Intu Lakeside, Watford, Victoria Centre and Braehead under new management
Intu Lakeside, Watford, Victoria in Nottingham and Braehead in Glasgow have been transferred to new management under Global Mutual, with Savills appointed as property managers. The group of shopping centres which were part of Intu SGS will now be run by Global Mutual.As of Monday, Intu Victoria Centre is now under Global Mutual’s management, where Intu Watford has already migrated. Intu Lakeside and Braehead are expected to join in the coming weeks. “To date, nine intu centres have successfully migrated to new management,” KPMG partner and joint administrator of Intu properties Jim Tucker said. “This has been achieved thanks to the hard work and commitment from all stakeholders to effect smooth and orderly transitions. We wish the intu team all the best for the future,” Tucker added. The announcement comes just days after Stoke-on-Trent’s Intu Potteries shopping centre was acquired by property company MAPP. MAPP and APAM were also appointed to the property and asset management of two further Intu centres: Eldon Square in Newcastle upon Tyne and Soar at Braehead in Glasgow. In late June, parent company Intu Properties collapsed into administration after crunch talks with its lenders were unsuccessful. Its shares on the London Stock Exchange were suspended but Intu said its 17 shopping centres, which are held in separate operating companies, will continue to trade for the time being despite its insolvency. Administrators were not appointed to any of its property subsidiaries.
LandSec to reimagine retail and offload a third of its £12.8bn assets
Bluewater shopping centre owner Landsec has said it will offload close to a third of its £12.8 billion portfolio in an effort to focus on growth opportunities in cities. The property company, which also owns Trinity Leeds shopping centre, will sell some of its hotel and leisure properties, as well as retail parks. These are areas in which Landsec believes it has “little or no competitive advantage”, The Guardian reported. Its new strategy will develop projects that include a mix of offices, retail stores and homes. As part of the new strategy, Landsec will “reimagine” its retail business. It said its outlets portfolio continues to have “good growth potential” but there is an opportunity for a significant reimagining of the model within its six regional shopping centres. Chief executive Mark Allan said Landsec’s O2 centre in London has redevelopment potential, including the scope for new residential buildings. Landsec said that despite the retail sector facing structural challenges as a result of the shift to online shopping, “not all retail is the same”. Regional shopping centres have been most impacted by these challenges, but these represent only 13 per cent of Landsec’s portfolio. Allan said that Landsec expects rents to fall at its regional shopping centres, in cities and towns including Glasgow, Leeds and Portsmouth. The drop is excepted to be 20 per cent to 25 per cent from March levels to become more sustainable for tenants.
MPs approve delaying business rates revaluation until 2023
MPs have approved a bill which postpones the next business rates revaluation for England and Wales until April 1, 2023. The government first revealed plans to delay the revaluation in May and in July it confirmed it would postpone it until 2023, but MPs unanimously approved the Non-Domestic Rating (Lists) (No 2) Bill today. The bill also moves the latest date for publishing the draft rating list from September 30 to December 31 in the year before the revaluation. Local Government Minister Luke Hall described the legislation as “important” and “common sense”. Shadow communities secretary Steve Reed said that, while Labour supports the bill, there needed to be a wider reform of business rates. He added there is an “unfair” geographical disparity in business rates across the UK. Hall told MPs: “We are now familiar with the two improvements this bill makes to the business rates system. “It moves the date for implementation of the next re-evaluation in England and Wales to 1 April 2023 and it also moves the latest date by which draft rateable values must be prepared in England and Wales to 31 December, preceding revaluation.” He added: “We believe that this bill is an important, small bill.” Reed said: “Business rates as currently set up do not fairly reflect the rental value of the premises they occupy and have created regional imbalances. “There is a further and growing unfairness that sees retailers occupying shops in high streets pay far more in tax than online retailers – a situation that is disappointingly incentivising the decline of our high streets.” He added: “The rates rise in the North and Midlands is almost 12.5 times greater than the rise in rental values, compared to just four times greater in the South. “If the government is serious about levelling up, they need to address this anomaly. “Getting the business rates system right is essential and should be seen as part of the support the Government must provide to businesses and local authorities to help the economy fully recover in the future.” In July, the Treasury launched a Call for Evidence that seeks views on how the business rates system currently works, issues to be addressed, ideas for change and a number of alternative taxes.
