Including a decline in half year profits for John Lewis Partnership and Morrisons expands Amazon partnerships.
The Source rounds up some of the key retail stories of the week.
John Lewis Partnership has posted a decline of 14.7% in half year pre-tax profits to £81.9 million. The company said that the drop was driven by investments in price, customer service, increasing staff pay and ‘investing for the long-term’. John Lewis like for like sales grew 3.1%, while revenues climbed 3.8% to £1.6 billion for the period. Operating profits dropped 31.2% to £32.4 million. Meanwhile, Waitrose saw a drop of 1% in like for likes, while revenues grew 2.2% to £3.06 billion.
Morrisons has extended its partnership with Amazon, announcing it is planning to install hundreds of Amazon Lockers across its supermarkets. The move – which will enable shoppers to pick up their Amazon orders at Morrisons – will represent the UK’s largest collection of Amazon Lockers, according to the retailer.
Primark is expecting its full year like for likes to be down 2% following ‘unseasonable’ weather in the UK. However, total sales are expected to be up 9% (on a constant currency basis).
A new report from Cushman & Wakeman into shopping centre openings and revamps has found that new retail floor space will hit a four-year high in 2017. Retail Week reported that more than 2.7m square feet of additional floor space is under construction and due to open next year.
Greeting cards retailer Paperchase is considering a stock market flotation. The chain is expected to be valued at more than £150 million, according to The Sunday Times.
Fashion retailer Next has reported a dip in pre-tax profits for the six months ending July 31, falling 1.5% to £342.1 million. Retail sales remained flat at £1.08 billion, however profits declined 16.8% to £133.9 million for the period. There was good news for directory sales though, which grew 7.1% to £821.2 million, while profits in the division rose 10.9% to £204.2 million.
JD Sports is expanding into Australia having acquired Next Athleisure. The news comes as the fashion sports retailer posted an increase in pre-tax profits of 66% to £77.4 million for the 26 weeks to July 30.
Discount retailer The Works has seen a 37% jump in full year profits to £12.7 million. Total sales for the period rose 9% to £154.4 million. The company opened 40 new stores during the period and is planning at least 50 new stores by next May.
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