All The Works articles
The Works is a value retailer selling arts, crafts, books, stationery and toys – all at discount prices. It is the UK’s leading discount book retailer. The Works has over 500 stores across the UK and Ireland. It was founded in 1981, while TheWorks.co.uk (the company’s first ecommerce platform) was launched in 2012.
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Data
Revealed: The most-popular value retailers online
With the value sector remaining popular with UK shoppers, Retail Week teamed up with SimilarWeb to track which discount retailers have been seeing the most traffic to their websites over the past two years
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News
The Works shareholders vote to move to AIM
The Works shareholders have voted to move the specialist retailer’s shares from the main market of London’s Stock Exchange to its sub-market AIM.
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News
The Works to delist from main market in switch to AIM
The Works intends to move its shares off the London Stock Exchange’s main market and list on AIM, six years since its IPO.
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News
Losses deepen at The Works as Christmas fails to deliver
The Works has reported deepening losses as cash-strapped customers prioritised food and essentials over gifts at Christmas.
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Analysis
What will 2024 bring? Retail bosses predict the year ahead
As 2024 begins, what do retailers think will top the agenda for the year ahead? We asked leaders of some of the UK’s biggest retail businesses to get out their crystal balls and make some predictions
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Analysis
Reviewed: Retail’s best Christmas ads according to the experts
Who has nailed it and who has failed it? We assembled a panel of advertising experts to give their verdict on some of retail’s biggest Christmas ads this year
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Interview
The Works boss Gavin Peck on revamping stores to win new customers
Variety retailer The Works is on a transformational journey under chief executive Gavin Peck, revamping its store estate from jumbled, “Aladdin’s caves” into spaces focused on offering something for every member of the family.
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News
The Works drops profit guidance by £4m
The Works has dropped its profit guidance by £4m as it anticipates taking a hit on prices to remain competitive in the eyes of bargain-hunting shoppers.
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Video
Watch: The Works launches first-ever Christmas TV ad
The Works has launched its first Christmas brand campaign including its first Christmas TV ad.
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Video
Watch: The retail Christmas advert round-up
No sooner had the pumpkins and Halloween costumes been removed from the shelves, than several retailers launched their Christmas campaigns.
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Data
Ranking: The 50 best places to work in retail
Retail has had a tough year, with in-store crime reaching concerning levels, businesses going bust and consumer sentiment low as we trudge through a cost-of-living crisis. On the front line are the retail employees who remain resilient despite a year of redundancies and sometimes appalling abuse
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Analysis
Strategy spotlight: Five ways The Works’ elevation strategy will win consumer spend
The Works is on a mission to change its legacy perception as a “pile it high, sell it cheap” discounter. As its “better, not just bigger” refocused strategy accelerates, the retailer topped Retail Week’s fastest-growing value ranking for 2021/22. We explore its five key drivers to profitability as consumer confidence lifts.
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News
The Works posts profit fall but says strategy bearing fruit
Crafts, toys and books retailer The Works has posted a fall in full-year profits but said current trading is in line with expectations.
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Analysis
Price cuts vs promotional offers: what have the discounters decided?
As more customers turn to discount retailers during the cost-of-living crisis, Retail Week takes a look at what changes the value sector is making to appeal to a wider range of customers
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Analysis
Exclusive survey: How much do customers trust you with their data?
We asked consumer research agency Walnut to quiz more than 2,000 shoppers across the UK about how much they trust the nations’ supermarkets with their data – and the results are in
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Data
Ranking: The fastest-growing value retailers revealed
In the cost-of-living crisis, affordable retailers have never been more relevant to price-conscious consumers, but which have been making the most of the mood of the nation? And which are set to turn market share into future growth? To find out, the Retail Week analyst team has tracked group sales across 15 of the biggest value retailers and analysed their compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to predict how much bigger they’ll be in five years’ time
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Data
Exclusive: The Works named fastest-growing value retailer in UK
The Works has beaten the likes of Aldi and Primark to be named the fastest-growing value retailer in the UK, Retail Week can reveal.
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News
The Works sales increase despite ‘challenging backdrop’
The Works has reported a lift in annual sales despite trading against “a challenging backdrop”.
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News
The Works sales edge up despite cyber attack aftermath
Sales at The Works edged up despite an “increasingly challenging consumer environment” and the aftermath of a cybersecurity attack that forced it to close five stores earlier this year.
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Analysis
Research: Stores key to 2023 investment strategy, say Primark, Under Armour and Waitrose bosses
Retail stores will see investment this year and remain central to many retailers’ strategy next year, the UK’s leading CEOs reveal in Retail Week’s strategic outlook report Retail 2023