How long would you expect to keep a bikini that cost only a quid? It’s always possible that women will treasure forever something costing less than a bus fare, I suppose. But let’s just say few of us are likely to be handing the £1 black two-piece launched by the cut-price online retailer Missguided this […]
Category archives: retail
Debate over CVAs heats up ahead of Monsoon vote
Monsoon Accessorize will this week become the latest UK retailer to present a company voluntary arrangement as the potential saviour of its business, in the teeth of opposition from landlords. The insurrection against Monsoon, a retailer of hippie-trail inspired clothing with annual revenues of £400m, is not the only one. The insolvency procedure is used […]
Supermarkets mired in equal pay litigation
Isobel Lodwick’s great grandmother was a suffragette who chained herself to Glasgow’s Govan Town Hall in protest that only men could vote. Decades later, Ms Lodwick is also fighting for women’s rights as one of 5,000 claimants bringing an equal pay case against Tesco, the UK’s largest retailer.The legal battle is one of five separate […]
How Sir Philip Green can turn Topshop around
A tour of Topshop’s flagship store shows there are plenty of the latest styles, including floral skirts, utility jackets and cut off denim. But even the cornerstone of Sir Phillip Green’s retail empire is in need of urgent repair. “It reminds me of a very nice Marks & Spencer from 20 years ago,” says James […]
Lloyds sells out of Green’s Arcadia group
One of Philip Green’s longstanding backers has sold its remaining shares in the group that owns his troubled Arcadia retail business for just £1, company filings reveal.Taveta Investments, the holding company controlled by Sir Philip’s wife Tina, bought back 8m shares, or 7.76 per cent of its equity, according to documents lodged at Companies House.The […]
The challenges that remain for Philip Green at Arcadia
“Can firmly kicked,” was the succinct assessment from one commercial real estate agent after a restructuring of Philip Green’s Arcadia group was approved this week.At a tense meeting, the Topshop owner secured creditor support for a complex three-year overhaul that will involve deep rent reductions at almost 200 stores and a halving of its pension […]
Does Majestic's move online spell the end for high street wine?
Supermarkets used to be the bogeyman for the high street wine trade but now the growth of online services and a price squeeze is triggering new upheaval. The decision taken by the stock market-listed owner of Majestic Wine to sell off the eponymous chain and morph into an online business has caused ructions in wine […]
Arcadia to cut head office jobs after staving off collapse with rescue plan
Arcadia is cutting 170 jobs at its main offices a day after Sir Philip Green’s retail empire avoided collapse by securing backing for a rescue restructure. It is understood that the jobs are to go at the head offices of a number of the group’s brands which include Topshop, Topman, Evans, Miss Selfridge, Burton and […]
Majestic Wine shares plunge after company suspends dividend
Shares in Majestic Wine have fallen sharply after the company suspended its dividend and warned that the sale of its retail chain could slip into 2020. The chief executive, Rowan Gormley, said sale talks were at an “advanced stage”, with “multiple bidders” interested in the 200-store chain. However, if a deal was not signed by […]
Amazon and Morrisons expand same-day grocery delivery service
Amazon is ramping up the pressure on the UK’s traditional food retailers after signing a new deal with Morrisons to deliver groceries across the UK. Morrisons groceries will be available for same-day delivery in five new cities this year – Glasgow, Newcastle, Liverpool, Sheffield and Portsmouth – and the service will be expanded to further […]
Sir Philip Green admits his shops didn't adapt to changing high street
Sir Philip Green admitted his retail chains had not moved quickly enough to adapt to the changing high street after creditors backed a restructuring plan that will involve the closure of 50 Arcadia Group stores and 1,000 job losses. In an interview with BBC radio 4’s Today programme, he vowed to “get to work, grasp […]
Tesco reports sharp slowdown in underlying sales growth
Tesco has reported a sharp slowdown in underlying sales growth, as political uncertainty and volatile weather held back consumer spending. Like-for-like sales at Britain’s biggest supermarket chain rose 0.4% year-on-year in its first quarter ended 25 May, down from 1.7% in the previous three months. Total sales fell 0.4%, hit by the firm’s decision to […]
UK flower-growing industry in full bloom and worth £121m
The British-grown flower industry is now worth £121m – up from £82m in 2015 – following years of decline owing to imported stems, figures reveal. Last year homegrown flowers accounted for 14% of the £865m worth of all stems sold in the UK, compared with 12% three years ago, according to a report by the […]
Majestic Wine shares rise as US hedge fund joins bidders for stores
Shares in Majestic Wine jumped after a report that the US hedge fund Elliott Advisors has put in a bid to buy the British retailer’s 200 stores. The move would represent the latest bet on the fortunes of bricks-and-mortar retail from Elliott, after it last week bought the US bookshop chain Barnes & Noble, which […]
Arcadia saved: what the future holds for retail giant
Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia retail group has been saved from possible administration after creditors and landlords reluctantly approved the company’s rescue plan.Having been postponed from last week, the results of the vote were repeatedly pushed back yesterday until after 5pm as Green sought to win over wavering landlords.In the end it appears his last-minute arm-twisting […]
