Table of Contents
Analyst Comment – New customers mean a new opportunity and a new challenge for garden product retailers
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- Having a multichannel strategy is key
UK Retail Sales
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- Key points
- Retail Sales
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- Figure 1: Retail sales trends, January 2019-May 2021
- BRC vs ONS
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- Figure 2: UK retail sales y/y growth, BRC vs ONS, January 2018 –May 2021
- Inflation
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- Figure 3: Annual % change in the consumer price index for selected product groups, January 2019 –May 2021
- Inflation and wages
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- Figure 4: Real wages growth: Wages growth vs inflation, January 2016 –April 2021
- Looking forward
Sector Focus – Clothing Retailing
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- Online clothing sales slow as physical stores reopen
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- Figure 5: All clothing retail sales and online clothing retail sales January 2019-May 2021
- Store reopenings release pent-up demand
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- Figure 6: Activities done in the past week, 10th June-18th June
- COVID-19 shift priorities for shoppers buying womenswear
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- Figure 7: Changes in women’s priorities when buying clothes for themselves, January 2021
- Males buy clothes for casual work
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- Figure 8: Clothes shopping behaviour in the last 12 months and future interest, January 2021
Launch Activity and Innovations
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- 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
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- 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
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- 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
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- 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
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- 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
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- 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
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- 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
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- 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
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- 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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