Retail news round-up: Retail sales declines in Scotland, Gio-Goi brand re-launches and Amazon starts recruitment for its own fashion brand 

Scottish retail sales decline

Scottish retail sales have declined 3.5% in January compared with a year earlier, according to the Scottish Retail Consortium–KPMG Scottish Retail Sales Monitor, BBC reported.

Food sales reduced 2.6% and the value of non-food sales dropped 4.3% year-on-year.

Scottish retail consortium director David Lonsdale said: “These are somewhat dreich retail sales results for January, showing a dip of nearly two per cent [in volume terms] even when falling shop prices are taken into account.

“After the extravagances of the festive period, which saw solid sales growth in December, shoppers were clearly keeping a firmer grip on purses and wallets in January and focusing more on essential spending as lower footfall data for the period suggested.”

Gio-Goi brand re-launches

Gio-Goi owners are re-launching their menswear brand for autumn 2017, Drapers reported.

Anthony and Christopher Donnelly, who established the streetwear label in 1987, have bought the brand from JD Sports fashion for an undisclosed amount.

The autumn collection will launch in late summer and will include T-shirts, sweatshirts, tracksuits and puffa jackets.

The prices will range from £25 for T-shirts to £190 for coats.

It will open a new head office at 25 Carnaby Street in London this week and a new website will launch at the end of February.

Amazon starts recruitment for its fashion brand

Amazon has appointed senior designer and buying experts previously working for Marks and Spencer and Primark to launch its fashion label in the UK, Drapers reported.

Karen Peacock, former womenswear design director at Debenhams and recent head of design for womenswear and accessories at M&S, has joined Amazon as design director.

Primark’s menswear buying director Glen George is also set to join Amazon.

Amazon declined to comment, while Primark confirmed George has left the company.