Philip Green’s Arcadia secures go-ahead for restructuring plan
Philip Green’s Arcadia fashion group has secured backing for a controversial restructuring plan after a meeting of creditors voted to approve it.The owner of brands such as Topshop and Wallis needed three-quarters of its unsecured creditors to back the plan, known as a company voluntary arrangement. At a meeting in London, Arcadia received that — […]
Philip Green's Arcadia avoids administration as rescue deal backed
Sir Philip Green’s Topshop to Burton retail empire is to close about 50 UK stores and have rents cut on almost 200 more after winning the backing of creditors for a rescue plan. Sources said landlords of Arcadia Group’s 570 UK standalone stores, which are also home to Dorothy Perkins, Topman, Wallis, Evans, Outfit and […]
Key dates in Philip Green’s retail career
Philip Green in a Glasgow outlet of discount store What Every Woman Wants May 1990Fashion chain Amber Day, of which Sir Philip is chief executive, buys discount store What Every Woman Wants for £47mJanuary 1992Sir Philip is forced out of Amber Day after failing to meet profit forecasts. He would never run a listed company […]
Lidl to launch first central London store
Lidl is to launch its first store in central London as it opens 40 new shops across the capital in the next five years. The German discount chain said it would invest more than £500m in London and create 1,500 jobs at the new stores, at locations including Alperton, East Acton, Hackbridge and Watford. Lidl […]
Boohoo bucks UK's gloomy retail trend as sales rocket
The online fashion retailer Boohoo has once again bucked the gloomy retail trend and reported a near-40% surge in sales in the past three months. The firm, whose brands include PrettyLittleThing, Nasty Gal and MissPap, has tapped into the popularity of cheap fashion bought by young shoppers on their mobile phones. Booho’s sales rocketed 39% […]
'Sales frenzy': Australian retailers crank up discounts as consumer confidence falls
Australian retailers have cranked up discount offers into “overdrive” ahead of the end of financial year sales as falling consumer confidence continues to dog the sector. Two closely followed surveys published on Wednesday by leading banks both pointed to a growing reluctance among shoppers to part with their hard-earned money in the face of flatlining […]
Lidl to ramp up London presence with £500m investment
Lidl plans to invest £500m ramping up its presence in London, opening 40 new stores over the next five years in a region where it has traditionally found it difficult to expand. The German discounter on Wednesday said the move — which will see it increase its foothold in the UK capital by almost half […]
Philip Green's Arcadia group on a knife-edge as creditors vote on rescue plan – business live
Burton and Dorothy Perkins shops at the Rock shopping centre in Bury, Greater Manchester. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the world economy, the financial markets, the eurozone and business. The future of Sir Philip Green’s retail empire, and the jobs of 18,000 staff, hang in the balance […]
Philip Green's Topshop rescue deal still stands a chance | Nils Pratley
We wait to see if, when push comes to shove, the holdout landlords really will vote against Arcadia’s demand for rent cuts for a second time. Intu is determined to say no to Sir Philip Green, but it is the biggest and thus has most to lose in terms of rental income. Waverers may conclude […]
Problem in the bagging area: the plastic-shaming scheme that went very, very wrong
Name: Plastic shaming. Age: Brand new in its current form. Appearance: Liable to backfire. I already know what plastic shaming is. Me too. I asked a barista for a straw last week and he reacted like I had asked to stab his granny. So what’s new? It’s the method of plastic shaming. It came about […]
Sports Direct challenges Debenhams’ restructuring
Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct and two other creditors have launched a legal challenge to Debenhams’ financial restructuring plan, in a rare move that threatens to complicate the department store’s recovery.Sports Direct was Debenhams’ largest shareholder before the group fell into administration this year. It is also a creditor because it has a small number of […]
Arcadia rescue hopes dealt blow by major landlord
Philip Green’s efforts to save his Arcadia retail empire are on a knife-edge, with a key landlord still opposing the rescue plan with 24 hours left before a second crunch vote.Intu, the owner of shopping malls including Lakeside in Essex and Manchester’s Trafford Centre, is reluctant to agree to the rent cuts that Arcadia has […]
Mike Ashley starts legal challenge to Debenhams rescue plan
Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct has fired off a legal challenge against Debenhams rescue restructure, which was approved by creditors last month. The legal challenge is the latest blow by Ashley in his battle with the department store, which was taken over by a syndicate of banks and hedge funds it owed money. The deal thwarted […]
Arcadia on the brink after Intu rejects revised CVA plan
The future of Philip Green’s retail empire hangs in the balance after a major landlord confirmed it would not back a revised deal to be put to creditors on Wednesday. Sources close to Intu, the owner of the Trafford Centre in Greater Manchester and the Metrocentre in Gateshead, said it was not prepared to accept […]
Ted Baker warns on profits amid 'extremely difficult' conditions
Ted Baker shares plunged by nearly 30% after the retailer warned on profits, saying that tough competition and falling consumer spending could knock up to £20m from earnings this year. The warning comes as the brand distances itself from its founder and former chief executive Ray Kelvin, who stepped down in March following allegations he […]