Newcastle’s new TK Maxx gets ready for 28 February opening
Getting on for a year since the redevelopment of Monument Mall began, the first reconfigured store within the Hammerson-owned scheme is finally preparing to open...
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Clas Ohlson bucks the trend as winter ranges drive UK sales up 7% during January
On the same day as the ONS has revealed an unexpected fall in UK retail sales during a snowy January, one retailer – the Swedish hardware...
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Mountain Warehouse CEO outlines plans for relocated Carlisle store as sales soar across the chain
The boss of Mountain Warehouse has told Soult’s Retail View that the chain plans to open a new, bigger store in Carlisle – despite its current store in Scotch...
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A challenge from Sage: my tips on starting a business in retail… in 500 words
As you may have seen already, I was recently recruited as a Business Expert by the well-known Newcastle-based business software and services provider Sage. Set...
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Four North East stores to go in first wave of HMV closures
As you may well have seen last week, four North East locations are among the 66 loss-making HMV stores that will close within the next couple...
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Notes from my Spring Fair seminar: 14 tips for creating great retail web content #SF
After sharing my practical tips on creating a great retail website at last year’s Autumn Fair, it was a pleasure to be invited back to the E-commerce...
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Catch my free seminar on creating great web content – this Monday (4 February) at Spring Fair #SF
After helping retailers “get content with their web content” at last year’s Autumn Fair International, I’m delighted to have been invited back to give the...
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“What began as a marketing exercise is now all consuming”: Retailer Q&A with Shower Enclosures UK
If one theme has emerged clearly from my Retailer Q&A series to date, it’s that modern retail businesses can’t really afford to ignore the Internet: whether...
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Now Lincolnshire Co-op is to exit non-food – but a “bright future” under new ownership is promised
Just one week after Midlands Co-op announced the closure of its department stores, Lincolnshire Co-op has revealed that it too is to exit non-food.
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As eight Midlands Co-op department stores face closure, what might the future hold?
Midlands Co-op has become the latest co-operative society to exit non-food, with its announcement today that eight Fashion & Home department stores are to close within...
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Nipper on the brink: is there a future for HMV, and do we care?
If reports tonight are to be believed, it looks like the 92-year-old entertainment retailer HMV could collapse into administration tomorrow (Tuesday 15 January), putting around 235 stores and...
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New Jacques Vert concession launched as Tamworth Co-op’s department store looks to the future
Tamworth shoppers now have access to a raft of Jacques Vert Group womenswear brands, following the opening of a new upmarket outlet concession in the...
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As HMV struggles, just how important is the pre-Christmas trading period for retailers?
Eighteen months on from securing a £220m refinancing ‘lifeline’, HMV’s warning today that it is likely to breach its banking covenants in January and April has...
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“The biggest opportunities lie in mobile commerce”: Retailer Q&A with Nabru
With Walmsley’s currently teetering on the high street, and chains like Habitat, Land of Leather and MFI having collapsed in the last few years, the...
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Bringing a “fashion skill set” to bathrooms: Retailer Q&A with QS Supplies
Back in July, I discussed the fragmented and increasingly competitive bathrooms market, raising the question of “what independent bathroom retailers – whether offline, online, or...
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North East stores at risk as high street furnisher Walmsley’s collapses again
Stores in Newcastle, Sunderland, Blyth and Stockton are among 24 shops that are at risk following the collapse of Walmsley’s, the high street furniture specialist,...
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Celtic Tiger: the Danish variety retailer prepares for Glasgow store opening
If you follow my tweets you’ll know that I’ve spent the middle part of this week in Glasgow, taking time to explore the Ayrshire coast...
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Critiquing the Achica experience as I try out the “members-only luxury lifestyle store”
Since its launch less than three years ago, the private sales etailer Achica – badged as the “members-only luxury lifestyle store” – has been something of a quiet...
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Cladding goes up on Newcastle’s Primark as new city centre developments take shape
The outside of Newcastle’s enlarged Primark is finally starting to gain its funky cladding, as the Northumberland Street store gets ready for its planned opening....
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Fifties postcard confirms location of original Alnwick Woolworths
Back in April I blogged about the apparent location of Alnwick’s original Woolworths, where the chain traded for the first fifteen years of its 55-year...
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