Description
“The last year has seen new consumers undertake gardening as an activity amid national lockdowns and unprecedented time spent at home. Nearly a third (32%) of those with access to a garden or outdoor space said that they had picked up gardening as a hobby since the pandemic. What is particularly interesting about these newcomers to the hobby, however, is their age and where they live. Almost half (45%) of those aged 16-34 and 39% of those living in cities had taken up gardening.”
– Emily Viberg, Retail Analyst
This month’s UK Retail Briefing includes:
- Analyst Comment – new customers mean a new opportunity and a new challenge for garden product retailers.
- An overview of the latest UK Retail sales
- Sector focus – Clothing retailing
- Highlights of the latest UK Retail trend observations.
- Monthly headlines and retail news across the UK
Table of Contents
-
Analyst Comment – New customers mean a new opportunity and a new challenge for garden product retailers
- Having a multichannel strategy is key
-
UK Retail Sales
- Key points
- Retail Sales
- Figure 1: Retail sales trends, January 2019-May 2021
- BRC vs ONS
- Figure 2: UK retail sales y/y growth, BRC vs ONS, January 2018 –May 2021
- Inflation
- Figure 3: Annual % change in the consumer price index for selected product groups, January 2019 –May 2021
- Inflation and wages
- Figure 4: Real wages growth: Wages growth vs inflation, January 2016 –April 2021
- Looking forward
-
Sector Focus – Clothing Retailing
- Online clothing sales slow as physical stores reopen
- Figure 5: All clothing retail sales and online clothing retail sales January 2019-May 2021
- Store reopenings release pent-up demand
- Figure 6: Activities done in the past week, 10th June-18th June
- COVID-19 shift priorities for shoppers buying womenswear
- Figure 7: Changes in women’s priorities when buying clothes for themselves, January 2021
- Males buy clothes for casual work
- Figure 8: Clothes shopping behaviour in the last 12 months and future interest, January 2021
- Online clothing sales slow as physical stores reopen
-
Launch Activity and Innovations
- UK: Russian food discounter set to launch first UK store
- UK: Hotter Shoes launches AR feature on mobile app
- UK: Selfridges ‘one-of-a-kind’ wedding experience
-
Headlines for the Month
- Convenience stores
- Grocers
- Other food specialists
- Clothing retailing
- Footwear retailing
- Multi-sector retailing
- DIY retailing
- Electrical retailing
- Furniture retailing
- Homewares retailing
- Online
- Health & beauty retailing
-
News Analysis – Food and Drink
- Co-ops
- UK: Central England Co-op cuts food waste by 40%
- Convenience stores
- UK: EG Group sees 5.8% growth in profits thanks to foodservice
- UK: Pret a Manger to pilot first-ever forecourt store
- UK: Sainsbury’s launches four new Neighbourhood Hub stores
- Grocers
- UK: Aldi
- …introduce new packaging made from plastic bound for the ocean
- …first soft plastics collection points
- UK: Asda pilots ‘secure delivery boxes’ so customers can take deliveries while away
- UK: Morrisons
- …invests £16m into upgrading its in-store cafés
- …sales grow 5.3% despite ‘volatile trading’ conditions
- UK: Sainsbury’s
- …to launch Carluccio’s shop-in-shop concept
- …swaps ‘Live Well for Less’ motto with ‘Helping Everyone Eat Better’
- UK: Tesco
- …and Carrefour announce end of three-year alliance
- …trials one-hour rapid delivery service with Whoosh
- …Pret to pilot shop-in-shops at Tesco
- UK: Waitrose
- …pilots recycle scheme for hard-to-recycle plastics
- …rolls out new ‘Air-Light’ strawberry punnet packaging
- Other food specialists
- UK: Holland & Barrett open flagship store on Tmall
- UK: Hotel Chocolate increases full-year sales forecast following strong Easter and Mother’s Day
-
News Analysis – Clothing and Footwear
- Clothing retailing
- UK: & Other Stories reveals first kidswear range
- UK: Arthur Beale to close store on Shaftesbury Avenue due to COVID-19
- UK: Authentic Brands Group shows interest in buying Reebok
- UK: Burberry revenue down 11% due to store closures and a reduction in tourism
- UK: Frasers Group
