Up-to-date coverage of the latest events in UK retail.
Wayfair launches 36-hour “Way Day” sale
Online home retailer Wayfair is launching a 36-hour flash sale starting on April 10.
Way Day first launched in north America last year and is now being rolled out across Germany and the UK on Wayfair.co.uk.
The sale will see huge discounts on over 250,000 products, free UK delivery on everything and surprise flash deals every three hours.
Wayfair head of Europe Martin Reiter said: “Last year, the Way Day launch in north America was a tremendous success with our customers embracing this new retail holiday for home to take advantage of the lowest prices of the year.
“We’ve worked closely with our suppliers to lock in the deepest discounts possible across our selection in the UK and Germany to ensure the Way Day debut in Europe truly delivers exceptional savings on the most popular home products.”
Fortnum & Mason set to open first flagship in Asia
Luxury retailer Fortnum & Mason is opening a flagship branch in Hong Kong, its first standalone store in Asia.
The department store and restaurant will open in the Victoria Dockside redevelopment area.
The new store will build upon Fortum & Mason’s established retail partnerships across Asia, including with luxury specialist Lane Crawford in Hong Kong, Isetan Mitsukoshi in Japan and, most recently, Shinsegae in South Korea.
Fortnum & Mason chairman Kate Hobhouse said: “Fortnum’s is a business which, for centuries, has thrived on delivering a sense of pleasure for our customers. Building on our 47 years of experience in Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong, our latest expansion in Asia is an important next step for us, as we extend our reach further across the world.”Topps Tiles records improving sales trend
Specialsit retailer Topps Tiles has reported an improving sales trend over its second quarter.
The retailer posted a 0.2% uptick in like-for-likes sales for the 26 weeks to March 30 driven by an improving performance during the second quarter as like-for-like sales increased by 1.8%.
However the specialist retailers total sales for the half year were down slightly to £108.8m from £109.4m for the same period last year.
Marks & Spencer revives ‘not just…’ food marketing campaign
Marks & Spencer has reintroduced one of its most successful marketing campaigns as it seeks to build is food business.
The retailer has revived its ‘this is not just food, this is M&S food’ tagline, 12 years after it was last used.
The new advertising, which launches today on social media and TV, features customers daydreaming about and serving M&S meals. It keeps the “food porn moments” the original ads became famous for but with a new twist”, the retailer said.
Shop and food price inflation reaches six-year high
Shop and food price inflation hit their highest levels since 2013 in March after the weather and higher global commodity prices took a toll.
Shop price inflation edged up to 0.9% during March, versus 0.7% in February, marking the highest rate since March 2013, according to the BRC-Nielsen Shop Price Index.
Non-food items stayed at the same level as the previous year. However, food price inflation accelerated to 2.5% in the month, up from 1.6% in February. It was the highest food inflation rate for more than five years.
Express Gifts rebrands as Studio Retail
Value retailer Express Gifts has rebranded as Studio Retail Ltd in a bid to refresh its identity.
The online retailer owned by Findel has launched an advertising campaign alongside the rebrand which includes sponsorship of the fashion segment on ITV’s This Morning programme.
Studio Retail marketing director Chris Chalmers said: “Our new brand draws more attention to what we have become famous for – bringing our customers amazing products at fantastic value.
“Thousands of customers shop with Studio every day and in an age where customers want more for their money our new brand language, tone of voice and styling brings much more clarity and focus to what we are about. Value.”
The move comes after continuous record sales for the retailer - revenue for the third quarter increased by 13.7%, with online sales increasing by 25%.