Brian Walker’s Post

The ups and downs of retail continue to shape our economy - a great deal of change is happening in the supermarkets and big-box retailer space, while the Superdry saga continues to play-out.   Here's what caught my eye:    Marks and Spencer expands partnership with White Stuff across 10 additional stores Superdry landlord M&G ditches challenge to retailer's rescue plan M&S CEO - We should have overtaken Waitrose & Partners already SHEIN to file prospectus with City regulator for £50bn London float Frasers Group hires city regulator's ex-boss Sir Jon Thompson for board role wilko to open cafes in more stores Boots UK tycoon loses £1.5bn as Walgreens share price plunges Majestic Wine partners with Gophr as it eyes biggest summer of beer sales M&S bosses pocket £5m each after bumper year Lidl GB promotes ex-Tesco exec to marketing director Frasers to relaunch WIT Fitness with founders Burberry chief marketing officer to depart UNIQLO to open flagship in London's Coal Drops Yard Tesco launches marketplace to become one-stop shop online Asda poaches Lidl COO as it brings AI in to the boardroom M&S non-exec resigns over poaching of Rightmove finance chief Sports Direct to launch membership programme and new app B&M Retail beats lockdown peak as profits boosted by new store openings boohoo hits with investor lawsuit over modern slavery breaches Morrisons pension strikes suspended after new pay offer Amazon expands grocery delivery to all customers and launches member prices AllSaints debuts premium childrenswear collection with Next Superdry CCO departs Sainsbury's introduces buy now, pay later option at Argos, Tu and Habitat Holland & Barrett partners with MRI Software for AI footfall analytics Amazon hit with £1bn damages claim from retailers over data misuse PrettyLittleThing.com introduces returns fee Waitrose snaps up meal-kit delivery service Dishpatch Co-op to close Member Pioneer programme, 766 part time jobs at risk Tesco wholesaler snaps up wine merchant Venus The Body Shop administrators set deadline for rescue bids   My story of the week: M&S bosses bumper year pay awards stood out to me. The M&S turnaround is nothing short of incredible. The rewards of this success stretch deep into many peoples' lives - rewarding the architects of this success is only just. #retail #shoppingcentres #customerexperience #cmo #ceo

Ongoing industrial action in relation to the enterprise agreements at three distribution centres in Victoria and one distribution centre in NSW has disrupted Woolworths’ supply chain and cost the retailer around $50 million to date. Providing an update on the supply chain industrial action yesterday, Woolworths Group said some supermarkets in Victoria, ACT and NSW are experiencing stock flow limitations on some lines, impacting product availability of ambient, chilled and freezer lines for customers. Woolworths Group https://lnkd.in/gfgHcuza

Woolworths Group CEO Amanda Bardwell says its supermarkets will "ramp up" operations in the lead-up to Christmas following the reaching of an endorsed enterprise agreement with striking distribution centre workers.

Warning retail job cuts ‘inevitable’ after Budget High Street job losses are "inevitable", prices will rise, and shops will close because of tax rises in the Budget and other rising costs, a group of the biggest retailers in the UK is warning; Tesco, Amazon, Greggs, Next, and dozens of other chains are urging the Treasury to reconsider some of the measures. Read the full story here - https://lnkd.in/ewqUqXPU #Budget #Budget2024 #Retail #Homewares #Housewares #Highstreet

**Homebase bought out of administration securing up to 1,600 jobs** Homebase has been sold to retail group CDS in a rescue deal securing up to 1,600 jobs and 70 stores but leaving the future of its remaining 2,000 workers and 49 shops unclear. The DIY retailer appointed administrators at consultancy Teneo on Wednesday before CDS, which owns The Range homeware outlets, bought the majority of its stores out of administration. Teneo said the remaining 49 UK stores will continue to trade as normal while administrators try to find a buyer. CDS, which is owned by retail magnate Chris Dawson, bought the 40-year-old Homebase brand. Damian McGloughlin, chief executive of Homebase, said the last three years had been “incredibly challenging” for DIY stores, blaming “a decline in consumer confidence and spending” after the pandemic. “Against this backdrop, we have taken many and wide-ranging actions to improve trading performance including restructuring the business and seeking fresh investment. “These efforts have not been successful and today we have made the difficult decision to appoint administrators.” Homebase was bought for £1 by investment firm Hilco Capital in 2018, which introduced a swathe of cost-cutting measures in the subsequent years. But the retail chain struggled as customers cut back on spending amid the cost-of-living crisis, and reported an £84.2 million loss last year. In August, Sainsbury's’s struck a deal to buy 10 Homebase stores and convert them into supermarkets. The jobs still at risk include workers at Homebase’s head office in Milton Keynes, as well as the remaining stores. The rescue deal comes after a hunt for a buyer from Homebase’s previous owners Hilco, which is thought to have lasted for the last two months. Mr Dawson, whose CDS acts as parent company to The Range, also bought parts of high street retailer wilko after it collapsed last year. It is unclear which stores will remain branded as Homebase after the deal, while administrators did not immediately disclose the locations of the 49 outlets which were not included in the deal. The administrators said all employee wages and benefits will be paid for their period of employment, while customer orders will still be fulfilled as far as possible. #homebase #retail #valuethroughinsight Link to article in comments.

