Table of Contents
European Retail Sales
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- Key points
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- Figure 11: Major European economies: Year-on-year retail sales value growth, 2019-20
- Figure 12: Major European economies: Year-on-year retail sales volume growth, 2019-20
- The short, medium and long-term impact on retail
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- Figure 13: Expected impact of COVID-19 on retail, short, medium and long-term, 22 May 2020
- Inflation
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- Figure 14: Major European economies: All items CPI, 2019-20
- Figure 15: Major European economies: Food price inflation, 2019-20
Launch Activity and Innovations
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- France: Monoprix launches delivery service using Ocado technology
- Germany: Aldi Süd reveals new Line of Climate Neutral Sneakers
- Germany: Mediamarkt launches car rental service in Germany
Headlines for the Month
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- Grocers
- Clothing retailing
- Multi-sector retailing
- Department stores
- Electrical retailing
- Furniture retailing
- Online shopping
- Health and beauty retailing
News Analysis – Food and Drink
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- Bakers
- UK: Greggs reveals UK expansion plans and aims to reopen 800 stores this month
- UK: Pret to renegotiate rents to reflect ‘new retail environment’ post COVID-19
- Co-ops
- UK: Co-op
- …expands robot delivery service as demand doubles
- …teams up with personalised same-day delivery service Buymie
- Convenience stores
- Belgium: Spar launches automated external defibrillators at outlets
- UK: Costcutter reports on ‘one of its best-ever years’
- Grocers
- Germany: Infarm and Aldi team up in vertical farming initiative
- Germany: Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd replaces wooden pallets with fully recyclable ones
- Netherlands: Jumbo cuts 300 jobs from its headquarters
- Netherlands: Albert Heijn to launch digital savings feature for loyalty members
- Spain: Esselunga beauty online sales up 75%
- Sweden: ICA sees sales increase 7.9% in May
- UK: Aldi
- …rolls out ‘automated traffic light system’ across UK store estate
- …offers customers ‘greater flexibility’ in new tie-up with Deliveroo
- UK: Asda sales increase 2.3% but is partially offset by reduced demand for George clothing
- UK: Lidl
- …launches chatbox to inform customers when it is safest to shop
- …launches online collection lockers
- UK: Morrisons
- …Q1 results up despite ‘volatile’ trading conditions
- …extends its faster payment scheme to its suppliers
- …introduces ‘speedy’ shopping queues for small basket shoppers
- …opens first standalone clothing and homewares stores
- …reopens pizza counters for customers
- UK: Tesco to use 3D imaging technology to manage customer numbers in stores
News Analysis – Clothing and Footwear
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- Clothing retailing
- France: Kering issues £1bn bond as sales decreased 15.4%
- Italy: Gucci cuts back on number of fashion shows a year and goes ‘seasonless’
- Spain: Inditex reports a 44% drop in Q1 sales and reveals €2.7bn plan for its ecommerce business
- UK: British fashion designers collaborate to launch sustainable face masks
- UK: Moss Bros resumes online trading after implementing ‘necessary operational changes’
- UK: Mulberry to cut down global workforce by 25%
- UK: Next to redevelop former Debenhams stores into first standalone beauty hall
- UK: New Look urges landlords to make a ‘radical’ switch to turnover-based rents
- UK: Online homeware and casualwear ‘overperforming’ at Urban Outfitters
- UK: Owner buys Monsoon Accessorize out of administration
- UK: Primark aims to reopen majority of UK stores by June 15
- UK: Quiz appoints administrators to subsidiary Kast Retail in a bid to negotiate rent terms
- UK: Reiss to reopen store estate in two waves
- UK: ‘Significant’ job cuts expected at White Stuff amid COVID-19 crisis
- UK: Ted Baker to launch fundraising effort to ‘navigate’ COVID-19 challenges
- UK: UK arm of Victoria Secret falls into administration
- Footwear retailing
- UK: Clarks to cut 900 jobs as part of its ‘Made To Last’ turnaround plan
- UK: UK arm of Aldo falls into administration
News Analysis – Mixed Goods
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- Multi-sector retailing
- Finland: Kesko reports grocery sales up by 7.8% in Q1
- Netherlands: Hema delays full-year results for a second time as it assesses its viability
- UK: B&M posts ‘exceptionally strong’ sales in grocery, DIY and gardening categories
- UK: M&S
- …reopens 49 of its in-store cafés
- …withholds bonuses for a second year
- …reports a slump in profits and reveals its ‘never the same again’ agenda
- Department stores
