UK Retail Briefing - April 2019

ANALYST COMMENT
 DEPARTMENT STORES IN TURMOIL
Shadow boxing
The administration
Management
Was Bucher worth backing?
What about Sports Direct?
Where next?
Worth saving
UK RETAIL SALES
Key points
Retail sales
Figure 1: Retail sales trends, March 2018 – March 2019
BRC vs ONS
Figure 2: UK retail sales y/y growth, BRC vs ONS, March 2017-March 2019
John Lewis
Figure 3: John Lewis Department Stores: Year-on-Year Growth, October 2017 – April 2019
Inflation
Figure 4: Annual percentage change in the consumer price index for selected product groups, 2018-19
Inflation and wages
Figure 4: Real wages growth: Wages growth vs inflation, Jan 2016 – March 2019
Consumer confidence
Figure 5: Mintel Financial confidence tracker, January 2017 – February 2019
Looking forward
SECTOR FOCUS – CLOTHING AND FOOTWEAR 
Clothing and footwear specialists underperformed in 2018
Figure 7: Annual % change in value clothing and footwear retail sales, non-seasonally adjusted, by month, Jan 2018-Mar 2019
Figure 8: Annual % change in volume clothing and footwear retail sales, non-seasonally adjusted, by month, Jan 2018-March 2019
Clothing and footwear inflation
Figure 9: CPI: Annual % change in the price of clothing and footwear (incl. repairs), Mar 2018-Mar 2019
Consumer spending slows down in 2018
Figure 10: Consumer spending on clothing and footwear, at current prices, non-seasonally adjusted, 2018
Sustainability concerns resonating more with younger consumers
Figure 11: Clothing buying behaviours: agreement with sustainability statements, by age, August 2018
Vegan footwear could be a future trend
LAUNCH ACTIVITY AND INNOVATIONS
UK: Co-op launches new online delivery service
UK: Aldi unveils new local store format
UK: Asda announces plans to sell George clothing products made of recycled plastic
UK: H&M trials selling vintage clothing online
HEADLINES FOR THE MONTH
Co-ops
Grocers
Clothing retailing
Footwear retailing
Department stores
Furniture retailing
Homewares retailing
Online
Health & beauty retailing
NEWS ANALYSIS – FOOD AND DRINK
 CO-OPS
UK: Co-op
…posts best growth in seven years for its food business
…teams up with ethical living app
…to double number of stalls at UK music festivals
…to stop selling kitchen knives in response to increase in knife crime
 CONVENIENCE STORES
UK: Shell launches a new rewards programme
 GROCERS
UK: Lidl to roll out wonky fruit & veg boxes
UK: Morrisons
…reports uplift in sales and profits
…stocking up in preparation for a no-deal Brexit
UK: Sainsbury's and Asda reveal new details of their official responses to CMA investigation
UK: Tesco
…trial uses technology to recycle all forms of plastic packaging
…to trial plastic-free fruit & veg
…posts increase in full-year profits
 OFF-LICENCES
UK: Majestic to rebrand as Naked Wines
NEWS ANALYSIS – CLOTHING AND FOOTWEAR
UK: Bonmarché
…issues third profit warning
…Philip Day acquires Bonmarché for £5.7 million
UK: H&M to create 800 new jobs through new Milton Keynes warehouse
UK: Joules CEO to retire
UK: Mamas & Papas enters into a partnership with John Lewis
UK: Monki unveils sustainable swimwear line
UK: Moss Bros posts a full year loss
UK: New Look
…operations boss exits amid management reshuffle
…to stop selling menswear in-store
UK: Next annual profits dip
UK: Philip Green looking to restructure Arcadia Group
UK: Pretty Green
…officially collapses into administration
…attracts interest from buyers
…JD Sports acquires Pretty Green out of administration
UK: River Island acquires Mint Velvet for £100 million
UK: Select lines up administrators
UK: Superdry
…battling against its founder’s return to the business
…Julian Dunkerton re-joins Superdry Board following narrow vote win
 FOOTWEAR RETAILING
UK: Clarks hires three new non-executive directors
UK: Dune
…launches rescue bid for LK Bennett
…relaunches Head over Heels brand
UK: Mike Ashley moves to buy LK Bennett
NEWS ANALYSIS – MIXED GOODS 
UK: Poundworld founders launch discount chain One Below
 MULTI-SECTOR RETAILING
UK: M&S
…revives This is Not Just marketing campaign for its food business
…to open larger food stores
 DEPARTMENT STORES
UK: Debenhams
…announces it is in advanced negotiations to secure a £150 million lifeline
…considers pre-pack administration
…Sports Direct considers £61.4 million offer for Debenhams
…rejects Mike Ashley’s latest offer
…falls into administration
…secures £200 million cash injection
…secures £200 million financing deal
…Mike Ashley announces plan to take over the running of Debenhams
…Sports Direct offer Debenhams a new loan
UK: John Lewis Partnership vows to have zero carbon emissions by 2050
NEWS ANALYSIS – HOUSEHOLD GOODS
 DIY RETAILING
UK: Topps Tiles reports improved second quarter sales performance
 ELECTRICAL RETAILING
UK: Carphone Warehouse fined for mis-selling insurance
 FURNITURE RETAILING
UK: IKEA
…announces opening date of new planning studio
…unveils latest Planning Studio in Bromley
UK: ScS cautions that second half profit margins could be hit
UK: DFS sees surge in H1 profits
 HOMEWARES RETAILING
UK: Dunelm reports strong third quarter growth
UK: The Range set to open new head office this summer
NEWS ANALYSIS – ONLINE
UK: AO.com launches white goods rental service
UK: ASOS to crackdown on serial returners
UK: Boohoo
…acquires MissPap
…new CEO takes over at Boohoo
UK: Eve Sleep reports widening losses
UK: Express Gifts rebrands to Studio Retail
UK: Findel rejects Mike Ashley’s takeover offer
UK: Gear4Music posts second profit warning
UK: Little Mistress to launch rental service
UK: Ocado
…revenue increases by 11.2% following warehouse blaze
…starts trial of one-hour delivery service
UK: Oh Polly posts strong year-on-year growth
UK: Shop Direct to rebrand as The Very Group
UK: Sosandar expects full-year results to be in line with expectations
UK: Woven celebrates a successful 2018
NEWS ANALYSIS – OTHER RETAIL
 HEALTH & BEAUTY RETAILING
UK: Boots
…beauty halls undergoing a revamp
…possible Boots store closures ahead
 BOOK AND STATIONERY RETAILING
UK: Paperchase CVA given the green light
UK: Office Outlet
…collapses into administration
…administrators close 16 stores and axes 161 jobs
 SPORTS AND LEISURE GOODS RETAILING
UK: Brompton Bicycle opening flagship in Westfield
UK: Evans Cycles to close 8 stores following Sports Direct takeover
UK: JD Sports to buy Footasylum for £90m
 GARDEN CENTRES
UK: A further 6 Wyevale garden centres sold off
UK: Nisa signs new partnership with Dobbies
 TOYS AND GAMES RETAILING
UK: Game ramping up its transformation strategy
UK: Hobbycraft launches Custom Crafting experience at Crawley
UK: The Entertainer
…reports 31% increase in full-year profit
…Mothercare sells Early Learning Centre to The Entertainer for £13.5 million
NEWS ANALYSIS – ECONOMY
UK: February retail sales up by 4.0%
UK: Google launches digital skills programme to boost high streets