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UK Retail Briefing - UK - February 2021

ANALYST COMMENT – HOW UK RETAILERS ARE HELPING VALENTINE'S DAY CELEBRATIONS AT HOME
Ava May Aroma’s Valentine’s Day gift box
Figure 1: Ava May Aroma’s I Love You gift box, 2021
Interflora’s ‘self-partnered’ range of flowers
Figure 2: Interflora’s ‘self-partnered’ flower bouquet, 2021
Lush launches subscription box
Figure 3: Lush subscription box, 2021
Morrisons Valentine's Day movie night set
Figure 4: Morrisons Valentine’s day movie night set, 2021
What we think
UK RETAIL SALES
Key points
Retail Sales
Figure 5: Retail sales trends, January 2019 – January 2021
BRC vs ONS
Figure 6: UK retail sales y/y growth, BRC vs ONS, January 2018 – January 2021
Inflation
Figure 7: Annual % change in the consumer price index for selected product groups, January 2019 – January 2021
Inflation and wages
Figure 8: Real wages growth: Wages growth vs inflation, January 2016 – November 2020
Looking forward
SECTOR FOCUS – CLOTHING RETAILING
What we have seen
Clothing sales slump in January
Figure 12: Growth in store based clothing sales, year on year, January 2019- January 2021
Consumers are spending less on clothing
Figure 9: Percentage of consumes who said they are spending  more, about the same or less in next month on clothing and accessories, 4th February 2021 - 12th February 2021
Retailers need to make store COVID friendly
Figure 10: Clothes shopping behaviour in-store once clothes stores have reopened following COVID-19 lockdown, August 2020
COVID-19 changes shopping habits
Figure 11: Changes in clothes shopping behaviour since COVID-19, August 2020
LAUNCH ACTIVITY AND INNOVATIONS
UK: Iceland expands Uber Eats deal to offer 20-minute delivery
UK: Joules extends into gardening with new acquisition
UK: John Lewis adds 50 new brands to its fashion and beauty offering
HEADLINES FOR THE MONTH
Co-ops
Grocers
Other food and drink specialists
Clothing retailing
Multi-sector retailing
Department stores
DIY retailing
Electrical retailing
Online
NEWS ANALYSIS – FOOD AND DRINK
 CO-OPS
UK: Central England Co-op sees Christmas sales grow 9.2%
 GROCERS
UK: Aldi to offer first click-and-collect service to Irish customers
UK: Asda
...to offer 5,000 nurseries priority access to delivery slots
...EG Group to acquire Asda forecourt business for £750m
UK: Booths Christmas sales up 11% on a like for like basis
UK: Lidl festive sales up 18% during the festive period
UK: Sainsbury's
...to launch own-brand compostable tea bags
...unveils Fresh Food Market after successful trial
UK: Tesco
...delivers ‘record Christmas’ as sales grow 6.8%
...says Brexit is a ‘challenge but not a crisis’
 OTHER FOOD AND DRINK SPECIALISTS
UK: Hotel Chocolat sales up 19% as shoppers move online
NEWS ANALYSIS – CLOTHING AND FOOTWEAR
 CLOTHING RETAILING
UK: Apricot to switch majority of UK stores to turnover based rents as CVA is approved
UK: Asos
...joins as contender in the race for Topshop
...buys Topshop for £295m in ‘a hugely exciting moment’
...Topshop and Miss Selfridges websites officially shut under new owner Asos
UK: Boohoo
...in exclusive talks to buy Burton and Dorothy Perkins
...acquires remaining Arcadia brands for £25.2 million
UK: Burberry festive sales down 9%
UK: Charles Tyrwhitt warns of further store closures
UK: French Connection considers sale after receiving takeover approaches
UK: Hawes & Curtis move into loungewear
UK: Jigsaw sales fall by £31m as it completes CVA and restructuring process
UK: Joules revenue falls 15.2% due to store closures amid the pandemic
UK: Knomo acquired by marketing agency as part of new retail division
UK: M&S finalises deal with Jaeger
UK: Mango to launch into homewares in the spring
UK: Matalan Christmas sales drop 11.2%
