Table of Contents
UK Retail Sales – Impact of COVID-19
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- Key points
- Retail sales
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- Figure 6: Retail sales trends, January 2019 – January 2020
- BRC vs ONS
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- Figure 7: UK retail sales y/y growth, BRC vs ONS, January 2018 – March 2020
- The short, medium and long-term impact on retail
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- Figure 8: Expected impact of COVID-19 on retail, short, medium and long-term, 29 April 2020
- Inflation easing
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- Figure 9: Annual percentage change in the consumer price index for selected product groups, January 2019 - February 2020
- Inflation and wages
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- Figure 10: Real wages growth: Wages growth vs inflation, Jan 2016 – Mar 2020
- Nosedive in future consumer confidence
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- Figure 11: Mintel Financial confidence tracker, January 2019 – March 2020
- Looking forward
Sector Focus – Grocery Retailing
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- Figure 12: All retail sales (ex-fuel), non-seasonally adjusted, January 2019-March 2020
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- Figure 13: Annual % change in all grocery retail sales and store-based online grocery retail sales, Jan 2019 - Mar 2020
- Consumers increase grocery online shopping
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- Figure 14: Changes in shopping habits due to COVID-19, February 28-April 9 2020
- Retailers roll out in-store safety measures to protect staff and customers
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- Figure 15: Changes in shopping behaviours due to COVID-19, March 26-April 9 2020
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Launch Activity and Innovations
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- UK: Costcutter launches 20 pop-up stores in NHS hospitals
- UK: M&S gives free food deliveries to NHS staff and donates clothing and uniforms
- UK: IKEA opens a coronavirus testing centre in Wembley for NHS
- UK: Lucy Tiffney teams up with Debenhams in new homeware collection
Headlines for the Month
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- Grocers
- Clothing retailing
- Footwear retailing
- Multi-sector retailing
- Electrical retailing
- Furniture retailing
- Online shopping
- Health and beauty retailing
News Analysis – Food and Drink
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- Co-ops
- UK: Co-op to fund 6,500 student lunches if schools close
- Convenience stores
- UK: McColl’s partners up with Deliveroo to support vulnerable customers
- Grocers
- UK: Asda
- …to support isolated staff with full pay
- …private equity firms show interest in potential takeover of Asda
- UK: Iceland to open an hour early for the elderly amid coronavirus outbreak
- UK: Lidl plans to open first in store pub near Belfast
- UK: Morrisons
- …to expand home delivery service
- …latest price cuts and plans for more
- UK: Sainsbury’s eases up on quantity restrictions for Easter eggs immediately
- UK: Supermarkets say “thank you” to hardworking staff coming into work
- UK: Tesco
- …raises profit outlook for the year as it incurs ‘significant’ coronavirus costs
- …restricts store opening hours
- …joins business alliance to feed NHS staff and launches pop-up at NHS Nightingale sites
- …expands click & collect to cope with the surge in demand from coronavirus
- UK: Waitrose reserves delivery slots for elderly and vulnerable
- Other food specialists
- UK: Holland & Barrett staff petition for store closures
News Analysis – Clothing and Footwear
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- UK: Arcadia
- …furloughs 14,500 staff and execs face 50% pay cuts
- …cuts down on costs by deferring pension payments and cancelling supplier orders
- UK: British Fashion Council launches £1m coronavirus fund
- UK: Crew Clothing to buy Moss Bros
- UK: Bleak outlook for French Connection amid continued difficult trading conditions in the UK
- UK: H&M threatens to walk away from store leases if conditions do not return to pre-outbreak levels
- UK: Jack Wills to permanently close another 17 stores
- UK: Matchesfashion closes stores
- UK: Mulberry anticipates losses in second half of 2020
- UK: New Look
- …halts all current and future production
- …pushes back supplier payments 'indefinitely’
- UK: Next
- …posts rising profits but warns of £1bn coronavirus hit in worst-case scenario
- …halts online operations
- …warehouse and HQ up for sale in a bid to secure its future during the coronavirus outbreak
- UK: Primark
- …halts all future orders and closes all stores
- …withholds quarterly rent in a bid to force landlords to negotiate rent terms
- …cuts salaries in a bid to prevent temporary layoffs or redundancies
- …warns of sales hit
- UK: Ted Baker sells London HQ in £79m deal
- UK: Urban Outfitters appeals for 'force majeure' terms
- Footwear retailing
- UK: Allbirds provides NHS workers with 2,000 pairs of shoes for free
- UK: Clarks to permanently close some UK stores
- UK: Schuh resumes online trading with ‘exhaustive welfare measures’ in place
News Analysis – Mixed Goods
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- UK: Sainsbury’s accused of exploiting loophole to keep Argos open
- Multi-sector retailing
- UK: Halfords proposes closure of Cycle Republic
- UK: M&S
- …launches household essential boxes for customers
- …adds branded items to staple ranges in a bid to maintain availability
- …launches contact-free delivery and ups food production
- …lowers guidance and warns profits to fall at lower end of expectation
- Department stores
- UK: Debenhams
- …revises restructuring plan as a result of COVID-19
- …CVA free from legal challenge as appeal period ends
- UK: John Lewis
- …unveils first ever TV ad campaign outside Christmas period
- …builds well-being centre for Nightingale NHS staff
News Analysis – Household Goods
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- Electrical retailing
- UK: Brighthouse falls into administration risking 2,400 jobs
- UK: Dixons Carphone
- …sales of laptops and TVs soar amid coronavirus lockdown
- …to close all standalone Carphone Warehouse stores
- Furniture retailing
- UK: Despite low consumer confidence ScS sustains profitable growth
- UK: DFS
- …announce new measures to deal with COVID-19
- …uncertainty around coronavirus impacts DFS full-year guidance
- UK: Harveys and Bensons for Beds up for sale risking 2,700 jobs
- Homewares retailing
- UK: Cath Kidston
- …calls in administrators risking 950 jobs
- …urgently seeks buyer amid coronavirus epidemic
News Analysis – Online
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- UK: Leon repurposes restaurants into stores
- UK: N Brown announced contingency plan amid coronavirus outbreak
- UK: Naked Wines expects an excess of £200m in full-year revenue
- UK: Net-A-Porter resumes taking orders on UK website
- UK: Ocado
- …sales rise in first quarter as it tries to stay ahead of demand
- …first international depot goes live in France
- UK: Very.co.uk rolls out new inclusive sizing feature for Nike and Adidas products
News Analysis – Other Retail
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- Health and beauty retailing
- UK: Boots
- …half-year sales slip as COVID-19 proactively deferred activities
- …and Amazon lends a helping hand to NHS
- UK: 1,875 jobs affected as The Perfume Shop shuts online operations
- UK: Superdrug
- …fast-tracks it same-day delivery service for urgent orders
- …offers employees £40m support package
- Book and stationery retailing
- UK: WH Smith’s travel division takes a hit due to coronavirus
- Sports and leisure goods retailing
- UK: Fraser Group issues profit warning as sales fall
- Pets and pet products retailing
- UK: Pets at Home
- …pledges support to CaRe20 campaign
- …‘not immune’ to COVID-19 challenges
- Shopping centres
- UK: Intu
- …on the brink of collapse after a reported £2 billion loss
- …to lower service charges for retail tenants by 22%
- …receives less than 29% of rent payments from retailers
News Analysis – Economy
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- UK: February retail sales up in value by 2.3%
- UK: Boris Johnson advises against unnecessary social contact in new COVID-19 policy
- UK: Government orders all non-essential shops to close
- UK: Retail industry launches £10m coronavirus appeal for shop floor staff
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