Walmart Canada announced the company is investing an additional $46 million in pay increases and benefit enhancements for eligible #supplychain associates. https://lnkd.in/gX8BC7wx

Is the motivation truly customer service or is the removal of self-service checkout more about shrink? Either way, as Walmart, Five Below, Dollar General, Costco and others rethink self-checkout, it'll be interesting to see if unions take this as a leverage point to push unionizing efforts through wage increase demands. #TheRetailLawyer #retail #retailevolution #shrink #lossprevention #attorneyadvertisement https://lnkd.in/ePGem_Uw

This morning Asda announced £1bn in underlying profit, signalling a significant turnaround in fortunes. But whilst I had planned to write about how the "28% increase in retail pay" may have contributed to this success, my research led me down a different path... Asda's official press release reads like a case study in successful strategic focus of a brand leading with a value market positioning... 📉 Passing on deflationary cost decreases to customers 🥫 Nailing the value equation of price paid versus quality expected 🏪 Maximising margin on own brand products using convivence formats But what caught my eye was the "record £150m investment in retail pay" making Asda the "highest paying traditional supermarket". "Brilliant!", I thought. "That must be contributing to the customer experience". After all, retail staff are some of the hardest hit by the cost of living crisis due to the more unpredictable nature of their roles... ...And it's hard for anyone to bring their A-game when you're worrying about paying the bills. But before I posted, I wanted to better understand more about what was going on. And suddenly things became a little more grey... 👉 Asda faces another superstore strike next month (Retail Gazette) 👉 Asda's billionaire bosses knew payroll switch would spark crisis – but went ahead regardless (The Telegraph) 👉 Billionaire Issa brother nears deal to sell Asda stake to TDR Capital (London Evening Standard) Being slightly out of the grocery loop, much of this news caught me by surprise. And it certainly didn't chime with the direction the original press release had inspired me to take. The picture that emerged was of a giant organisation straining to maximise profitability and closure of transformation projects ahead of a significant financial event. And that strain has permeated down to front-line staff in many places. Asda by no means is unique. After all, a "JFDI" approach to retail is still present in many businesses. And change is always difficult. But they offer a rare lens to encourage reflection on, as we all know and understand their business reasonably well. Therefore, we are better positioned to use their situation to scenario plan within our own organisation... ❓ Pay is just one element of bolstering employee wellbeing in times of change... What other aspects - like leadership development or employee voice - do we also need to invest in to support our teams? ❓ What are your none negotiables for a transformation project, without which go-live simply isn't an option... ❓ ...And how do we put our company values at the heart of this conversation? #HR #Payroll #ChangeManagement #Retail

For those retailers making positive progress on their retail shrink metrics, this strike is all but guaranteed to either stall or possibly reverse those gains. Fundamental to experienced, broad-thinking retail #assetprotection and #lossprevention professionals, but interestingly, there's a cohort running in the blind, oblivious to the risks of upstream inventory disruptions and supply chain risks and their associated direct impact on store shrink performance. Depending on the duration of this strike, etc., saddle up. #ai #retailtechnology #retail #retailleadership #supplychain Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) National Retail Federation Walmart Kroger Meijer Target Lowe's Companies, Inc. The Home Depot Safeway Albertsons Companies Walgreens CVS Health Dollar General Dollar Tree Stores #shrink #theft #inventorymanagement #profit #logistics The Wall Street Journal CNBC Thomson Reuters Retail Dive Best Buy Publix Super Markets apnews.com/ Conversations On Retail https://lnkd.in/gT4nSSQS

Lidl has increased basic wages for its workers, bringing them into line with its discount rival Aldi. The supermarket will lift pay per hour to £12.40 for those outside greater London and £13.65 for employees within the M25 motorway. It means that both German discount chains now pay more than the major supermarket groups in the UK. Lidl's new rate comes into force at the beginning of June, the same day as Aldi. Lidl UK's chief executive, Ryan McDonnell, said that the supermarket was expanding and "it’s absolutely right, therefore, that we continue to offer industry-leading pay”. It recently announced that it would build new stores in Bristol and Birmingham, as well as new sites in London. The National Living Wage, which is set by the government, rose from £10.42 to £11.44 in April and was expanded to include workers over 21 rather than over 23 years-olds. The main supermarkets all pay above the minimum wage - typically offering rates of more than £13 an hour for people inside greater London and at least £12 for those outside. For example, Tesco gives its staff £12.02 or £13.13 an hour depending on where they work. Read more ➡️ https://buff.ly/4agXDjw The Scottish Chambers of Commerce Network is here to support your business - reach out to share your views, concerns and opportunities. #SCCnews #businesssupport #businessnetwork #businessvoice #businessleader Sign up for the Scottish Chambers of Commerce enewsletter at https://buff.ly/3CpsQnu