UK: Primark warns of £1bn loss in sales due to lockdown but refuses to move online
UK: Quiz revenues down 73% as pandemic ‘significantly’ impacts demand
UK: Seasalt Christmas online orders ‘more than compensated’ for lost store sales
UK: Superdry interim sales down 23% ‘reflecting COVID-19 effects’
UK: Sweaty Betty revenues grow 60% buoyed by demand for activewear during lockdown
UK: Vans owner sees revenues drop 6%
 FOOTWEAR RETAILING
UK: Hotter Shoes online sales grow 27% over festive period
UK: Kurt Geiger sales up 3.7% pre-COVID pandemic
UK: Dr Martens
...announces ‘next exciting stage of development’ and considers IPO
...confirms IPO marking ‘an important milestone’
...reveals IPO details
NEWS ANALYSIS – MIXED GOODS
 MULTI-SECTOR RETAILING
UK: Halfords sales up 7.7% after ‘best ever’ Christmas week
UK: M&S launches online learning resources amid school closures
UK: Poundland sees festive like for like sales jump 2.4%
 DEPARTMENT STORES
UK: Debenhams
...to close Oxford flagship and cut 320 jobs
...Boohoo buys Debenhams for £55 million
UK: Jenners to close leading to 200 redundancies
UK: Selfridges
...profits drop 10% amid ‘a challenging retail backdrop’
...reveals permanent bike shop at Oxford Street flagship
NEWS ANALYSIS – HOUSEHOLD GOODS
 DIY RETAILING
UK: Kingfisher reports strong Q4 and expects profits at top end of estimates
UK: Screwfix reaches £2 billion milestone in sales
 ELECTRICAL RETAILING
UK: Dixons Carphone sees online sales surge 121% driven by TVs, computing and gaming
 FURNITURE RETAILING
UK: Jysk remains committed to expansion plans despite current climate
 HOMEWARES RETAILING
UK: Dunelm
...interim profits grow 23% as it benefited from pent-up demand in first quarter
...surge of online demand in boosting Christmas sales
UK: Simba sales at £100m despite ‘exhausting’ year
NEWS ANALYSIS – ONLINE
UK: Amazon revenues surge 38% year-on-year amid ecommerce boom
UK: Asos sales up 23% to £1.3 billion
UK: Boohoo increases revenue outlook as sales grow 40% in the UK
UK: Eve Sleep sales up 6% in the year after record festive sales
UK: Feelunique festive sales grow 39%
UK: DIY etailer ManoMano sees record sales driven by UK demand
UK: In The Style sales up 169% thanks to ‘very strong’ Black Friday and Christmas
UK: Moonpig
...to press ahead with IPO plans
...valued at £1.2bn as float begins
UK: N Brown sales fall 8.9% despite hailing ‘continued improvement’
UK: Notonthehighstreet acquired by US Great Hill Partners
UK: Ocado revenue up 35% as it invests into its capacity and technology during pandemic
UK: OnBuy hails record start to 2021 and looks to international expansion
UK: Studio Retail Group sales up by 17.2%
UK: The Hut Group
...completes takeover of Dermstore
...Christmas sales up 51%
UK: Very sales up 25% as Christmas shopping started early
NEWS ANALYSIS – OTHER RETAIL
 BOOK AND STATIONERY RETAILING
UK: Card Factory sales dip due to store closures
UK: Paperchase
...rescued out of administration
...to close 27 stores as part of rescue deal
UK: WHSmith Christmas period ‘better than anticipated’
UK: The Works hails ‘robust’ interim performance as online sales double
 SPORTS AND LEISURE GOODS RETAILING
UK: JD Sports
...and Fat Face latest to stop click-and-collect services
...enhances presence in the US with $495m acquisition
...increases full-year outlook to £400m
...raises £464m to help drive expansion plans
 JEWELLERS
UK: Watches of Switzerland sees sales 6.6% in ‘another strong performance’
 PETS AND PET PRODUCTS RETAILING
UK: Pets at Home sees ‘robust’ Christmas trading
 SHOPPING CENTRES
UK: Westfield Stratford to open COVID-19 vaccination centre
NEWS ANALYSIS – ECONOMY
UK: BRC
...January retail sales fall -1.3% on a total basis
...retail sales up 1.8% in December
UK: All retail sales dipped 0.3% in December

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