Food
German discounter Lidl wants to open more than forty new stores in London alone in the next five years, an ambition that comes with a price tag of half a billion pounds (560 million euros).
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General
British department store chain Debenhams is implementing an intense recovery plan with some vigour: fifty stores will have to close, thirty others will be downsized.
British supermarket chain Waitrose is using a store in Oxford to try out some innovative concepts that could eventually get the stores rid of thousands of tons of plastic packaging. The big question is whether the shoppers will go along with it...
Amazon has opened a first pop-up store in the United Kingdom and intends to open a small dozen more. Their aim will be to help small online companies grow, and to function as pick-up location.
Electronics
Microsoft is going to open its first European store in London's commercial centre, "coincidentally" just a stone's throw away from the local Apple Store.
Fashion
Arcadia Group, the owner of chains like Topshop, has announced a number of stores will be closed permanently - including all of the eleven stores in the United States.
Disappointing sales figures and the high costs of store closures have impacted the results of Marks & Spencer. To finance the recent deal with online player Ocado, the British retailer will now issue new shares.
According to British sources, most (if not all) of Jamie Oliver's restaurants are terminating their activities. This is a new big blow, after twelve restaurants were already closed in the last restructuring. 1,300 jobs are at risk.
As click&collect has become quite popular with Europeans, Amazon is launching its "Counter" service specifically for the European market. Amazon Counter brings Amazon pick-up points to physical retailers. The project will begin in the United Kingdom and Italy, but the rest of Europe is sure to follow.
The Carlsberg group is doing well everywhere, except in the United Kingdom: the Danish brewery has now started a remarkable advertising campaign to win back the British consumer.
There will be no merger of Asda and Sainsbury’s, after the Competition and Markets Authority vetoed the move. The chains will not appeal, so the merger is definitively off the cards.
British sports chain JD Sports enjoyed an enormous increase in turnover last year: it increased by no less than 49.2% to 4.7 billion pounds (5.4 billion euros). Gross profit growth was slightly lower, but amounted to more than a quarter.
This week, Primark's biggest store opened in Birmingham. Besides the store's vast size, its integrated customer experience should turn it into a major success.
Cosmetics
British cosmetics company Lush has decided to close various social media accounts in the United Kingdom.
Department store chain Debenhams is carrying a massive debt load, but still the chain has rejected Mike Ashley's ultimate plan to save it. That means the company is now under the control of the creditors.
DIY
British DIY chain Kingfisher will be closing 34 outlets over the next two years, including eleven in France. The group is also looking for a new CEO to succeed Véronique Laury, who will be stepping down.