BootsHQ staff furious as toilets reserved for Walgreens executives
Boots has reportedly barred employees from using some of the toilets at its Nottingham head office, only reserving them for executives and making it harder for staff to practise social distancing amid the pandemic. The health and beauty retailer had last week “encouraged” staff to travel into its headquarters, despite Covid-19 infection rates are their highest in Nottingham. It was criticised because the message to staff goes against recent government guidelines which advised people to work from home where possible. Nottingham currently has the highest rate of infections in England, at nearly 955 for every 100,000 people in the city. Boots employees said messages from senior managers meant they were expected to be at their desks for at least part of the week Boots last week denied putting pressure on staff to come into the office, adding that any employees who understood the messages that way had misinterpreted the message. Staff members have now said they tried to use the toilets only to find a notice telling them they were barred, The Guardian reported. A sign pinned to the women’s toilet door said “Reserved for Walgreens Boots Alliance executive team”. Walgreens Boots Alliance is Boots’ US-owned parent company. Moreover, staff also noted that the area including the toilet was “reserved for Ornella”, likely to be a reference to Ornella Barra, the company’s co-chief operating officer. The toilet restriction meant colleagues were to forced walk much further, past many more desks, to find another one. The fact that there were fewer toilets available also meant they were being used by more people, making social distancing harder. In a new statement, Boots said its head office was vital in keeping its medicine and healthcare businesses running and that it would support anyone who wanted to work from home. The company said some toilets had been restricted “to ensure we can maintain social distancing and not compromise colleague safety”. “If colleagues have thoughts about their working arrangements or the layout of the office, then we encourage them to discuss this with either their line manager, employee representative or HR contact,” Boots said in a new statement.
Asda officially opens new sustainability concept store in Leeds
Asda has opened its brand new sustainability concept store in Leeds, featuring product refill options, loose and unwrapped produce and a pledge that “customers will not pay more for greener options”. The opening of the pilot store in Middleton, Leeds, was accompanied by a new plastics reduction strategy that aims to remove 3 billion pieces of plastic from Asda’s own-brand products by 2025. Asda said the store would “help shoppers reduce, reuse and recycle with ease”, with estimates that the numerous initiatives being trailed in Middleton will save one million pieces of plastic per year. The Big 4 giant added it would use the Middleton store to test and learn which elements of its new offer appeal most to customers and can be developed at scale so it can be rolled out to more locations next year. Asda also used the store opening to launch “Greener at Asda Price”, a national price promise that loose and unwrapped products will not cost more than wrapped equivalents.
The pilot sustainability store features:
- 15 huge refill stations offering customers a selection of more than 30 household staples sold in refillable format.
- Products include a selection of different Kellogg’s cereals, PG Tips tea bags, Quaker Oats, Lavazza and Taylors of Harrogate coffee beans, Vimto cordial and Asda’s own brand rice and pasta.
- The refill zone includes popular brands of shampoo, conditioner, Persil laundry detergent, hand wash and shower gel from Unilever brands such as Simple and Radox sold in refillable format – a retail first.
- 53 fresh produce lines in total sold in loose and unwrapped format including 29 new lines such as cauliflowers, mushrooms, apples, cabbages and baby plum tomatoes. In addition, all Asda plants and flowers are sold either unwrapped or with a paper wrapping.
- Removal of the outer plastic wrapping on several popular Heinz and Asda Brand canned multipacks including beans and soups.
- Recycling facilities for items that are difficult to recycle in kerbside collections such as crisp and biscuit packets, plastic toys, cosmetic containers and toothpaste tubes.
- Asda’s first reverse vending machine for cans, plastic and glass drinks bottles and a hanger recycling facility that will be rolled out across all stores.
- The store will also showcase sustainable fashion lines through George including clothing made from recycled polyester and coat hanger-less denim.
- A new community zone for pop ups and partnerships with charities; the first is a three-month trial with the Salvation Army of a Drop and Shop outlet for customers to donate their unwanted clothing and bric-a-brac seven days a week.
- A partnership with Pre-Loved, a vintage wholesaler who will be selling bespoke vintage clothing from well-known brands.
Meanwhile, Asda’s new strategy for plastics and sustainability features a pledge to generate zero carbon emissions by 2040, reduce waste by 50 per cent and have a net regenerative impact on nature no later than 2050. In 2018, Asda set a weight-based target of 15 per cent reduction in plastic packaging by 2021, with the company removing over 9300 tonnes of plastic from their own brand products since then.
