Debenhams boss insists retailer is not on a cliff edge September 4, 2020 The chairman of Debenhams has insisted that the struggling department store chain is not facing a cliff edge. Chairman Max Gifford said the business, which recently entered administration for the second time in a year, has been doing better than expected. Fears have been mounting about the retailer’s future following reports that Administrator FRP Advisory [...]
Pret a Manger launches coffee subscription to battle lockdown sales slump September 4, 2020 Pret a Manger has announced it will launch a coffee subscription service as the coronavirus pandemic continues to challenge the cafe chain’s business model. Pret, which has announced 2,300 job cuts due to the Covid-19 crisis, said the £20-per-month subscription is the first step in its “new digitally-led, multichannel strategy”. The initiative, which will launch [...]
More than 100m meals eaten through Eat Out to Help Out scheme September 4, 2020 More than 100m meals were eaten in August as a part of the government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme for a total cost to the Treasury of £522m. The latest figures show there was a large uptick in take up of the scheme in the final two weeks of August, after 35m meals were [...]
Co-op to create 1,000 new jobs in post-lockdown £130m investment drive September 4, 2020 Co-op is preparing to open a raft of new stores and create up to 1,000 new jobs as part of a £130m investment programme, as consumers have shopped more locally during the coronavirus pandemic. The convenience store chain announced this morning that it is planning to open or extend 65 stores, with a further 100 [...]
Discounting pushes August retail sales to highest level since pandemic began September 4, 2020 Retail sales made a slight recovery last month to the highest level since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic as brands slashed prices ahead of the Bank Holiday weekend. In-store like-for-like sales were down 28.1 per cent in August, from a base of minus 0.1 in the same month last year, which was the best [...]
More retail job losses forecast unless office workers return, industry warns September 4, 2020 More store closures and retail job losses are expected unless office workers return and consumers are encouraged to visit city centres, a retail industry body warned this morning. Despite an uptick in footfall in the final week of the month due to back to school shopping and the final days of the Eat Out to [...]
Costa Coffee to cut up to 1,650 jobs in latest Covid-19 hit September 3, 2020 Costa Coffee today said it will cut up to 1,650 jobs as a result of the coronavirus crisis. The cuts, which are equivalent to roughly 10 per cent of the company’s workforce, mark the latest blow to the UK economy. The high street coffee chain was forced to close almost all of its 2,700 UK [...]
UK business activity spikes but job losses accelerate September 3, 2020 UK business activity grew rapidly in August as the country recovered from the coronavirus lockdown, but job losses in the private sector accelerated. The IHS Markit/CIPS Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), a monthly gauge of activity in services and manufacturing companies, rose to a six-year high of 59.1 from 57.0 in July. Still, that was [...]
Revolution Bars sales beat expectations on Eat Out to Help Out boost September 3, 2020 Revolution Bars today reported trading ahead of expectations since venues reopened in July as the government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme boosted sales. The bar chain said sales in the eight weeks since reopening were 27.5 per cent lower than the same period last year. However, this was ahead of previous forecasts — based [...]
UK retailers ramp up online operations but warn of further store closures September 3, 2020 UK retailers are ramping up their e-commerce operations to meet the increasing demand for online shopping during the coronavirus pandemic, but warned of further physical store closures. The latest research showed that 15 per cent of UK retailers have created roles specifically to cater to the boom in digital sales and to boost online capacity, [...]