Grace Bowden
Grace is head of content for Retail Week.
She covers a variety of sectors including value, sports & leisure, health & beauty and lingerie, as well as wider technology developments across retail.
She is interested in new appointments, store formats and how retailers are keeping pace with the myriad of technological developments across the industry, from their boardrooms to shop floors.
Contact info
- Tel:
- +44 (0)20 3033 4338
- Email:
- grace.bowden@retail-week.com
GalleryStore gallery: Amazon unveils first UK store in fresh assault on grocery sector
Amazon has unveiled its new format convenience grocery store in London today, Amazon Fresh, which marks the online giant’s first foray into bricks-and-mortar retail outside of the US.
- Data
Data: Grocery sales surge in February as online share hits record high
Grocery sales registered the strongest increase last month since June 2020 as Ocado and Iceland both delivered substantial growth.
- News
Morrisons snaps up Cornish seafood supplier for undisclosed sum
Morrisons has become the first UK grocer to own a fishing boat after acquiring its longstanding seafood supplier Falfish.
- News
Virgin Wines makes stock market debut after successful float
Virgin Wines will begin trading on the London Stock Exchange’s junior AIM market at 8am today following a £110m valuation.
- News
Matchesfashion chief executive Ajay Kavan exits
Matchesfashion boss and former Amazon executive Ajay Kavan has exited the business with immediate effect after a year in the role.
- News
Halfords to repay furlough cash as cycling sales soar
Halfords is set to pay back its furlough payments in full as trading so far this year has been “stronger than initially anticipated across the business”.
- News
Boots plans to axe 300 roles at Nottingham HQ
Boots is set to cut 300 jobs across various functions at its Nottingham head office as it grapples with “changing consumer behaviours” in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
- News
Primark loses £1.1bn in sales due to lockdowns
Primark estimates that non-essential retail closures across its global store estate cost the business £1.1bn in lost sales in the first half of its financial year, but expects the period after lockdown ends to be “highly cash generative”.
- Data
Ranking: The UK's 50 most vibrant retail locations
Coronavirus has wreaked havoc on the ranking of retail’s most vibrant shopping locations, with a swing away from city centres and towards smaller commuter towns in 2021.
- News
Ikea full-year sales fall cushioned by strong online growth
Ikea has reported a decline in full-year sales across its UK business, but boss Peter Jelkeby praised the retailer’s accelerated transformation.
- Analysis
Retailers wary of April 12 timeframe for store reopening
Retailers have voiced disappointment that they will not be able to fully open their doors again before April 12 and concerns about the possibility of the post-lockdown timeframe changing again.
- News
Poundland parent Pepco’s profits drop as it ramps up European expansion
Poundland’s owner Pepco Group has reported an uplift in full-year sales as it plans to open 400 new stores per year.
- News
Moonpig set to double full-year sales after ‘strongest ever’ Valentine’s Day
Moonpig reported the strongest week of trading in its history in the run up to Valentine’s Day.
- News
Adidas set to sell off Reebok to bolster growth ambitions
Adidas has confirmed plans to offload Reebok as part of its five-year strategy to focus on strengthening its core brand.
- Interview
Interview: How Asics plans to outrun its sportswear rivals
Asics executive Gary Raucher tells Retail Week how the Japanese brand is going back to its roots in a bid to outrun rivals like Nike and Adidas in the fiercely competitive sportswear market
- Interview
Interview: Beauty Pie founder Marcia Kilgore – the retail rebel
Serial entrepreneur Marcia Kilgore tells Retail Week about the conversation that triggered her retail rebellion, driving growth in a pandemic and the Weston family advice that inspired her to start Beauty Pie
- Analysis
Can you still go from the shopfloor to the board room in retail?
In the latest story in our No Limits campaign, which aims to drive social mobility in retail, we explore if it is still possible to progress from stores to the top job
- News
Zalando poaches Boots beauty boss as it ramps up growth plans
Zalando has appointed Boots vice president of beauty and gifting Joanna Rogers to lead its expanding beauty offer.
- News
John Lewis bolsters fashion and beauty stable with 50 new brands
John Lewis has added a clutch of new brands across womenswear and beauty categories in response to shoppers favouring more casual attire in the current climate.
- News
Notonthehighstreet snapped up by US firm Great Hill Partners
Online gifting retailer Notonthehighstreet has been taken over by US investment firm Great Hill Partners for an undisclosed sum.
