Company results:

Clothing, Footwear & Accessories

• Burberry have appointed Gavin Haig as Chief Commercial Officer with effect from 23 April 2018. In this newly created position, Gavin will be responsible for all regions in which Burberry operates. Gavin joins Burberry after four years at Belstaff, where he served as Chief Executive Officer. (Source: Company Press Release)

• Burberry have also partnered with Fartech to provide modules for the Dream Assembly programme. Dream Assembly will provide a cohort of the world’s most promising start-ups with a programme of mentorship, networking opportunities and access to early-stage funding. (Source: Company Press Release)

• Debenhams have partnered with Western Union to expand its foreign exchange services allowing customers to make global money transfers across 112 of its stores. The move is part of Debenham’s drive to expand its offering in an attempt to return the business to health. (Source: Retail Gazette)

• East, the fashion retailer, have announced it will stop trading from 4 May 2018. It will result in almost 300 job redundancies at the business (Source: GlobalData)

• FeelUnique have launched a pre-order service which will allow customers to buy new products a month ahead of their release. Pre-orders from the online retailer will be delivered to customers on the same day the products are put on general sale. (Source: Retail Week)

• Fenwick have launched a consultation with its staff as new boss Robbie Feather restructures the business. The department store chain is moving away from its current “single store ownership” to a “group ownership” model, led by a central team of Executive Directors spanning buying, marketing, IT, finance and human resources. (Source: Retail Week)

• Matches fashion have appointed Tom Athron as Chief Operating Officer with immediate effect. He has spent three years as the partnership’s development director at John Lewis. (Source: Retail Week)

• Quiz have announced that it has teamed up with N Brown Group, a leading online fashion retailer, to offer its stylish casual and evening wear curve range collection to N Brown’s two womenswear power brands, J D Williams and SimplyBe. (Source: Company Press Release)

• Yoox Net-a-Porter have launched a dedicated platform for selling luxury jewellery as its merger with Richemont enters the final phases. The luxury jewellery hub, dubbed the Fine Jewellery and Watch Suite, will help the online giant to reach its goal of £87.4m in sales within the category by 2020. (Source: Retail Gazette)

Electrical & Entertainment 

• Hamleys have plans to purchase stake in House of Fraser and has signed a memorandum of understanding. Nanjing Xinjiekou, a subsidiary of Sanpower which has been looking to offload some of its 89.0% stake in House of Fraser since March 2018, has signed an agreement with Hamleys’ owner C Banner International Holdings. (Source: Retail Gazette)

• Smyth Toys have struck a deal with Toys R Us to buy its business in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. It already has 90 stores across Britain and Northern Ireland, as well as 21 shops in the Republic of Ireland where it is based, but this will mark its first foray into mainland Europe. (Source: Retail Gazette)

• Waterstones have been sold to Elliott Advisors UK. Waterstones Chief Executive James Daunt, who has steered the retailer to success during its ownership by Russian tycoon Alexander Mamut, will remain in post under the new ownership. (Source: Retail Week)

• WHSmith have plans to open seven new stores in Rio de Janeiro-Galeão International Airport as it looks to continue its international expansion plans. Now with Rio de Janeiro in sight, WHSmith will team up with Duty Free Americas to launch seven new stores in August 2018, making its debut in South America. (Source: Retail Gazette)

Food & Drink

• Co-op have announced its plans to acquire convenience retailer and wholesaler Nisa at £137.5m. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has approved the deal. The transaction remains subject to Court sanction of the Scheme on 4 May 2018. (Source: Company Press Release)

• Co-op have also launched a new mobile website to enable food store staff to manage their shifts digitally. After the launch, the Co-op found that over 10,000 employees had registered to use the system in just over 48 hours. (Source: Retail Bulletin)

• Harrods have opened three fine wine and spirits rooms with bottles costing from £12 to £28,000. Aficionados will be able to get their hands on personalised engraved bottles and advice on how to build their wine cellar collection. (Source: GlobalData)

• John Lewis have extended its retail tech innovation programme JLab to run all year long with the first initiative focused on health and wellbeing. For the first time in its five year history, JLAB will run throughout the year rather than as a one-off 12 week innovation programme. (Source: Company Press Release)

Household 

• Argos have created 150 permanent tech jobs who can support its growing digital business and make shopping even better and more convenient for customers. Roles will be used at Origin, Argos’ technology hub in Victoria, London, or in the head office at Milton Keynes.(Source: Company Press Release)

• Carpetright have announced that, Meditor Capital Management, the largest shareholder have almost doubled its stake from 16.5% to 30.0%. Meditor is believed to have bought most of the shares from Franklin Templeton, an American investment manager which has now reduced its holding from 15.9% to 1.7%. (Source: GlobalData)

• Poundworld have revealed plans to launch Company Voluntary Agreement (CVA) in the coming weeks risking hundreds of jobs and swathes of stores. (Source: Retail Gazette)

• Selfridges have launched its first ever advertising campaign for broadcast in cinemas. The campaign includes a 60 second film shot by Director and Photographer Norbert Schoerner in support of Selfridges’ new creative retail scheme, Radical Luxury. (Source: Retail Bulletin)

Motor

• JC Halliday have opened Northern Ireland’s first DS Automobiles dealership. A completely new build, the new DS Store includes: a 3,300 sq-ft showroom with space for five vehicles; a 3D DS Virtual Vision area with a life-size car configuration tool; and a DS ambience-scented lounge area. (Source: AM Online)

• Lookers have announced the closure of its Vauxhall dealership in Yardley and Warrington following that car manufacturer’s decision to terminate all its franchise contracts. (Source: AM Online)

• Mitsubishi have plans to open 12 care retail stores in high-footfall shopping locations as it pushes towards a new omni-channel car sales strategy in partnership with Rockar. (Source: AM Online)

• Now Motor Retailing have closed its Vauxhall dealership in Marlborough, Wiltshire. The group has informed customers that in future they should contact its Swindon branch, which is 17 miles away, and that any cars on order from Marlborough will be delivered to that dealership. (Source: AM Online)

• Saxon Bridge Automotive have teamed up with Buzz2Get for its car superstore in Milton Keynes to help improve the customer buying experience. The four acre, 500-car supermarket will open to the public on 5 May 2018. (Source: Motor Trader)

• Stephen James BMW have opened the UK’s first BMW store at Kent’s Bluewater shopping centre. Staffed by a team of eight product geniuses and with a robot taking on part of the role usually filled by sales executives the new facility will allow shoppers to take a test drive moments after booking a slot on an interactive touchscreen. (Source: AM Online)

• Vospers have started construction of a new multi-franchise dealership in Exeter. In addition to the 28 service bays, the new workshop will feature the latest manufacturer and independent diagnostic equipment, including a Proline multi-check lane with the latest four-wheel alignment system. (Source: Motor Trader)

Courtesy of ‘Barclays‘