This week's retail news 'you may have missed'......
At mdj2, we’re passionate about retail and always looking to share our news, views, and insights. With so much information out there, we wanted to share just a small selection of retail news headlines from last week that we found interesting…?
?Dobbies owner plots store closures and rent cuts under restructuring plan.
Dobbies Garden Centres is planning a financial overhaul of the business, which lead to rent cuts and shop closures.
The home and gardening giant, which is owned by investment firm Ares Management, is understood to be working with advisors at FTI Consulting on a restructuring plan, Sky News?reported.
It remains unclear how many of Dobbies’ 77 stores are set to close or how many of its 3,700 jobs will be impacted.
An insolvency process at the chain is likely if the proposals are not approved by creditors.
The move comes after Dobbies?widened losses to ￡130m?in its latest annual results, making it a steep drop from its ￡21.3m loss the year before. The retailer blamed unseasonable weather and high inflation for its results.
The preparation of a restructuring plan comes 18 months after Ares took control of the?business?from Midlothian Capital Partners.
?N Brown Group hails important milestone in its digital transformation as new JD Williams website goes live.
N Brown Group reports the launch of a new trading website for JD Williams.
In a LinkedIn post, it said: “This is an important milestone in our digital transformation as it completes our transformational priority to roll-out new websites for all three of our strategic brands ahead of peak 2024.”
“Simply Be and Jacamo’s new customer facing websites have shown positive results since launch. Performing 20% faster than the historic website’s legacy technology, the sites have received external endorsement of their performance, with a doubling of their Google Lighthouse score, a measure based on a combination of performance, accessibility, SEO), and best practice criteria.”
Steve Johnson, Interim Executive Chair and CEO at N Brown, says: “We’re delighted to have completed our priority of launching new trading websites for all of our strategic brands ahead of peak 2024.”
“The transformation of our business continues to gain pace as we proceed with investing in our strategy, positioning N Brown for sustainable growth whilst always improving the customer experience.”
Nuno Miller, Chief Operating Officer at N Brown, comments: “Our new mobile first websites have created a sleek, modern experience for customers as they shop across Simply Be, Jacamo and JD Williams.”
“The new websites remain the cornerstone in transforming our customer experience and we’re seeing impressive results for site performance and user experience.”
“Not only that, the new JD Williams site represents the fastest roll out to date, with the faster delivery benefiting from our commitment to agile ways of working.”
?Sainsbury’s snaps up 10 Homebase stores in ￡130m deal.
Sainsbury’s has agreed to acquire 10 stores from Homebase to convert into supermarkets, with the sale expected to complete in early September.
The acquired stores are based in key target locations designed to grow the grocer’s coverage across England, Northern Ireland and Scotland, as part of its?Next Level Sainsbury’s plan.
Once the sites have been converted, the shop floor area of the stores will add a total of around 235,000 sq ft to Sainsbury’s trading space, bringing nearly 400,000 more people to be within a 10-minute drive of a supermarket, according to the?chain.
The?grocery giant,?which recently won its?largest market share gain in 27 years,?is set to open the first of its stores next summer and aims to complete the conversion of all of the sites by the end of 2025.
The Homebase stores Sainsbury’s is acquiring are in Birmingham Sutton Coldfield, Bromsgrove, Cromer, Derry/Londonderry, Fareham, Inverurie, Lowestoft, Newark, Omagh, and Rugby.
Sainsbury’s CEO Simon Roberts said: “Sainsbury’s food business continues to go from strength to strength as we push ahead with our Next Level Sainsbury’s plan.
“We have the best combination of value and quality in the market and that’s winning us customers from all our key competitors and driving consistent growth in volume market share.”
He continued: “We want to build on this momentum which is why we are growing our supermarket footprint.
“Our ambition is to be customers’ first choice for food and these new stores will showcase some of the best that Sainsbury’s supermarkets have to offer to even more communities around the country.”
The sale comes as Homebase owner Hilco Capital?is understood to be eyeing a sale of the DIY retailer.
Hilco, which bought Homebase for ￡1 in 2018, is thought to have been in talks with a number of parties about offloading the DIY chain.
Homebase?racked up heavy losses last year,?as it claimed customers had been “cautious” with their spending. It?reported an ￡84m loss in the year to January 2023, from a profit of ￡30m the year prior, according to accounts?viewed by The Times.?Sales also plummeted from ￡788m to ￡701m during the period.
HortWeek also report:? McGloughlin said these sales form part of longer-term plans to transform Homebase and return to profitability. There will be a full supplier update in October.?
He said he has agreed with owner Hilco that now is the right time for me to seek new investment and consider new ownership, with an active sale process starting next week. He said if a sale does not go ahead, Hilco will remain supportive.?
Homebase is also in the final stages of negotiations with Wells Fargo on the extension of banking facilities.
Several other stores may be sold, HortWeek believes.
?Amazon and Barclays launch new co-branded credit card that gives users rewards on everyday spending.
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Customers can get up to 2% back in Amazon Barclaycard Rewards on their spend. The card has no annual fee, and customers currently receive a ￡20 Amazon gift card when their application is approved. The Amazon Barclaycard is currently the only co-branded personal credit card that Amazon offers in the UK.
Amazon and Barclays, one of the UK’s largest credit card providers, announce a new partnership to launch a co-branded credit card in the UK. The new card enables customers to earn rewards on everyday spending*, which can be redeemed for gift cards on Amazon.co.uk.
