Burberry ‘optimal opportunity for investors’ as turnaround gains steam Retail Analysts have labelled Burberry’s share ‘undervalued’ as the brand’s plan to turn its back on a rocky year gains steam. The FTSE 250 firm reported a major improvement in half-yearly sales on May 14 – although it wasn’t quite enough to stop the company falling into an operating loss for the financial year. Sales fell [...]
Historically sunny spring to set UK retailers up for a bumper quarter Retail The UK’s sunniest spring on record has encouraged Brits into brick and mortar stores in a much-needed boost for Britain’s struggling retailers. Britain experienced its sunniest April ever in 2025, while Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland each recorded their second sunniest. The effect has been to loosen wallets and “encourage shoppers to head out to [...]
Zara boss calls for crackdown on fast-fashion tax loophole Retail The head of Zara’s parent company has called for a US-style crackdown on shipments of small goods in Europe to “level the playing field” between Chinese and European firms. Chinese giants Shein and Temu have heavily disrupted the global fashion market in the last few years, putting pressure on older companies. Part of their meteoric [...]
M&S will ‘need to go on a charm offensive’ to win customers back May 8, 2025 Analysts have warned that Marks and Spencer (M&S) faces an uphill battle to win back customers when it has dealt with its ongoing cyber attack. The high street darling told markets it had suffered a “cyber incident” at the end of April. Around £1bn has been wiped off its market value since 1 April, and [...]
Co-op breach a ‘stark reminder of why cash remains essential’ May 8, 2025 The disruption to card payments at Co-op stores last week is a warning to Brits on over reliance on digital payments, according to a leading consultancy firm. The Co-op shut down parts of its IT systems last week and suspended contactless payments at nearly 10 per cent of stores after detecting a potential breach. “The [...]
Asos: Losses narrow as e-commerce giant drives turnaround April 24, 2025 Struggling ecommerce giant Asos has reported reduced losses as its turnaround plan begins to take shape. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) moved into positive territory at £42.5m in the 26 weeks to March 2, from a loss of £16.3m last year. Its share price dipped by nearly two per cent in [...]
City broker upgrades Boohoo shares to ‘Hold’ April 23, 2025 City broker Shore Capital has upgraded fast-fashion retailer Boohoo, now trading as Debenhams, from a ‘Sell’ to a ‘Hold’ in light of its falling share price. Boohoo’s share price has dropped by more than a third since last November, after a series of poor trading updates and a public spat with Mike Ashley. Shore Capital [...]
Tourist tax: Lisa Nandy says Labour may ‘explore’ restoring VAT free shopping April 16, 2025 Lisa Nandy has said the government “could explore” restoring VAT free shopping after hearing “very loud and clear” the calls from the industry to scrap the so-called tourist tax. The culture, media and sport secretary told Elle UK magazine that fashion was in the “soul of the nation” and ministers recognised its “centrality” to the [...]
B&M: Poor UK sales weigh on earnings for bargain retailer April 15, 2025 Discount retailer B&M expects full-year earnings to fall year on year as poor UK sales weigh on overall company performance. However, the company told markets this morning that it expects to report earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) above the midpoint of its £605m-£625m guidance range. The firm lowered its expected full-year EBITDA [...]
Retail sales rise in March but tariff turmoil signals trouble ahead April 15, 2025 Retail sales rose in March despite low consumer confidence, according to new data, but tariff uncertainty is likely to dampen the recovery. Total retail sales increased by 1.1 per cent year on year in March, with 1.6 per cent growth in food sales and 0.6 per cent growth in non-food sales. While this was below [...]