- …eyes takeover of Hugo Boss
- …shuts down Hugo Boss takeover rumours
- UK: Gap to permanently close 19 UK stores
- UK: Mamas & Papas opens two more Next concessions
- UK: Ted Baker
- …postpones full-year results due to COVID-19 impact
- …refinances and delays full-year results
- …warns of £65.2 million COVID-19 loss
- Footwear retailing
- UK: Hotter Shoes to float by the end of 2021
- UK: Shoeaholics opens store in Westfield
- UK: Shoe Zone revenues fall 41% due to tight cost controls
-
News Analysis – Mixed Goods
- Multi-sector retailing
- UK: B&M
- …to reveal £590m in earnings during pandemic
- …sees profits grow 108% in ‘exceptional’ year
- UK: M&S
- …revenues fall 13.5% due to the impact of COVID-19 restrictions
- …expands its Fill Your Own concept to eight more stores
- …reopens fitting rooms
- UK: MaxiSaver to open 20 stores across the UK
- UK: Mothercare sees ‘small’ profit in pre-close trading update
- UK: Poundland
- …launches new local format in East and South Yorkshire
- …pushes ahead with Pep&Co expansion
- …rolls out online shopping trial to the Midlands
- Department stores
- UK: Debenhams store in Edinburgh to be transformed into boutique hotel
- UK: Harrods
- …new sportswear room on its revamped men’s floor
- …completed food hall with new Chocolate Hall
- …new rental service
-
News Analysis – Household Goods
- DIY retailing
- UK: Kingfisher ups profit outlook as sales grow 62%
- UK: Homebase reveals first new large store in six years
- UK: Topps Tiles back in profit despite 2.4% drop in sales
- UK: Wickes expected to see like-for-like sales grow 45.7% in the year
- Electrical retailing
- UK: Dixons Carphone to be rebranded as Currys
- Furniture retailing
- UK: Flooring Superstore opens seven stores in three weeks as part of £1m investment
- UK: Made.com starts £1bn stock market float process
- UK: Simba UK sales soar 295% during lockdown
- UK: Tempur Sealy buys Dreams for £340m
- UK: Wren Kitchens opens 105th store with virtual reality studio
- Homewares retailing
- UK: Cox & Cox record net revenue increase of 167% in Q1
- UK: Dunelm ups profit forecast due to strong sales growth
-
News Analysis – Online
- UK: Alibaba launches virtual event Pitch Fest in UK and Ireland
- UK: Amazon
- …launches Local Label Hub for small British designers
- …Amazon Prime Day date announced
- …create 10,000 new permanent jobs in 2021
- UK: Angling Direct swing to a profit thanks to boost in online sales
- UK: Asos eyes Cult Beauty and Feelunique as owners put brands up for sale
- UK: Bargain Max set to go ahead with ambitious expansion plan after securing funds
- UK: Boohoo launches sustainable collection made from recycled plastic
- UK: Farfetch hails ‘tremendous start to 2021’ as sales grow 46%
- UK: N Brown revenue drop 13% due to COVID-19 ‘challenges’
- UK: Ocado does not rule out international retail expansion
- UK: Sosandar aims to raise £5m as it extends partnerships with M&S and John Lewis
- UK: The Hut Group set to acquire US-based beauty manufacturer
- UK: Victoria Plumbing reveals plans to float
- UK: Yoox launches dedicated Generation Z hub
-
News Analysis – Other Retail
- Health & beauty retailing
- UK: L’Oréal teams up with TikTok
- UK: The Fragrance Shop in-store sales down 47%
- UK: The Body Shop commits to becoming 100% vegan by 2023
- Book and stationery retailing
- UK: Card Factory revenues down 36.9% due to store closures
- UK: The Works sales fall 19% due to lockdowns and store closures
- Pets and pet products retailing
- UK: Pets at Home profits up 35.5% in ‘an extraordinary year’
- Sports and leisure goods retailing
- UK: JD Sports
- …acquire clothing retailer Oi Polloi
- …sell Sports Unlimited Retail for £14m
- …chosen to be official activewear brand for ITV’s Love Island
- Shopping centres
- UK: Westfield London
- …launches new pop-up experience to ‘empower’ independent designers
- …teams up with rental-app By Rotation for physical pop-up
-
News Analysis – Economy
- UK: BRC
- …April retail sales up 7.3%
- …retail sales grow 10% on a two-year basis
- UK: Retail sales up 35.7% in April as restrictions ease
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