All Retail Week articles in March 2021
Browse all news stories and articles from this date or time period.
-
Analysis
Three ways to market with purpose
Here we crystallise the learnings fromCX Decoded into five key steps to create a first-class customer experience proposition in order to drive sales and profits in 2021 and beyond.
-
News
Asda to partner with In The Style as it rules out George sale
Asda’s new owners the Issa brothers have committed to keeping the retailer’s George brand and unveiled plans to partner with third parties to attract younger customers.
-
News
Watch: H&M incentivises sustainable behaviours with green loyalty points
H&M has introduced points for loyalty club members to reward them for making more sustainable choices.
-
News
H&M seeks to ‘regain trust’ in China following Xinjiang row
Fashion giant H&M has insisted it remains committed to trading in China and hopes to defuse a row over forced labour allegations that have led to a backlash against the retailer.
-
Analysis
Analysis: Has private equity ownership done retail more harm than good?
Buy cheap, pile on debt, flog assets and extract the value, sell high to a new owner and pay yourself handsomely – that’s one characterisation of private equity, with recently collapsed department store group Debenhams seen as the poster child in critics’ eyes.
-
Retail Voice
Retailing in 2021 and beyond – what stores need to do better
The retail sector may have had a brutal 12 months but the time is right for companies to bounce back and set a new agenda, argues Marcus Fox, group managing director at iD Agile Retail.
-
Opinion
‘As lockdown relaxes, retailers must pick up where they left off in 2019’
After a long, dark winter, Covid restrictions are at last beginning to be relaxed and retailers forced to shut during lockdown can look forward to reopening.
-
News
Heavy discounting in March as low demand plagues fashion and footwear
Shop prices continued to fall in March, as non-food retailers struggled to entice shoppers to buy during lockdown.
-
Data
Data: Is the grocery pandemic uplift over?
After a year of extraordinary sales growth driven by the pandemic over 2020, new data shows that grocers are going to face strong comparables as the market annualises.
-
News
Carpetright boss Walsh to take chair role at parent company
Carpetright chief executive Wilf Walsh has been promoted to the role of chairman at his firm’s parent company.
-
News
Deliveroo slashes share price amid investor fears over workers’ rights
Deliveroo is set to price its imminent float at the bottom of the range due to investor concerns over the pay and working conditions of its riders.
-
News
US threatens UK with tariffs on exports over planned digital tax
Exports including jewellery, furniture and game boards could all face tariffs being exported across the Atlantic, with the US targeting British products in response to any digital tax.
-
Analysis
Deep dive: How much Amazon and Walmart are investing – and should you follow suit?
As retailers ramp up for the new normal, how are titans Inditex, Tesco, Walmart, Amazon and Walgreens investing?
-
Opinion
Michael Jary: ‘Never again should we accept the notion of non-essential workers’
It took a global pandemic to prompt society to reflect on the importance of work performed not only by healthcare and home care providers, but by delivery drivers, grocery store employees and other critical but modestly paid workers.
-
Retail Voice
Retail’s pandemic: reflections on a year since lockdown
It’s been a little over 12 months to the day since the UK entered lockdown. Conrad Digan, independent consultant at Objectivity, looks back at a year unlike any other for the retail industry.
-
Analysis
China boycotts H&M: Will Western brands have to choose between ethics and profits?
Tensions between China and the West reached boiling point last week as several countries, including the UK, imposed sanctions over human rights abuses against Uighur Muslims and retail found itself caught in the crossfire.
-
News
Ikea and Dixons goods delayed as efforts to shift stranded Suez ship continue
Ikea and Dixons Carphone are among those with goods stuck on the container ship that has been stranded in the Suez Canal for almost a week.
-
News
Shops to be allowed extended opening hours when lockdown eases
The government has said shops in England will be permitted to open until 10pm when lockdown restrictions ease next month.
-
Analysis
Retail with purpose: how to pin down yours
More than ever, consumers are looking to shop with brands with purpose – those that share the same values as themselves. But how do retailers establish what their purpose is and how do they communicate it to staff and shoppers?
-
Video
Retail Question Time with Gary Grant and Frances Bishop
As retailers prepare to reopen next month, toy retailer The Entertainer founder and chair Gary Grant and childrenswear specialist Pud Store founder Frances Bishop discuss their hopes and expectations, how consumers will behave and how their businesses have changed during the pandemic.