Virgin Active offloads 16 fitness clubs to David Lloyd Leisure February 7, 2017 Virgin Active, the eponymous gym chain, has offloaded 16 of its clubs in the UK to David Lloyd Leisure for an undisclosed sum. The fitness firm will continue to operate 45 clubs in the UK, 33 of which are in London. Last year, Virgin Active sold a further 35 UK gyms to Nuffield Health, a [...]
New Look suffers “disappointing” sales drop during crucial Christmas shopping period February 7, 2017 New Look did not have a very merry Christmas, failing to bag a sales boost during the most important period of the year for retailers. The figures New Look said group like-for-like sales fell 4.6 per cent in the 13 weeks to 24 December, with sales in the UK down 4.7 per cent on the same [...]
Aldi just became the UK’s fifth largest grocer February 7, 2017 Aldi has become the UK's fifth largest grocer by market share, overtaking the Co-op. According to data from Kantar Worldpanel, Aldi grew its sales by 12.4 per cent in the 12 weeks ending 29 January. Its share of the market now stands at 6.2 per cent. Read more: A Lidl competition: Aldi becomes the highest-paying supermarket in the UK [...]
UK retail sales fell in January in a reversal of fortunes for the sector February 7, 2017 UK retail sales fell in January as shoppers curbed spending on non-food items. On a like-for-like basis, retail sales fell 0.6 per cent in January as compared to the same month a year before, reversing a sales rise of one per cent in December. Total sales rose just 0.1 per cent, against a 3.3 per [...]
Spending on essentials has hit record highs February 7, 2017 Spending on essential goods such as food and fuel has reached record highs as inflation has started to hit the UK consumer's wallet. There was a 15.3 per cent jump in petrol spending year-on-year in January, according to Barclaycard, and a 2.9 per cent hike in supermarket expenditure. This was coupled with a 3.4 per cent [...]
Heineken closes in on Punch Taverns as its investment vehicle buys 28 per cent stake February 6, 2017 Heineken has moved a step closer to completing its acquisition of Punch Taverns after its investment vehicle bought a significant stake in the British pub chain group. The Dutch brewer announced today that Vine Acquisitions, the vehicle it shares with partner Patron Capital, built up its share in the company to 28.5 per cent on Friday [...]
Boohoo moves forward with $20m acquisition of Nasty Gal February 6, 2017 Online fashion retailer Boohoo is moving forward with its $20m (£16m) acquisition of bankrupt rival Nasty Gal, announcing this morning that the deal will be completed by the end of the month. Boohoo, which targets millennial shoppers, announced its intentions to buy up Nasty Gal's intellectual property assets and customer database on 28 December. This [...]
Yo Sushi founder Simon Woodroffe: I want to be the next Richard Branson February 6, 2017 It took a life crisis for Simon Woodroffe to set up restaurant chain Yo Sushi. “I got divorced in the early nineties and was out in the wilderness for a long time. I was down to my last £200,000 tied to my flat and was desperate to do something with my life. That’s when I set [...]
British smokers are switching to e-cigarettes faster than anyone else in Europe February 6, 2017 Britons are switching from cigarettes to electronic alternatives faster than anyone else in Europe. Since 2013, one person has switched from traditional smoking to so-called vaping every four minutes in the UK, according to new research from EY. And now more than 2m British people vape, a total of 4.2 per cent of adults. By contrast, the [...]
Flopshop: Arcadia Group brand Topshop’s sales drop over Christmas February 5, 2017 Sir Philip Green’s fashion brand Topshop suffered a like-for-like sales drop of nearly 11 per cent over Christmas, the most important shopping period of the year. The Sunday Times has reported that sales across the Arcadia Group as a whole, which includes Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Evans, fell by about 6.5 per cent. The poor [...]