Company Results

Clothing, Footwear & Accessories 

• Asos have extended their ‘Asos Instant’ same day delivery service to Birmingham. The move follows the launch of the service in London, Leeds and Manchester over the past six months. (Source: Retail Bulletin)

• Burberry have entered into an agreement to acquire luxury leather goods business CF&P. CF&P has been a longstanding Burberry supplier, and the transaction will give greater control to Burberry over quality, cost, delivery and sustainability of their leather goods. (Source: Company Press Release)

• Debenhams have launched three new suiting brands as part of a new in-store tailoring concept called Age of Now. The new offering is being introduced in the retailer’s Oxford Street and Westfield White City stores in London, and online from September. (Source: Retail Bulletin)

• JD Sports have launched a new dedicated website for their own brand athleisure range, Supply & Demand. Supply & Demand was formerly stocked at JD Sports stores and on Getthelabel.com but it has now been relaunched as an online-only fashion brand and retailer. (Source: Retail Gazette)

• Missguided have announced that their Online Chief Executive Officer, Gareth Jones, has stepped down from his position with immediate effect. (Source: Retail Gazette)

• Mothercare have announced the comprehensive debt and equity refinancing of the company that will see funding of up to £113.5m injected into the business via a mix of equity capital raising, shareholder loans and committed bank debt. Mothercare have also brought back Chief Executive Officer Mark Newton-Jones as part of the major rescue plan. A company voluntary arrangement (CVA) proposal is to be expected to complete in July, and up to 50 store closures could result in around 800 job losses. (Source: Company Press Release)

• Urban Outfitters have plans to open their 30th UK store in Cheltenham’s newly extended Brewery Quarter. The 8,000 sq.ft. store will sit next to Levi’s, Vivienne Westwood and Calvin Klein as its neighbours. (Source: Retail Gazette)

Electrical & Entertainment 

• Toys R Us have announced plans to sell all of their intellectual property to pay off creditors. The toy retailer is due to sell their own name, the Babies R Us brand, their famous Geoffrey the Giraffe logo and a swathe of domain names. (Source: Retail Gazette)

• WH Smith have opened six stores across Rome Fiumicino and Rome Ciampino airports. The stores offer a selection of Italian and international newspapers, magazines, books, confectionery, drinks, stationery, toys, electronic accessories and WH Smith’s own brand travel essentials range. (Source: Retail Bulletin)

Food & Drink

• Co-op have announced plans to start donating surplus food which is about to reach their sell by date, instead of putting it on “last minute” sale. The surplus food will be handed to food redistribution charities who will freeze it or turn it into roughly eight million meals a year. (Source: Company Press Release)

• Co-op have also announced plans to become the first UK retailer to launch a deposit and return scheme (DRS) trial with reverse vending machines, as a part of their commitment to increase recycling and reduce marine pollution (Source: Company Press Release)

• Morrisons have donated £45,000 to the Community Fridge Network, allowing the charity to nearly double in size. The initiative, which is run by charity Hubbub, provides fridges full of surplus food donated by local retailers and households to those struggling to make ends meet. (Source: Retail Gazette)

• Nisa has appointed former Tesco Director, Ken Towle as their new Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect. Ken will replace Arnu Misra, who held the Chief Executive role on an interim basis after former boss Nick Read stepped down in September 2017. (Source: Retail Gazette)
• Ocado have signed a partnership agreement with The Kroger Co. under which Ocado’s technology will be used in the US exclusively by Kroger for grocery and other food distribution related activities. (Source: Company Press Release)

• The Hut Group have secured a £600.0m revolving credit facility to supercharge their acquisition warpath and strengthen their tech capabilities. The Hut Group’s latest revolving credit facility was provided by banks including HSBC, Barclays and Silicon Valley Bank. (Source: Retail Week)

• Waitrose have announced plans to expand their vegan and vegetarian assortment by 60% as they introduce 50 new products to their shelves. The retailer will also have a dedicated vegan section, which will be signposted in their shops. In total, the range will feature 125 ingredients, ready meals and other meat-free products. (Source: Retail Bulletin)

Household

• Dunelm have appointed Laura Carr as Chief Finance Officer. She will join the retailer in the Autumn. (Source: Company Press Release)

• Harvey Nichols have announced the opening of a brand new store in Doha, Qatar. The 80,000 sq.ft. of retail space is over three floors, showcasing an edit of womenswear, menswear, accessories, beauty, childrenswear and lifestyle departments. (Source: Retail Gazette)

• Ikea have opened their 21st UK store in Newcourt Way, Exeter. The new 29,000 sq.mt. store is their most sustainable to date and created 370 jobs for the region. (Source: Retail Gazette)

• Ikea have appointed Javier Quinones as their new UK and Ireland Chief Executive Officer with effect from 01 June 2018. Javier will replace Gillian Drakeford.(Source: Retail Gazette)

Motor

• Arnold Clark have launched a new Motorstore used car supermarket on the outskirts of Wolverhampton. The car retail group will create the new development on a four-acre plot at the Pantheon Park industrial estate in Wednesfield. (Source: AM Online)

• Dacia have expanded their UK franchised retail network with the opening of a new WJ King owned Dartford based dealership. The new Dacia facility is one of 14 dealerships that WJ King operates across North Kent. (Source: AM Online)

• Jennings Motor Group have plans to refurbish their Ford business in Middlesbrough. The new showroom will have 3,500 sq.ft. more space and space to display 10 new vehicles instead of the current five. (Source: Motor Trader)

• Lookers have launched their Electric Charge fundraising event at the Confused.comLondon Motor Show 2018 to raise money for industry charity, Ben. The dealer group will donate one pound from every ticket sold at the show to Ben to help colleagues in the automotive industry who are struggling with life’s challenges. (Source: Motor Trader)

• Trade Centre UK have announced plans to open Europe’s largest used car showroom in Coventry. The showroom will accommodate 1,000 cars with 400 housed in the indoor showroom. The Coventry dealership will be Trade Centre UK’s fifth showroom and will employ around 140 members of staff from the local area. (Source: Business News Wales)

• Waylands Automotive have acquired Fawcetts Garage’s Volvo business in Newbury. The acquisition enables the dealer to develop the Volvo name even further throughout the Berkshire region. (Source: Motor Trader)

Courtesy of ‘Barclays‘