Table of Contents
Analyst Comment – ASOS Profits Surge in Lockdown
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- Responding to demands for ‘lockdown’ products
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- Figure 1: ASOS expanded its loungewear offering in lockdown, 2021
- A renewed demand for occasionwear
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- Figure 2: ASOS’ homepage features garden party outfit inspiration, 2021
- Figure 3: “The May 17th edit”, 2021
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- Figure 4: “Beer Garden Outfits” on online retailer Missguided’s website, 2021
European Retail Sales
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- Key points
- Retail sales
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- Figure 5: Major European economies: Year-on-year retail sales value growth, 2019-21
- Figure 6: Major European economies: year-on-year retail sales volume growth, 2019-21
- Inflation
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- Figure 7: Major European economies: all items CPI, 2019-21
- Figure 8: Major European economies: food price inflation, 2019-21
Launch Activity and Innovations
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- France: Carrefour converts 15 Bio c’Bon sites into Carrefour City stores
- France: Monoprix reveals new convenience format
- France: Decathlon connects the digital and physical in new store format
Headlines for the Month
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- Grocers
- Clothing retailing
- Multi-sector retailing
- Online
- Toy retailing
News Analysis – Food and Drink
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- Convenience stores
- UK: McColl's full-years sales rise 3.2% despite drop in profits
- UK: Nisa cuts wholesale prices for retailers in £2 million investment
- Grocers
- France: Casino Group teams up with Uber Eats
- France: Carrefour
- ...buys three Colruyt stores
- ...to buy Grupo Big from Walmart for €1.1 billion
- ...extends Deliveroo partnership
- ...tests uploading its catalogues to Youtube
- ...to sell DIY COVID-19 tests
- France: Monoprix to open second-hand bike stores in new partnership with Recovelo
- France: Système U turnover grows 8.3%
- Germany: Tegut expands partnership with Amazon
- Italy: Esselunga sales up 2.9% as it plans for further expansion
- Italy: VéGé Group signs delivery partnership with Glovo
- Netherlands: Albert Heijn and Selecta to open unmanned stores
- Poland: Carrefour to expand OUTLET concept to more supermarkets
- Poland: Dino sales up 12.6% as it expands its store presence
- Poland: Salling Group finalises Tesco Poland acquisition
- Portugal: DIA looking to repurpose Clarel stores
- Spain: Aldi tests delivery service with Glovo
- Spain: Carrefour completes Supersol acquisition
- Spain: Mercadona replaces disposable plastic kitchenware with sustainable alternatives
- UK: Aldi
- ...removes plastic straws from all own-label drink cartons
- ...to offer National Lottery at all its stores
- UK: Asda
- ...announces raft of new brand partnerships for George
- ...opens first London in-store vaccination centre
- UK: Iceland launches new convenience format Swift
- UK: Morrisons
- ...revenue up 8.9% despite drop in profits
- ...rolls out ‘quiet hour’ during weekend
- UK: Tesco
- ...launches new plastic ban affecting online shoppers
- ...Pret teams up with Tesco to sell baked goods in supermarkets
- ...launches new plastic recycling scheme
- UK: Waitrose to stop selling magazines with disposable plastic toys
- Other food and drink specialists
- UK: Greggs suffers £14m loss due to store closures
- UK: Thorntons to close all shops risking 600 jobs
News Analysis – Clothing and Footwear
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- Clothing retailing
- Italy: Primark set to open eight Italian stores
- Spain: Inditex profits fall in a 'difficult' year
- Sweden: H&M first-quarter sales fall 27%
- UK: Barbour sees turnover rise 7.8% despite ‘significant’ COVID-19 impact
- UK: Boda Skins rolls out buy-back scheme
