More finance
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Deep dive
Deep dive: The new Asda – saddled with debt or a return to former glory?
How will Asda’s controversial new owners the Issa brothers run one of Britain’s largest retailers?
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Opinion
Erin Brookes: ‘There is no doubt that further retail consolidation is coming’
Green shoots of optimism may be germinating, but it is certain that the last 12 months have left an irreversible imprint on the UK’s retail industry.
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Analysis
Data: The sectors that thrived online over Christmas – and what it means for 2021
Online was undoubtedly the big winner of Christmas 2020. Retail Week’s latest report delves into which sectors benefited most from the shift to ecommerce and what that means for the year ahead.
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Analysis
The Big Question: How should business rates be reformed?
Ahead of the Budget on March 3, the thorny issue of business rates has again hit the headlines, with a joint letter, spearheaded by Tesco, calling for a digital tax to be levied on pureplays. Retail Week asks experts what can be done to make business rates fairer?
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Analysis
The Big Question: Will tighter regulation spell the end for buy now, pay later?
With the Financial Conduct Authority’s crackdown on buy now, pay later companies beginning earlier this week, Retail Week asks experts if regulation will destroy this rapidly growing sector.
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Opinion
'Why ultimate disruptor Amazon values a safe pair of hands at the top'
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is among a very few who can claim to have revolutionised global retail, but his decision to stand aside as chief executive barely registered on the online giant’s share price.
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Opinion
Alex Baldock: ‘Raise rates for warehouses to save the high street’
We’re now only weeks away from the end of the government’s business rates holiday. I’m sure many of us are grateful for a decisive and vital measure that, for some retailers, has made the difference between surviving the pandemic and not.
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Opinion
The Secret Retailer: ‘The government is fiddling while Rome burns’
As retail is left to wonder how the route out of the coronavirus crisis will look, it feels like there is some government fiddling while Rome is burning going on.
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Analysis
JD Sports boss Cowgill: How ‘monumental’ DTLR deal turbocharges US ambitions
JD Sports boss Peter Cowgill tells Retail Week why the retailer’s latest $495m acquisition has set it up to crack America.
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Analysis
Analysis: How Asos will make Topshop live up to its name again
Asos this week swooped on Arcadia’s Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge and HIIT brands in a bid to reach new heights with the iconic names under its umbrella
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Analysis
H&M boss Helena Helmersson: Our post-pandemic recovery plan
Fashion giant H M has been battered by coronavirus, with swathes of its global store estate shut and profits plummeting. Chief executive Helena Helmersson reveals how the group plans to rebound in 2021.
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Analysis
How Dixons, Joules and Hotel Chocolat’s online prowess saved Christmas
Bricks-and-mortar retailers up and down the country had feared a Christmas washout as the UK veered in and out of lockdowns at the end of 2020.
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Analysis
Boohoo boss: How we will make Debenhams a force to be reckoned with
In news that took the sector by surprise, Boohoo has acquired the intellectual property assets of struggling department store Debenhams for £55m – but what does the fashion etailer plan to do with the business?
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Analysis
The power players: the acquisitive retailers snapping up brands
As Boohoo snaps up Debenhams, Retail Week takes a look at the pack of retailers taking advantage of the acquisition opportunities Covid has created to boost their business. Who are the sector’s new power players?
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Analysis
Strategic report: Lessons from Christmas 2020 to help you win in the year ahead
Lockdown, store closures and bans on large gatherings created what Marks Spencer boss Steve Rowe termed ”near impossible trading conditions” this golden quarter. Retail Week’s latest report pulls out the trends from this very different Christmas and lessons to help you trade through the most volatile trading ...
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Opinion
‘Asos and Boohoo swoops for Topshop and Debs are changing of the guard’
If proof were needed of the scale of change underway in retail, it came this week as pureplays Asos and Boohoo swooped on two of retail’s most venerable high street names.
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Opinion
‘Deliveroo IPO will be a bet on retail’s future direction’
“Shall we get something from Deliveroo tonight?” It’s a familiar conversation on thousands of sofas as locked-down consumers seek treats, convenience and a break from monotony.
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Data
League table: The UK’s busiest retail websites – Christmas 2020
Marketplace giants Amazon and eBay dominated the battle to attract online shoppers over the crucial Christmas trading period, new data has revealed.
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Analysis
Analysis: Is Lidl starting to close the gap on Aldi in the discounter battle?
Over the last 12 months, momentum has shifted away from Aldi towards Lidl in the battle of the discounters. Retail Week looks at what Lidl has done to close the gap on its rival.
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Opinion
'Retailers should prepare now for a year of two halves'
Short-term agility remains essential, particularly as retail weathers the current storm. But this lockdown period is also the perfect time to prepare long-term strategies for growth, in order to benefit during the second half of the year.