All High street & town centre articles – Page 22
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OpinionRoger Wade: ‘We need to level the playing field between online and high street’
Last week brought the end of shopping restrictions as retail returned across the UK. Sadly, the second lockdown did more damage than we ever expected as high street retailers suffered a double blow of not only the pandemic, but online competition.
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NewsAsda to repay £340m in business rates relief
Asda has become the latest in a growing list of grocers to voluntarily waive business rates relief and repay the government in full.
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GalleryIn pictures: Festive footfall down as stores released from lockdown
Stores in England reopened their doors today, kick-starting the Christmas spending period after the latest lockdown, but shopper traffic was still steeply down year-on-year in key destinations.
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Opinion‘Covid may bring chance to rebuild high street experience for a new age’
We’re now in the middle of what would traditionally be the busiest period in the retail calendar and for the probably for the first time ever in the peak season, most shops were shuttered for four weeks.
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NewsShops can extend opening hours in run-up to Christmas, says minister
Communities secretary Robert Jerrick has announced plans to allow shops to open for longer throughout the festive period and into the new year.
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AnalysisSix groundbreaking ideas to revive the high street
As non-essential shops reopen, Retail Week looks into what can be done to breathe new life into high streets.
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Analysis
Retail Horizon: Winning strategies for stores as non-essential retail reopens
As ‘non-essential’ stores prepare to reopen, pent-up demand from consumers is likely to be high, but which products and retailers stand to gain the most?
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AnalysisThe Big Question: Should consumers be given spending vouchers to boost high streets?
The Northern Ireland Assembly intends to give consumers high street vouchers worth up to £100 per person in a bid to stimulate spending and help retail and hospitality recover from the coronavirus crisis. Industry experts share their views on whether the scheme should be replicated across the UK.
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NewsChancellor unveils new £4bn ‘levelling-up fund’ as part of spending review
The chancellor of the exchequer has unveiled plans for a £4bn “levelling-up fund” as part of his spending review today.
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NewsNon-essential retail to reopen next week as Johnson pledges end to national lockdowns
The prime minister has confirmed all non-essential retailers will be allowed to reopen stores next week, as he pledged an end to national lockdowns in future.
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NewsRetail sales boosted in October as Christmas shopping starts early
Customers looking to buy Christmas presents before the second lockdown started in England earlier this month helped boost retail sales for the sixth straight month.
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NewsConsumer confidence slips to six-month low as coronavirus restrictions tighten
UK consumer confidence fell to its lowest ebb since the spring as coronavirus restrictions tightened, leaving one in three hospitality businesses wondering whether they will survive.
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InterviewInterview: Pano Christou’s plan to save Pret a Manger
The CEO looks back on his whirlwind first year in charge and ripping up the rulebook.
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VideoFace time: Lord Rose on Christmas, the future of cities and limiting screen time
From bricks and mortar to online, Lord Stuart Rose’s experience spans all of retail and the industry’s ups and downs. The Ocado chair and former Marks & Spencer chief executive shares his thoughts on the second lockdown, vaccine hopes, Christmas prospects and the industry’s future.
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NewsGreggs makes 820 redundancies as new lockdowns hit business
Food-to-go giant Greggs has made 820 redundancies across the business with boss Roger Whiteside warning the “battle with Covid hasn’t gone away”.
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AnalysisWhy WHSmith boss Cowling sees ‘big opportunity’ from the pandemic
After a bruising year for both the high street and travel hubs amid the coronavirus pandemic, WHSmith suffered losses of £69m in the 12 months to August 31, compared with £155m profit last year.
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NewsRetail rages over government store closure guidance
Retailers have been left angry and confused by the government’s handling of second lockdown store closures, after its guidance on mixed essential and non-essential retail was published late.
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AnalysisData: The retailers expanding and retreating from high streets in 2020
New data compiled by the Local Data Company charts both the toll the coronavirus crisis has taken on many UK retailers but also highlights the categories that are proving more resilient.
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AnalysisNightmare before Christmas: bosses of John Lewis, M&S and The Entertainer on lockdown 2.0
It’s the news the industry dreaded. This Thursday so-called ‘non-essential’ retail will be shut down until December 2 in a bid to stem the spread of coronavirus. Many fear chaos, but could click and collect come to the rescue?
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NewsSadiq Khan calls for business rates holiday extension
London mayor Sadiq Khan has written to housing secretary Robert Jenrick calling for an extension of the business rates holiday for retail and hospitality businesses in the capital.