#retailweek #retailtrends #retailnews #Retail & #Brand trends for w/e 21st December 2018 #marketingweek

Company Results:

•	ASOS have reported a 13.0% increase in group revenue to £656.0m during the three months ending 30 November 2018. Total retail sales and UK retail sales increased by 12.0% and 19.0% respectively.
•	United Carpets have reported an 8.4% increase in revenue to £10.8m during the six month ending 30 September 2018. Like-for-likes sales decreased by 1.8% during the same period.
•	Victoria Beckham have reported a 17.0% increase in revenue to £42.5m in 2017. The company reported a loss of £10.2m in 2017 as compared to £8.5m in 2016, which they attributed to investments such as overhauling their website. (Source: Retail Gazette)

 

Clothing, Footwear & Accessories:

• Boots UK have announced Tracey Clements as their new Chief Operating Officer and David Hobbs as their new UK Trading Director. Both new hires will report to Boots UK and Ireland’s newly-installed Managing Director, Seb James. (Source: Retail Gazette)

• Burberry have announced the appointment of Rod Manley as their Chief Marketing Officer with effect from 01 January 2019. Rod has previously held many senior positions at Giorgio Armani. (Source: Company Press Releases)

• Ganni have announced plans to launch their first store in the UK in London’s Soho. The company have taken a 2,750sq.ft shop in Beak Street which is expected to open in the spring of 2019. (Source: Retail Bulletin)

• Laura Ashley have announced plans to close 40 stores, representing a quarter of their UK outlets, in a move that puts hundreds of jobs at risk. The company states the stores are closing amid a challenging environment in the UK that has hit sales of expensive products such as furniture. (Source: The Guardian)

• Laura Ashley have also appointed Andrew Khoo Boo Yeow as their new Non-Executive Chairman, replacing Tan Sri Dr Khoo with immediate effect. (Source: Company Press Release)

• Marks and Spencer have announced their first store on the Spanish high street amid plans to shut down around 100 of them in the UK. The company have chosen Malaga for their new location. (Source: Retail Bulletin)

• Sports Direct have announced the appointment of Cally Price as Non-Executive Workforce Director. She will join the Board with effect from 1 January 2019 and will assume her role as workers’ representative. (Source: Retail Bulletin)

 

Electrical & Entertainment:

• The Entertainer has acquired Spanish toy retailer Poly for an undisclosed sum, with the deal bolstering its growing international operations. As part of the acquisition, all 57 Poly stores will remain open and more than 350 jobs retained. (Source: Retail Week)

 

Food & Drink:

• Waitrose have pledged to ban plastic glitter found in their Christmas products by 2020 in response to growing pressure for grocery retailers to do more to combat plastic waste. The company announced the plans to phase out the tiny, shiny flecks, which are made of plastic and can contaminate the oceans and poison marine life. (Source: Retail Gazette)

 

Household:

• Eve Sleep have announced the appointment of Cheryl Calverley as their new Chief Marketing Officer. Calverley will be joining the company at the end of Dec’18. (Source: Retail Bulletin)

• H&M have announced plans to introduce a genderless clothing range in collaboration with Swedish fashion brand Eytys. The new range will include unisex clothing, shoes, and accessories for adults and children. (Source: Retail Gazette)

• H&M have also entered into a partnership with Stora Enso and Inter IKEA to industrialise TreeToTextile, a joint venture between the trio with the aim of developing new textile fibres in a sustainable way at attractive cost levels. (Source: Company Press Releases)

• Ikea have announced the opening date for their new Greenwich store. The 344,445sq. ft. store, located on the Millennium Way Retail Park, is set to open on 07 February 2019. The store will create up to 500 new job opportunities across the store’s core retail department. (Source: Retail Gazette)

• Pets at Home have announced the appointment of William Hewish as their new Chief Information Officer. He will report to the company’s Chief Executive Peter Pritchard and will join the business in early 2019. (Source: Retail Bulletin)

 

Courtesy of ‘Barclays‘