Now it has introduced an additional commitment to remove 3 billion pieces of plastic from own-brand products by 2025. It has also committed to introduce over 40 refillable products by 2023 and invest in 50 closed loop and circular projects by 2030, working closely with waste management companies, recyclers and product developers. “Today marks an important milestone in our journey as we tackle plastic pollution and help our customers to reduce, re-use and recycle,” Asda chief executive Roger Burnley said. “We have always known that we couldn’t go on this journey alone, so it is fantastic to work in tandem with more than twenty of our partners and suppliers, who have answered the call to test innovative sustainable solutions with us. “This is an issue that matters greatly to our customers – our own insight tells us that more than 80 per cent believe that supermarkets have a responsibility to reduce the amount of single use plastics in stores. “We want to give them the opportunity to live more sustainably by offering them great product choices and value, underpinned by a promise that they won’t pay more for greener options at Asda. “During the next few months we will listen to customers and colleagues’ feedback on Middleton so we can understand how we can continue to reduce our environmental impacts, whilst continuing to deliver quality service at a great price.”
Adidas considers selling Reebok for less than £1.8nbn
Adidas is reportedly mulling the sale of its Reebok brand, the British sportswear label it acquired in 2006. The German sportswear giant said it would accept less than £1.8 billion for Reebok. An internal review is in its early stages and the company will decide in the coming months whether to proceed with a sale, Manager Magazin reported. Possible buyers include Timberland and North Face owner VF Corp, as well as China’s Anta International. Adidas chief executive Kasper Rorsted said he hoped to gain €2 billion (£1.8 billion) for Reebok before the Covid-19 pandemic, but would now be content with a lower price tag. Adidas had paid $3.8 billion (£2.8 billion) for Reebok back in 2006. Since joining the company, Rorsted has dismissed speculations that he wanted to sell Reebok. He has closed under-performing Reebok stores and allowed some licensing deals to expire, dampening sales at the struggling sporting label. After Reebok returned to profitability early last year, Rorsted sought to help it generate sales growth with new footwear lines such as the CrossFit Nano and the FloatRide Run. Reebok has seen its total revenues drop by 42 per cent during the pandemic, compared with a one third decline for the Adidas brand.
M&S CEO Steve Rowe impersonated by hackers in voucher scam
Marks & Spencer shoppers are being targeted by hackers posing as the company’s chief executive Steve Rowe.
M&S says it is “investigating” fraudulent adverts which were shared widely across Facebook offering a £35 gift voucher in exchange for their personal and financial details.
The adverts, first discovered by Parliament Street’s cyber research team, feature a photo of a man (who is not Steve Rowe), with text encouraging them to share and comment on the post.
“Hello everyone, my name is Steve Rowe and I am the CEO of Marks and Spencer!”, the advert reads.
“I’ve an announcement to make – To celebrate our 135th Anniversary, we are giving EVERYONE who shares & then comments by 11.59pm tonight one of these mystery bags containing a £35 M&S voucher plus goodies!”
Users are then encouraged to follow a URL which takes them to a M&S branded page and asks them for their name, address, phone number, bank account number and sort code.
While the number of people who may have fallen victim to the scam are unknown, around 150 people have reported it so far, while the retailer says it has “been made aware” and its colleagues are “investigating further”.
“It is unsurprising to see the CEO impersonated, as from our analysis CEOs are currently the most targeted candidates for impersonation in these ‘project-related’ impersonation attacks and this is likely to remain so,” head of threat intelligence analysis at Mimecast Phil Hay said.
“Our research has shown that 36.4 % of IT professionals surveyed in the UK say their organisation’s CEO is the most targeted exec within their organisation.
“Additionally, variations or further development of this type of tactic is also likely to include impersonation of other key and senior personnel within organisations, in an attempt to induce compliance with the instructions given. The public must be aware of these attacks and do their due diligence before entering personal information.”
58% of global online sales are made from just 6 companies
Global ecommerce is dominated by just six companies which control nearly 60 per cent of the world’s digital sales, according to new research.
A whopping 58 per cent of global online sales, which totalled $3.4 trillion last year, were made from six leading companies, four of which were Chinese.
Amazon, by far the biggest ecommerce retailer outside of China, accounted for 13 per cent of global online sales, while its closest western rival Ebay accounted for just three per cent.
The remaining 42 per cent of is made up of just four Chinese ecommerce platforms, according to a new report from Activate Consulting.
Taoboa and Tmall, both part of the Alibaba Group, accounted for 15 per cent and 14 per cent respectively, while JD.com and Pinduoduo accounted for nine per cent and four per cent.
A further five per cent of global online sales are made up by a small group of companies, including Walmart, Apple, VIP.com, Rakuten, Shopee and Sunning.com.
Thousands of retailers and brands account for the remaining 37 per cent.
