Table of Contents
Retail Sales – Background and Outlook
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- Key points
- Retail sales trends
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- Figure 1: Retail sales trends, 2014/15
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- Figure 2: UK retail sales y/y growth, BRC vs ONS, 2013-15
- John Lewis
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- Figure 3: John Lewis: Year-on-year growth, 2014
- Inflation and wages
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- Figure 4: The income squeeze: Wages growth vs inflation, 2009-14
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- Figure 5: Annual percentage change in the consumer price index for selected product groups, 2014
- Looking forward
Sector Focus – DIY and Furniture Retailing
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- Key points
- Retail sales: A good year for both categories
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- Figure 6: DIY and hardware specialists’ sector sales: Annual % change, January 2013-January 2015
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- Figure 7: Furniture and lighting specialists’ sector sales: annual% change, January 2013-January 2015
- Record levels of low inflation
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- Figure 8: Annual% change in consumer price index for furniture, household equipment & routine maintenance and overall CPI, January 2014- January 2015
- Housing market continues to improve
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- Figure 9: Number of UK residential property transactions, non-seasonally adjusted, January 2013-December 2014
- Furniture news analysis
- Sofa retailers head to the market
- Sofa.com acquired
- New 200-store floorings chain to launch in summer 2015
Headlines for the Month
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- Grocers
- Other food specialists
- Clothing retailing
- Footwear retailing
- Department stores
- Multi-sector retailing
- Electrical retailing
- Music and video goods retailing
- Furniture and DIY retailing
- Home shopping
- Book and stationery retailing
- Economy
News Analysis – Food and Drink
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- Convenience stores
- UK: Booker to expand its Family Shopper banner
- UK: Conviviality Retail purchases all GT News stores
- UK: McColl’s posts ‘resilient’ Christmas sales
- UK: Scotmid reveals first ‘food to go’ outlet
- UK: Spar UK sales up 5%
- Grocers
- UK: Aldi to open 70 new stores in 2015
- UK: Asda
- …chief announces changes to executive team
- …prepared to invest £170m in superstores
- ...teams up with Timpson Dry Cleaners
- UK: Budgens unveils new concept for smaller stores
- UK: Grocery market grows over Christmas
- UK: Lidl sales up 20% over Christmas
- UK: Morrisons
- …CEO steps down as sales fall
- …considers appointing David Potts
- …like-for-likes fall 3.1% during the Christmas period
- …to sell three stores for £100m
- …to close salary-linked pension schemes
- UK: Sainsbury’s to cut 500 jobs
- UK: Tesco
- …appoints two agencies
- …CIO leaves for Target
- …close to Blinkbox Music sale
- …creates shopping app for Google Glass
- …facing investigation by Groceries Code Adjudicator
- …implements online community for suppliers
- …makes further senior personnel cuts
- …narrows down the search for chairman role
- …reveals the 43 stores facing closure
- …to close Blinkbox Books
- UK: Waitrose
- …announces 2015 expansion plans
- …alters free hot drink deal
- Off-licences
- UK: Bargain Booze sales dip 0.4% in first half
- Other food specialists
- UK: Greggs reports a ‘very strong Christmas’
- UK: Naked Wines reports on a ‘bumper’ Christmas
- UK: Thorntons reports strong Christmas trading
News Analysis – Non-food
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- Clothing retailing
- UK: Austin Reed Group
- …to close 31 stores
- …CVA gains approval
- UK: Bank gains interest
- UK: BHS up for sale
- UK: Bonmarché sales up 6.1% over Christmas
- UK: Burberry Q3 retail sales increase 15%
- UK: Jules B owners invest to make up for accounting errors
- UK: Karen Millen’s losses double
- UK: Mamas & Papas widens losses
- UK: Matalan Q3 sales down 7.7%
- UK: Mothercare UK like-for-likes edge up over Christmas
- UK: New Look like-for-like sales fall 1.7%
- UK: Phase Eight bought for £238m
- UK: Pretty Green sales climb by a third
- UK: SuperGroup sales rise 12.4%
- UK: The White Company sales jump 14.4%
- UK: TM Lewin returns to profit
- UK: White Stuff sees strong uplift at Christmas
- Footwear and accessories retailing
- UK: Kurt Geiger
- …enters children’s footwear market
- …reports Christmas boost
- UK: Jimmy Choo grows revenues by 12%
- UK: Office receives official warning following customer data breach
- UK: Radley increases turnover by 13%
- UK: Shoe Zone sales drop 10.8% in 2014
- UK: Shoon put up for sale
- Department stores
- UK: Beales accepts offer from English Rose
- UK: Debenhams hosts Bestseller’s first UK concessions
- UK: Harrods to stock smart running jackets
- UK: John Lewis
- …closes Defined Benefit pension scheme
- …makes changes to holiday pay policy
- …to open third distribution centre in Milton Keynes
- UK: Sports Direct’s Mike Ashley increases put option in Debenhams
- Multi-sector retailing
- UK: Argos
- …like-for-like sales flat over Christmas
- …to exclusively stock Cherokee
- …to open digital shops in Sainsbury’s
- UK: B&M Q3 sales surge 28.8%
- UK: Marks and Spencer poaches Next’s head of menswear design
- UK: Original Factory Shop report record-breaking Christmas
- UK: Poundland
- …posts revenue growth of 9.8%
- …to acquire 99p stores
- Electrical retailing
- UK: Dixons Carphone report ‘strong’ Christmas trading
- UK: Dixons Carphone signs new partnership with EE and launches own mobile service
- UK: Rent-to-own retailers to be investigated by the FCA
- UK: Three owners in talks to buy O2
- Music and video goods retailing
- UK: Game issues profit warning
- UK: HMV sales up 17.5%
- Furniture and DIY retailing
- UK: Carpetright like-for-like sales increase 7.5%
- UK: DFS
- …announces IPO
- …to target valuation of £1bn
- UK: Ikea grows sales by 11.1%
- UK: Made.com opens digital showroom in Soho
- UK: Sofa.com sold for £50m
- Home shopping
- UK: AO World Q3 revenues increase 38%
- UK: Asos
- …founder sells £20m worth of shares
- …reports positive Christmas growth
- UK: First beacon-enabled click-and-collect system launched
- UK: International appetite for UK brands increases
- UK: Ocado
- …Christmas trading up 14.8%
- …reports first annual pre-tax profit
- …teams up with Marie Claire for online beauty store
- UK: Shop Direct
- …launches first mobile app
- …growth driven by Very
- Health and beauty retailing
- UK: AS Watson
- …posts strong Christmas trading
- …to acquire Dirx Drugstores
- UK: Bestway to rebrand Co-operative Pharmacies
- Book and stationery retailing
- UK: Blackwell's returns to profit
- UK: Card Factory
- …eyes up Paperchase
- …revenues up 8.1%
- UK: Foyles appoint new CEO
- UK: Paperchase increases like-for-likes by 3.1%
- UK: WH Smith sees high street sales fall 5%
- Sports and Leisure Goods Retailing
- UK: Evans Cycles draws interest from Mike Ashley
- UK: Halfords report bumper Christmas
- UK: JD Sports like-for-likes jump 12%
- UK: Sports Direct facing claim from zero-hour workers
- Opticians
- UK: Pets at Home has a ‘robust’ quarter
- Economy
- UK: Crime costs the retail industry £603m
- UK: December retail sales decline 0.4%
- UK: Retail sales grow 2.5% in December
- UK: Shop prices fell 1.3% in January
- UK: UK retail sales edge up 0.2% in January
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