Amazon Barclaycard customers earn 1% rewards on all Amazon purchases, 0.5% rewards on everyday spending outside Amazon for the first 12 months, and 0.25% after that*. Amazon Prime members also get 2% back from all spending with Amazon during designated shopping event days, including Cyber Monday, Black Friday, and Prime Day.
Claiming rewards has never been so easy. Customers can simply track their rewards balance and redeem their rewards for Amazon gift cards in the Barclaycard app. The card has no annual fee, and customers even currently receive a ￡20 Amazon.co.uk gift card when their application is approved.
Customers also benefit from 0% APR on all purchases for the first six months. After this, the card has a Representative APR of 28.9%, with lending and rate subject to customers’ financial circumstances and borrowing history.
Cardholders also have access to Barclaycard’s entertainment perks, including advance pre-sales for selected UK events, and 10% off pre-sale tickets when they use their Amazon Barclaycard to pay. Amazon Barclaycard customers also get 10% off food and drink at selected venues.
The Amazon Barclaycard is the latest partnership between Amazon and Barclays, which includes ‘Instalments’ by Barclays in the UK – a reusable credit account that lets Amazon customers spread the cost of purchases over ￡100 across fixed monthly payments.
“We’re excited to introduce the Amazon Barclaycard – designed to offer cardmembers ways to earn rewards for their Amazon purchases and everyday activities with no annual fee,” said John Boumphrey, Amazon UK Country Manager. “Delivering value to our customers is incredibly important to us, so we’re delighted to introduce a new payment option that allows customers to save and earn on Amazon.”
Steve Weston, Head of Everyday Money Management at Barclays, said: “We’re delighted to introduce the Amazon Barclaycard, the perfect credit card for anyone who loves to shop at Amazon and wants to be rewarded for doing so on their everyday spend. This partnership highlights our commitment to deliver compelling offers for customers as part of our strategy to grow our UK credit card business.”
The card is powered by Visa and will therefore be accepted by millions of merchants worldwide, as well as benefit from Visa’s state-of-the-art fraud prevention capabilities and its Zero Liability Policy.
?Mountain Warehouse rescues US outdoor retailer for ￡7.6m,
Mountain Warehouse has rescued US-based retailer Eastern Mountain Sports (EMS) for ￡7.6m ($10m) as it looks to expand its footprint stateside.
The?outdoor retailer?will pay ￡3.8m ($5m) for the EMS brand, website and seven profitable stores, as well as another ￡3.8m for its other assets.
The agreement will save more than 100 jobs at EMS, which?filed for Chapter 11 protection?– the US equivalent of an administration – on 18 June.
The North American outdoor clothing and equipment retailer will continue operating as a standalone brand within the group and may expand into more territories including Canada and Europe in the near future, Mountain Warehouse said.
Founder and chief executive Mark Neale said: “We plan to retain the iconic EMS brand, which has a great heritage and DNA, and resonates with huge numbers of long-standing customers.
“We will also continue to work with the highest-quality and best-known outdoor brands in the world to stabilise and then grow the business.”
“We are convinced that there is a great business here, with a tremendous pedigree, and passionate people who can help us understand the market even better and create a bright future.”
?M&S takes on Pret with grab-and-go coffee shops.
Marks & Spencer?is seeking to win lunchtime customers from Pret A Manger with more grab-and-go food and drink options in its cafes.?
The retailer is trialling a?revamp of its in-store cafes?in an effort to tempt younger customers – having traditionally attracted elderly shoppers who tend to sit down for tea and cake.?
As part of the trial, M&S is switching up food options in its cafes so everything can be picked up and eaten on the go. The current trial is taking place in a small number of stores with the vast majority still retaining its old menus which feature meals such as chicken tikka masala and fish and chips.?
It is also starting to train kitchen staff to speed up food preparation and improve technology to make it quicker for customers to place orders.??
M&S said there had been a “really encouraging” performance from the new cafes, which opened a few weeks ago in Dundee and Fosse Park, Leicester.?
It is part of a drive to win customers from coffee chains such as Pret, as M&S said it wanted to “build on our position as one of the top high-street cafes”.?
M&S, which opened its first cafe in its Leeds store in 1935, is now the largest retail cafe chain in the UK, running more than 300 sites.?
Pret, which opened its?first UK shop in 1986,?is under increasing pressure?after racking up a debt pile which jumped to ￡744m after the pandemic. Pret?recently announced it was ending its popular coffee subscription service from September following a series of price increases.
Starbucks, meanwhile, has been struck by sliding sales amid criticism over its prices, while?Gail’s has faced a backlash?over planned store openings. Locals in areas including Worthing, West Sussex, have hit out at the bakery chain over claims it threatened to push independent firms out of business.?
M&S’s earlier attempts to speed up service in its cafes have sparked scrutiny. Last year, it pulled traditional food counters in eight digital M&S cafes, including at two megastores, to make it easier for staff to focus on preparing food and drink.
The?decision attracted criticism?from groups including Silver Voices, a membership group for older people in the UK, and the National Federation of the Blind.?
M&S said at the time that its digital cafes were designed to reduce queues and waiting times, and that there was always “a colleague on hand to help customers”.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/08/30/ms-takes-pret-grab-go-coffee-shops/ (Subscription required)
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