- Retailers felt let down by government plans to top up credit insurance, which they thought did not go far enough. Half of big retailers said credit insurance problems had affected their ability to trade, a BRC survey found.
- Sir Philip Green revealed that he was to transform his Oxford Circus Topshop flagship, including adding a new floor to the existing Topman space, replicating aspects of Topshop’s New York store.
- Ocado set out plans to become a £3bn business in the UK within 10 years, after recording sales growth of more than 30% over the year to date.
- DSGi decided to close its loss-making Finnish chain Markantalo and Swedish fascia PC City, with the loss of almost 500 jobs.
- Hardware chain Robert Dyas laid out a three-year revitalisation plan after management bought the chain from private equity firm Change Capital.
- Monsoon store staff faced potential redundancy as the retailer entered into a consultation period with every employee at its shops. Monsoon claimed the move was designed to “re-template” store working hours rather than due to poor trading.
- Asda clothing brand George defied the market with 10% year-on-year volume growth in the first quarter, as total fashion volume sales fell 2%.
- WHSmith began allowing charity fundraisers to operate in some of its stores as part of a trial. The charity involved admitted its external fundraising agencies pay a fee to operate on private sites like shops.
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