Table of Contents
UK Retail Sales
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- Retail sales
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- Figure 7: Retail sales trends, January 2019 – September 2020
- BRC vs ONS
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- Figure 8: UK retail sales y/y growth, BRC vs ONS, January 2018 – September 2020
- Inflation
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- Figure 9: Annual % change in the consumer price index for selected product groups, January 2019 – September 2020
- Inflation and wages
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- Figure 10: Real wages growth: Wages growth vs inflation, January 2016 – September 2020
- Consumer confidence
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- Figure 11: Mintel Financial confidence tracker, January 2019 – June 2020
- Looking forward
Sector Focus – Clothing Retailing
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- What we have seen
- Clothing sales begin to recover
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- Figure 12: Growth in store based clothing sales, year on year, January 2019- August 2020
- Consumers intend to spend less on clothing in the next month
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- Figure 13: Percentage of consumes who said they intend to spend more, about the same or less in next month on clothing and accessories, 24th September - 1st October
- Consumer feel uncomfortable trying on clothes in store
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- Figure 14: How comfortable consumers are about trying clothes in store, 24th September - 1st October, 2020
Launch Activity and Innovations
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- UK: Co-op trials app for one-hour deliveries that are eco-friendly
- UK: Aldi to trial click-and-collect across the UK for the first time
- UK: Homebase unveils its first ‘green aisle’ to help shoppers make sustainable purchases
Headlines for the Month
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- Co-ops
- Grocers
- Clothing retailing
- Footwear retailing
- Department stores
- Furniture retailing
- Homewares retailing
- Online
- Health and beauty retailing
- Sports and leisure goods retailing
- Jewellers
- Toys and games retailing
News Analysis – Food and Drink
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- Co-ops
- UK: Co-op
- ...sales rise as people shop more locally during COVID-19 crisis
- ...donates £10,000 worth of supplies to students in self-isolation
- Grocers
- UK: Aldi
- ...removes single-use plastic for fruit and veg across all 900 UK stores
- ...to invest £1.3bn into UK stores as profits increase 49%
- UK: Asda
- ...restructures George head office and cuts 50 jobs
- ...Walmart sells Asda to Issa Brothers in £6.8 billion deal
- ...offers free NHS flu jabs from Asda car parks
- ...to trial B&Q shop-in-shops in four superstores and pilot new convenience format
- UK: Iceland publishes its own ‘plastic footprint’ and challenged rivals to do the same
- UK: Morrisons
- ...expands delivery service to over 20,000 people in retirement communities
- ...profits fall due to costs incurred because of COVID-19
- ...launches home delivery subscription boxes
- UK: Sainsbury’s aims for 700,000 weekly online deliveries by end of October
- UK: Tesco
- ...pre-tax-profits jump 28% as shoppers moved online during pandemic
- ...to trial 30 minute drone delivery service
- Other food specialists
- UK: Hotel Chocolat reports a loss of £6.5 million and announces deal with Hut Group in the US
News Analysis – Clothing and Footwear
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- Clothing retailing
- UK: Ann Summers ‘likely’ to launch CVA if landlords don’t agree to better rent terms
- UK: Barbour reveals ‘Wax for Life’ space in Selfridges ‘Project Earth’ area
- UK: Burberry
- ...to livestream Spring/Summer 2021 fashion show
- ...teams up with students from IBM to create prototype system for product traceability
- UK: Joules sales ‘ahead of expectations’ for first quarter
- UK: Mulberry losses steepen to £14.2 million amid COVID-19
- UK: New look CVA approved moving 400 stores to turnover-based rents
- UK: Next
- ...raises full-year profit guidance to £300 million
- ...reveals its first beauty hall
- ...rescue Victoria’s Secret UK arm and saves 500 jobs
- UK: Scotch and Soda rental service expands into womenswear
- UK: Superdry sales down 19.2% as ‘trading continues to be disrupted’ by COVID-19
- UK: Ted Baker
- ...signs licensing agreement with Next to sell lingerie and nightwear
- ...reveals its digital pop-up store in collaboration with Creative Mentor Network
- ...new license partner for men’s formalwear
- Footwear retailing
- UK: Aldo UK sold to investment firm saving 700 jobs
- UK: Clarks launches CVA as part of rescue deal
News Analysis – Mixed Goods
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- Multi-sector retailing
- UK: B&M increases profit forecast following ‘strong’ uplift in sales
- UK: Halfords expands its Mobile Expert service
- UK: M&S
- ...celebrates reward app milestone with ‘free shopping’ promotion
- ...reveals online expansion plans as part of its digital transformation strategy
- ...to sell third-party fashion online for the first time
- UK: Poundland trials alcohol aisles with beers, wines and spirits
- Department stores
- UK: John Lewis
- ...posts half-year loss and tells staff no bonuses this year
- ...invests in home departments with new ad campaign and customer magazine
- ...opens virtual Christmas shop
News Analysis – Household Goods
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- DIY retailing
- UK: B&Q ‘reveals ‘Build a Life’ campaign
- UK: Topps Tiles confident it will generate ‘modest level of adjusted profit before tax’
- Furniture retailing
- UK: ScS
- ...profits down 20% due to store closures
- ...create 300 jobs to cope with online surge
- Homewares retailing
- UK: Dunelm sales down 3.9% due to COVID-19
News Analysis – Online
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- UK: Boden reports ‘material impact on sales’
- UK: Depop looks to expand UK team due to heightened demand
- UK: eBay removes fees for first time sellers as part of ‘Pay As You Grow’ scheme
- UK: Eve Sleep to collaborate with Boots on Christmas ranges as it narrows its losses
- UK: Made.com reveals pop-up showroom apartment in Leeds
- UK: N Brown hails strong performance of homewares as revenues begin to recover
- UK: Ocado posts strong sales over quarter and hails ‘positive’ start to its M&S tie-up
- UK: Sosandar half-year sales up 52% driven by demand for full-price items during summer
- UK: The Very Group sales up 10.5% driven by electricals
News Analysis – Other Retail
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- Health and beauty retailing
- UK: Boots to open 10 dedicated Mothercare Zones in selected stores by November
- UK: L’Oreal rolls out recycling bins across 1,000 UK stores in new sustainability push
- Sports and leisure goods retailing
- UK: Decathlon plans more store openings following a rise in sales
- Book and stationery retailing
- UK: Card Factory at a half-year loss as COVID-19 hits sales
- Jewellers
- UK: Watches of Switzerland increases full-year profit guidance as sales rise 12.6%
- Toys and games retailing
- UK: Games Workshop sales up 15.4% to £90m
- UK: Lego to phase out plastic packaging following customer pressure
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