for the frozen foods chain. -
Walmart announces key executive changes
Walmart said that Brian Cornell is stepping down as chief executive of Sam’s Club. Cornell cited personal reasons for the decision to leave. From February 1, he will be replaced by Rosalind Brewer who most recently served as president of the Walmart US east business unit. Walmart disclosed several other key executive changes including Rollin Ford, who has been promoted to chief administrative off -
What do consumers want from digital e-vouchers?
What do consumers want from digital e-gift cards and e-vouchers, and as a retailer how can we ensure we are meeting those needs? -
WHSmith posts 5% like-for-like fall
WHSmith said it delivered a “resilient” performance despite a 5% drop in like-for-likes over the 21 weeks to January 21. -
WHSmith top line expected to rise over the next five years
WHSmith is expected return to revenue growth over the next five years as it benefits from improved margin mix and overseas expansion. -
X5 Retail Group reports net retail sales increase
X5 Retail Group has reported a 32% increase consolidated net retail sales of RUB452.5bn (£9.3bn) for 2011. Like-for-like sales rose 6%, with a 1% drop in customer traffic and a 7% increase in average basket. However, like-for-like sales growth at Pyaterochka more than halved to 5% compared with last year while Perekrestok posted a 10% like-for-like rise. The grocery retailer added a total of 577 stores.