According to the study, China’s dominance is largely due to the fact that online retail in the country is far more prominent than elsewhere in the world.
The majority of Chinese ecommerce sales are also made via marketplaces which enable transactions by connecting buyers and sellers, rather than companies selling directly to consumers.
Activate Consulting expects online to take a far larger percentage of total retail sales this year thanks to the pandemic, rising to 18 per cent in 2020 and to 23 per cent by 2024.
Aldi opens 900th UK store in Berkshire
Aldi opened the doors to its its 900th UK store in Berkshire as pushes on with its investment and expansion scheme across the country. The new store, located in the town of Sandhurst, forms part of Aldi’s pledge to invest £1.3 billion within the UK over the next two years. The investment scheme includes adding capacity to its store and distribution network to keep pace with demand from consumers and the creation of 4000 jobs next year to support its continued store growth. The German discount grocer said it was currently opening an average of one store each week in the UK, including new sites in Hertford, St Ives and Cambridge already this year. It has a target to operate 1200 UK stores by 2025. The Aldi store in Sandhurst is the town’s first Aldi and represents one of more than 75 sites that Aldi now has in the South East. “Until today, Sandhurst was one of many areas in the UK without an Aldi,” regional managing director John Richardson said. “That means it was another place where people didn’t have easy access to the highest-quality groceries and the lowest prices, every day. “Opening our 900th store means that, after years of careful investment in our UK store network, we’re another step forward in making Aldi available to as many shoppers as possible, which is more important than ever before as many household budgets become squeezed. “Our 1000th store is now firmly in sight and we’re on track to meet our target of operating 1200 stores in the UK in five years’ time.” Aldi Sandhurst store Manager Rob Tandy said: “It’s been a wonderful morning here… It was lovely to welcome our new customers into store and I look forward to meeting more of the community in the coming weeks. “I’d also like to thank our customers for following the social distancing guidelines we have in place to ensure the safety of both our customers and colleagues.” Aldi opened its first UK store in Stechford, Birmingham, in 1990.
Gear4Music raises profit outlook after sales smash £70m
Gear4music has raised its full year expectations after recording a strong sales growth in its first and second quarters. The online retailer saw its total sales rise by 42 per cent to £70.2 million in the six months to September 30 thanks to a sales rise in the UK of 48 per cent. The company’s international sales increased by 36 per cent, while gross profit climbed by 60 per cent to £20 million. The company said the strong sales growth has continued throughout October so it is now preparing for a busy Christmas trading period. “I am pleased to report that following an exceptional trading period in Q1 FY21, these strong trading patterns have continued throughout Q2 resulting in revenue growth of 42 per cent for the first half,” Gear4music chief executive Andrew Wass said. “Our customers are continuing to appreciate the benefits that playing and creating music can bring during these difficult times, as well as the continued convenience of ordering our products online.” The retailer said it was helped by a focus on gross margin improvement, proportionally lower marketing spend and tightly controlled overhead costs in the period. “We are mindful of the uncertainties posed by Brexit and Covid-19, but are confident in the actions we are taking and the ability and commitment of our amazing staff, to ensure that the business is well positioned to overcome any potential short-term challenges. “As such, the board is confident that results for the full financial year will be ahead of previous consensus market expectations.” Gear4music will publish its interim results for the six months ending September 30 on November 17.
Dobbies enters convenience market with launch of little Dobbies
Dobbies has announced the development of its first small format store, Little Dobbies, which is set to launch in November. The new store will be located on Raeburn Place in Edinburgh, and will be horticulturally focused with a range of convenience gardening products. Little Dobbies’ offering will also be complemented by houseplants and pots; a small range of gifts; and selected seasonal ranges. The seasonal ranges will feature Christmas items, including decorations, wreaths and hampers. There will also be a coffee shop, offering hot and cold drinks, as well as takeaway food. “This is an exciting new venture for our team, as we launch the first Little Dobbies,” Dobbies chief executive Graeme Jenkins said. “The store will feature gardening essentials for city centre residents and will showcase some of the extensive ranges available at our larger stores and at dobbies.com. Dobbies has 68 garden centres across the UK. In July, Dobbies teamed up with Sainsbury’s to bring a range of food and grocery products to its garden centres. The partnership launched at Dobbies’ Edinburgh garden centre in late July, giving customers the opportunity to buy over 3000 food products, ranging from ambient, chilled, fresh and frozen produce.
