Including The Entertainer’s expansion in Scotland and Next named UK’s favourite fashion retailer.
The Source rounds up some of the key retail stories of the week.
The Entertainer is opening two new outlets in Dundee and Dunfermline, expanding its reach in Scotland. The toy retailer – which has seen profits soar in the last five years – will now have a total of 120 stores throughout the UK, five of which are in Scotland. A raft of activities will be taking place to celebrate the openings, including a special trolley dash undertaken by two local charities, Children’s Hospice Association Scotland and Help for Kids.
Next has been named the UK’s favourite fashion retailer, according to new research by Market Force Information. The study polled over 3,622 UK consumers and looked at fashion shopping habits, brand preferences and engagement and social media usage. New Look, TK Maxx and Zara all tied for second place, while Primark came in third. Primark was considered to offer the best value, while Next came out tops in terms of speed of checkout, store atmosphere and ease of finding items.
The John Lewis Partnership has revealed its full-year results, including the John Lewis department store and Waitrose businesses. As a whole, the group reported a 10.9% drop in full-year pre-tax profits to £305.5 million, which it said was in line with expectations. John Lewis like for like sales were up 3.1%, with operating profit (before exceptionals) flat at £250.2m. Online sales, however, grew by 17.3% and now represent 33% of all sales. Meanwhile, Waitrose like for likes fell 1.3% and operating profit was down 2% to £232.6m. Partners in the group will receive a bonus of 10% of their annual salary.
Argos reported a drop in like for like sales of 1.1% for the eight weeks to February 27. Furniture and sports sales grew, said the retailer, but electricals (particularly across video games, tablets and white goods) declined during the period. Total sales at Argos increased to £515m (up 1.9%) over the period. Online sales now represent 51% of sales.
Amazon is to open a new fulfilment centre in Manchester, creating 1,000 new jobs. In addition, the etailer will also open a fulfilment centre in Leicestershire, creating 500 new jobs.
Morrisons’ full-year results have shown a decline in both profits and sales at the grocer. Underlying pre-tax profit was down to £302m from £413m, while like for likes dropped 2%, although they did show an improving trend in the second half. Revenue fell 4.1% to £16.1 billion.
Sainsbury’s continued to grow its market share for the eighth consecutive month, according to the latest data from Kantar Worldpanel. The supermarket saw sales grow 0.5% in February. Meanwhile, Asda posted a 4% decline in sales for the 12 weeks to February 28, while Tesco’s sales decreased 0.8% in February, although this is an improvement on January’s drop of 1.6%.