- France: Galeries Lafayette reopens flagship store on Boulevard Haussmann
- France: Printemps reopens its Paris flagship store
- UK: Debenhams
- …reveals more store closures in shopping centres after talks with Intu fail
- …to reopen 50 stores across England from June 15
- UK: Fortnum and Mason to begin phased reopening of food hall
- UK: Harrods opens outlet at Westfield to help shift excess stock
- UK: John Lewis
- …announces plans for phased reopenings
- …John Lewis Partnership donates £1.4m to local charities
- …launches virtual wellbeing workshops
News Analysis – Household Goods
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- DIY retailing
- UK: Kingfisher reports fourfold growth in ecommerce since mid-March
- UK: Topps Tiles slides to a loss amid a ‘complex and extremely challenging trading environment’
- Electrical retailing
- Germany: Mediamarkt owner posts 7.7% loss in the first quarter
- Furniture retailing
- Belgium: IKEA sees more targeted shopping behaviours from customers in first week of reopening
- Sweden: IKEA reopens cautiously with protective measures in place
- UK: Furniture Village and DFS to reopen ahead of bank holiday weekend
- UK: IKEA teams up with sustainability charity to drive circular economy goals
- UK: ScS ‘well positioned’ to survive COVID-19 as it emerges from lockdown
- UK: Wren Kitchen to open 100th showroom this year as it recommences expansion plans
- Homewares retailing
- UK: Dunhelm launch click and collect car delivery service to reduce COVID-19 exposure
News Analysis – Online
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- France: Cdiscount opens online platform for struggling booksellers
- Germany: Zalando to cut unsustainable brands from platform
- UK: Boohoo
- …looks to future mergers and acquisitions after raising nearly £200m
- …acquires remaining minority stake in PrettyLittleThing
- …to sell DIY COVID-19 testing kits
- UK: Businesses allowed to set-up shop on Instagram and Facebook with no fee
- UK: Cox & Cox sees 64% increase in quarterly sales thanks to lockdown
- UK: Ebay helps retailers shift excess stock in new initiative
- UK: Eve Sleep sees ‘strong demand’ for its premium mattress and bedframe ranges during lockdown
- UK: Instagram launches ‘Fashion Week 2020 Playbook’ to help retailers create digital catwalks
- UK: Morrisons and Pret expand Amazon presence with new partnerships
- UK: N Brown sales down 25% as it fights ‘very uncertain environment’
- UK: Sainsbury’s launches bike delivery service for stores outside London
- UK: Snapchat teams up with adidas and Topshop in new ecommerce initiative
- UK: Sosandar will start selling its clothing through the John Lewis and Next websites
- UK: The Hut Group sales jump 24% driven by brand acquisitions and technology investments
News Analysis – Other Retail
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- Health and beauty retailing
- Germany: COVID-19 crisis ‘halts growth momentum’ at Douglas
- Spain: Spanish beauty company buys majority stake in Charlotte Tilbury
- UK: Boots to focus on digital launch for new No7 product as it reopens beauty counters
- Book and stationery retailing
- UK: Card Factory profits down as it prepares for store reopenings
- UK: Waterstones to reopen stores next week with ‘extensive’ store health and safety measures
- UK: WHSmith revenues drop 85% year-on-year in April
- Sports and leisure goods retailing
- France: Decathlon launches rental bike service
- Germany: Decathlon launches mobile self-checkout service
- UK: Angling Direct reports losses blaming store acquisitions and ‘exceptional winter flooding’
- UK: JD Sports creates a ‘mock-up’ store for managers to visualise new layout
- Pets and pet products retailing
- UK: Pets at Home warns profits to be materially ‘below the prior year’
- Shopping centres
- UK: Intu
- …announces safety plans for its reopened shopping centres
- …asks lenders to ‘freeze’ its debt during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis
- …to draft in KPMG as part of its contingency plan if talks with lenders fail
- UK: Property owner Landsec cuts portfolio value by £1.2bn
- UK: Westfield
- …reveals safety measures as it plans to reopen shopping centres
- …reveals new campaign ‘Working Together’ to remind visitors how to stay safe
News Analysis – Economy
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- UK: BRC
- …reports a 19.1% decrease in sales for April
- …shop prices in May fell at their fastest rate since 2006
- …UK footfall decreased by 84.7% in April
- UK: Shops may open in June according to new COVID-19 roadmap announced by the Prime Minister
- UK: All non-essential stores to reopen from June 15 as lockdown restrictions ease
- UK: April retail sales down 18.6% amid the COVID-19 peak
- UK: Government considers suspending Sunday trading laws to help UK economy
- UK: May sees retail sales decrease by 5.9%
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