- UK: Boux Avenue unveils first athleisure collection
- UK: Browns unveils new four-storey ‘destination’ store
- UK: Burberry updates full-year outlook after rebound in sales
- UK: Fred Perry opens new Manchester flagship
- UK: Frugi Group sales up 51%
- UK: Joules to open stores in Center Parcs holiday villages
- UK: menswear rental service Garmentry launches in the UK
- UK: Next
- ...pre-tax profits drop 53% amid ‘a crisis unprecedented in living memory’
- ...buys 25% stake in upmarket fashion retailer Reiss
- UK: Peacocks rescued out of administration saving 2,000 jobs
- UK: Ralph & Russo fall into administration
- UK: retailers call on the government to reopen fitting rooms
- UK: Ted Baker launches live shopping service for UK customers
- UK: The Carlyle Group buys majority stake in End
- UK: Weird Fish ecommerce grew 84% as it focuses on investing in digital and in-store experiences
- Footwear retailing
- UK: Clarks takeover completed
- UK: Kurt Geiger to open nine new stores
News Analysis – Mixed Goods
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- Multi-sector retailing
- Finland: Kesko Group comparable sales up 3%
- France: GiFi celebrates 40th anniversary with more store openings
- UK: B&M hires new digital director signalling a possible ecommerce push
- UK: Halfords acquires Universal Tyre and Autocentres for £15m
- UK: M&S
- ...outlines reopening plans with new campaign
- ...set to add Sosandar offering to website
- ...turns closed cafes into Easter pop-up stores
- UK: Poundland
- ...set to open 30 new stores
- ...renegotiates 180 leases
- UK: Wilko to roll out in-store recycling face-mask scheme
- Department stores
- UK: Debenhams
- ...Leicester store to be converted into flats
- ...to reopen for closing down sale
- UK: John Lewis
- …‘does not expect to reopen all John Lewis shops at the end of lockdown’
- …closes eight more stores
- UK: Selfridges reveals first kitchen pop-up
News Analysis – Household Goods
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- DIY retailing
- UK: Homebase reveals revamped website
- UK: Kingfisher
- …sales grow 7% as it sees ‘new generation of DIY’ers’ emerge
- ...to launch B&Q stores in Saudi Arabia
- UK: Screwfix plans 50 new store openings creating 600 jobs
- UK: Topps Tiles sales fall 17.3% thanks to lockdown restrictions
- UK: Wickes and Travis Perkins demerger resumes
- Furniture retailing
- UK: Eve Sleep reduces annual losses by 83%
- UK: Owner of Julian Charles pledges to invest £20m for new retail acquisition
- UK: ScS revenues up 14.4% as CEO steps down
- UK: Victoria Plum sales grow by a record 46%
- Homewares retailing
- UK: Home furnishing retailer Terrys sees 109% increase in demand during lockdowns
News Analysis – Online
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- Germany: Zalando revenues up 23% for the year
- UK: Amazon reduces shares in Deliveroo
- UK: Asos
- ...aims to raise £500 million to help global expansions push
- ...interim revenues up 24% as customers become confident in online shopping
- UK: Boohoo turns to vintage fabric amid sustainability drive
- UK: N Brown launches new brands to third-party offer starting with Finery
- UK: Ocado
- ...quarterly revenues grow 40% ‘reflecting strong demand for online grocery’
- ...relaunches own-label range as plastic-free
News Analysis – Other Retail
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- Health & beauty retailing
- UK: Boots online sales surge 105%
- UK: Lloyds Pharmacy rolls out UK’s first COVID-19 nasal spray
- UK: Superdrug to stock Missguided Beauty
- Sports and leisure goods retailing
- UK: Decathlon opens experiential flagship in Leeds
- UK: Evans Cycle to cut 300 jobs
- UK: Frasers Group acquires retail park in Wigan
- UK: Nike severs ties with Urban Outfitters as part of its DTC strategy
- Toy retailing
- France: King Jouet acquires six Swiss Maxi Toys stores
- Garden centres
- UK: Dobbies
- ...rolls out virtual spring events
- ...reveals new Little Dobbies format in Bristol
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