Gym Group eyes £31m of investor funding for 40 new sites July 1, 2021 The UK’s second-largest gym chain, Gym Group, aims to raise £31m from investors to fund an expansion with 40 new branches. The low-cost gym operator said it plans to open the new sites over the next 18 months as it continues its rapid rollout programme. It said the impact of Covid-19 on the commercial property [...]
JD Sports director and remuneration chair Andrew Leslie ousted by shareholders July 1, 2021 JD Sports shareholders have ousted Andrew Leslie as a non-executive director at the retailer’s latest general meeting, but passed all resolutions relating to senior pay. In today’s annual meeting Leslie did not receive the required votes to maintain his position within the company, meaning JD Sports will now start looking for a successor. On the [...]
H&M to cut 250 stores this year as customers head online July 1, 2021 H&M plans to shut 250 stores globally this year as part of its strategy to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, which saw many of its shops shut for months at a time. The fashion retailer said the closure of the shops was in response to more customers shopping online, but declined to say how many [...]
Boots owner Walgreens rises earnings forecast as US vaccine rollout boosts revenue July 1, 2021 Walgreens Boots Alliance, the owner of pharmacy chain Boots, has raised its 2021 earnings growth forecast after higher pharmacy sales and Covid-19 vaccine rollouts in the United States helped it beat third-quarter revenue expectations. Walgreens had been relying on gains from administering Covid-19 vaccines to tide over losses from low prescription volumes and a weak flu season [...]
Gap to close all 81 stores in UK and Ireland July 1, 2021 American retailer Gap has confirmed it will close all its 81 stores in the UK in a phased exit and move online-only for the region. The US fashion giant said it would close the stores in a “phased manner” between the end of August and end of September. It comes just a few weeks after [...]
JD Sports raises profit outlook and announces board change July 1, 2021 Britain’s largest sportswear group raised its profit outlook for the full year to “no less than” £550m in a trading update today. JD Sports said sales in the immediate period after lockdown reopening had been “particularly encouraging”. Most of the fashion retailers 3,300 stores around the world are now open, bar some in the Asia [...]
Primark lifts profit forecast after store reopenings boost sales July 1, 2021 Primark has hiked its profit forecast for the full year after the easing of lockdown restrictions drove a sharp rise in sales for the third quarter. Parent company Associated British Foods (ABF) said profit at the budget fashion chain would be roughly in line with last year — up from previous guidance of “somewhat lower”. [...]
Revolution Bars reports recovery in trading to almost pre-Covid levels July 1, 2021 Cocktail bar group Revolution Bars said sales have surged as lockdown restrictions were lifted, and it expects revenue for the year to be ahead of previous expectations. Despite operating at 28 per cent of total capacity since indoor drinking was permitted from May 17, the group today reported that trading since that date has surged [...]
Dining: Items disappear from UK menus as supply chain disruption wreaks havoc June 30, 2021 From ketchup packets to paper bags to chicken wings, a global supply chain disruption is wreaking havoc on the dining industry, which means some items may temporarily be off the menu this summer. Watch the full report.
UK shoppers sticking with online shops despite restrictions relaxing June 29, 2021 Online e-commerce sales continued to grow in April, despite the reopening of non-essential retail across the UK. Demand for e-commerce packaging, a barometer for industry and sector performance, grew 11.7 per cent in April, despite brick-and-mortar shops reopening in the same month. This followed a 35.6 per cent increase in demand in the year up [...]