Gap mulls closure of entire store estate in Europe
Gap is mulling the closure of its entire European store estate next year, placing hundreds of jobs at risk. The company, which has more than 70 stores in the UK and four in Ireland, said it wanted to operate in Europe through “partnerships”, both online and in stores. Gap has 158 franchise stores in Europe, on top of the company-owned outlets. It is also seeking to close a distribution centre in Rugby next year. “As we conduct the review, we will look at transferring elements of the business to interested third parties as part of a proposed partnership model expansion,” Gap head of global operations Mark Breitbard said. The latest closures come after Gap’s parent group closed all its Banana Republic stores in the UK two years ago. Gap’s parent group said it would close more than 200 of its main brand and Banana Republic stores globally this year. Sales fell 18 per cent in the three months to the end of August when the company, which also owns Old Navy, made a pre-tax loss of $41 million (£31 million). Gap is trying to save cash while dealing with a sales slump brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite the impact of Covid-19 on store trading, online sales of Gap have surged since the start of the pandemic.
Retail sales rise for 5th month in a row
Shoppers have continued to increase their spending, with the amount of products bought increasing for the fifth consecutive month in September, according to the ONS. Overall growth in sales volumes – rather the amount spent – was up 5.5 per cent last month compared with February’s pre-pandemic level. Meanwhile in the three months ending September, overall retail sales volumes increased by 17.4 per cent compared with the previous three months – making it the biggest quarterly increase on record. The figures were boosted by the continuing shift to online retail, which saw 27.5 per cent of sales taking place online, compared with 20.1 per cent in February, the ONS said. Food sales increased with fewer households eating out although non-food stores’ sales were still above February levels by 1.7 per cent. Supermarkets are expected to benefit further, with new local Covid-19 restrictions hitting pubs and restaurants hardest. The ONS said DIY and home improvement sales continued improving as families updated their homes. Meanwhile, clothing sales volumes remained 12.7 per cent below pre-pandemic levels and there are concerns fashion retailers would continue to struggle and could miss out as restrictions limit the Christmas party season. “The retail recovery remains fragile as the industry enters the all-important Christmas period, with November and December typically accounting for over a fifth of annual sales,” BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said. “While food and online retail continued to show strong growth, high street shopping has struggled in recent months, with footfall still down by over a third. “Tighter government restrictions have taken their toll on fashion and beauty sales, while home office and computing equipment has benefited.” Retail Economics chief executive Richard Lim said: “Growth in retail sales is beating even the most optimistic expectations. “Consumers have proved extremely resilient as cancelled holidays, fewer trips out and less commuting have boosted discretionary spending power to the benefit of some parts of the retail sector. “Christmas 2020 is going to be like no other and we’re also likely to be seeing signs of consumers starting their Christmas shopping earlier. “It’s not hard to imagine scenes of queues outside of shopping centres (limiting shopper numbers), queues outside shops, queues inside shops and frustrated shoppers.”
Calvin Klein hires former Starbucks president as CMO
Calvin Klein has hired a new global chief marketing officer to drive brand experience, product marketing and data-driven marketing innovation. Linh Peters will join office on November 2, and will also oversee all aspects of Calvin Klein’s consumer marketing organisation. Peters joins from Starbucks, where she most recently served as vice president of loyalty, partnerships and licensed stores product and marketing. She was responsible for overseeing the brand’s loyalty program and all digital consumer engagement strategies and marketing. Prior to this, she was Starbucks’ vice president of brand and product marketing. Peters has also worked at US tech giant Best Buy as head of global retail. Calvin Klein’s current acting chief brand officer Greg Stogdon and acting chief marketing officer J.D. Ostrow will continue to work with the brand. Stogdon and Ostrow will work with Peters to continue to build on the brand positioning and creative direction that they have established over the last year. Peters’ appointment comes alongside the recent appointment of Jacob Jordan as global chief merchant and product strategist.
Christmas-related searches online up 80%, M&S says
Marks & Spencer has said that searches for Christmas products on its website have skyrocketed as shoppers seek to spend early this festive period. The retailer found that Christmas-related searches are up 80 per cent year on year. M&S said the top five searches last week were for slippers, Harry Potter, bras, Christmas pyjamas and gin. The Covid-19 pandemic has led to a shift in online shopping as retailers everywhere report rising online sales. The shift is expected to be felt this golden quarter. The rise in demand has prompted concern about online fulfilment capacity in retail’s busiest period. However, retailers are encouraging consumers to buy early this year to avoid last-minute pressure on their delivery networks.This week, the BRC launched a national advertising campaign, ‘Shop early, start wrapping, enjoy Christmas’, urging people to spread demand.