Store Closure

High street faces ‘unprecedented challenge’ says BIRA

The British Independent Retailers Association (BIRA) has said that the UK High Street is facing “unprecedented challenges” following the release of new data on retail occupancy. High-profile retail restructuring and administrations have resulted in a net of 14 store closures a day during 2023, according to research from LDC and…

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Gov urged to avoid fourth lockdown as Covid claims 67,000 retail jobs

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has called on the government to take “all necessary precautions” to prevent another lockdown after 67,000 retail jobs have been lost in the past year due to Covid-19.  The plea comes in response to the latest ONS job figures, which also show that employment levels in the sector have dropped…

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Usdaw calls for ‘level playing field’ between shops and online retailers

Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw) has urged the government to create a “level playing field” between high streets and online retail. To support shops, and the communities they serve, the union has suggested the government should implement “fundamental business rates reform”. The organisation revealed that from analysis…

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How is Covid-19 changing the way pet care retailers sell?

The pet industry is facing an unprecedented challenge as retailers look for ways to meet demand for essential items during the lockdown period. With store closures putting further pressure on online operations, how can pet care retailers manage to service customers safely and responsibly? Optimising stock deployment The latest official…

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Covid-19 to add £5.3bn to UK e-commerce in 2020

The surge in online shopping caused by the Covid-19 pandemic is expected to add £5.3bn to UK e-commerce sales this year, to reach a total of £78.9bn. This is according to analysts at Edge Retail Insight, the global trend forecasting arm of retail insights firm Edge by Ascential, which have…

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Biggest decline in shop prices since 2006

May shop prices tumbled at the fastest rate of decline since 2006, falling by 2.4% against a 1.7% decrease in April.   This was “largely” driven by a sharp fall in non-food prices, which fell “sharply” by 4.6% in the period, compared to a decline of 3.6% the month prior. This…

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Charnock Farm Pet Centre announces store closure

Lancashire-based Charnock Farm Pet and Gift Centre has announced it is to cease trading on Saturday 29 February. The shop, which opened in 2017, has been forced to close after its landlord said it will not be renewing its lease. In a statement, the company said: “It is with a…

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Treasury Committee urges MPs to reform ‘broken’ business rates

The government has been urged to fix the “broken” business rates system as it is continuing to affect high street retailers, a Treasury committee has said. An influential group of MPs has asked the government to examine alternatives to property tax, which puts more pressure on high street retailers than…

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A challenging retail environment

The last few months have been tough for UK retailers and with pressure on the high street unlikely to let up any time soon, factors such as Brexit, rising costs and online competition have left British merchants with little to celebrate. Although the macroeconomic picture seems to have improved more…

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Store closures lead to slump in demand for retail space

New research has found that 70 percent of chartered surveyors in London saw a notable slump in demand for retail space over the last quarter, in light of recent closures by Poundworld and M&S. The research by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said that demand for retail space…

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