Up-to-date coverage of the latest events in UK retail.

Boohoo becomes first fashion retailer to ban wool

Boohoo has become the first fashion retailer to ban the use of wool in its products following an appeal by animal protection group PETA.

The fashion giant which also owns the brands Boohoo Man, Pretty Little Thing and Nasty Gal told PETA “as of AW19/20, we will not knowingly source any wool products”.

Since 2014, PETA has released 11 exposés on 99 sheep shearing facilities across the world, including the UK showing “systematic abuse”.

10:50am Pandora hires new chief executive

Pandora has recruited a new chief executive who will attempt to “reignite” the brand.

Alexander Lacik arrives from child safety products firm Britax and was previously in FMCG at Reckitt Benckiser and Procter & Gamble.

The jeweller introduced a new strategy at the beginning of the year to revitalise the brand while limiting promotional activity and overhauling its wholesale arm after cutting nearly 400 jobs following a profit warning last summer.

 

09:03am Baker & Spice London outlets sold

Four Baker & Spice outlets in London have been bought out of administration by the Department of Coffee and Social Affairs, saving 68 jobs. 

KPMG said the four Baker & Spice outlets acquired were in Belgravia, Chelsea, Maida Vale and in Selfridges on Oxford Street. However, the administrators confirmed that a former Baker & Spice outlet in Oxford had not been part of the transaction and would close with the lose of 10 jobs. 

Baker & Spice was a brand owned by Patisserie Holdings. The company completed the sale of both its Patisserie Valerie and Philpotts chains yesterday.

Dave Costley-Wood, partner at KPMG and joint-administrator, said: “Following the earlier sales today of Patisserie Valerie and Philpotts, we are pleased to conclude this deal which sees the highly-regarded London Baker & Spice stores transfer to Department of Coffee and Social Affairs.”

07:35am Next to sell Tesco clothing range online

Next has started to sell the grocer’s fashion range F&F on its ecommerce platform.

Initially the fashion retailer will offer a selection of Tesco’s womenswear items to its UK and international shoppers, with the possibility of the range being extended later in the year.

A spokeswoman for Tesco said: “F&F is going from strength to strength at the moment and we welcome this exciting opportunity of working with Next so even more customers can enjoy our fantastic range of clothing.”

07:20am Amazon ditches plans for second HQ in New York

Amazon has rolled back plans to open its second US headquarters in New York following political backlash over the tax subsidies the firm would have received.

The online retailer’s abrupt turnaround comes just months after the business had named Long Island City, Queens as the site for its new headquarters following 14-month search.

The etail giant had been offered nearly $3bn in incentives by city and state politicians to secure the deal, which promoted fierce competition from competing politicians and local resident