The grocer aims to become the first choice for food for more people, and attract more bigger basket primary shoppers. It will harness its Nectar loyalty platform which offers personalised rewards, prices and retail media capabilities.

While Sainsbury’s stressed it was proud of its current food offering, it admitting to not offering a full range in certain locations, with only 15% of supermarkets offering the full food range and some of its highest potential stores not stocking the grocery range that customers expect. This also impacts its online range and perceptions of availability as online grocery orders are picked from stores.

It will focus on around 180 of these highest potential stores over the next three years and expects this to be a key driver of grocery volume gains. 

Sainsbury’s will also target £1bn of cost savings over three years to FY27, as it builds on Argos’s strengths in convenience and value. The supermarket will also “invest in our capabilities across technology and infrastructure”.

Simon Roberts, chief executive of J Sainsbury plc, said: “Our Food First strategy has delivered on its promise over the last three years, making Sainsbury’s a stronger business with a much sharper position on value and a major refocus on our innovation. Customers have recognised the progress we’ve made, as our market share gains have shown.

“Our Next Level Sainsbury’s strategy is about giving customers more of what they come to Sainsbury’s for – outstanding value, unbeatable quality food and great service. Thanks to our scale, our brand and our people, we are in a unique position to deliver for customers across Sainsburys, Argos and Nectar.

“We’re going to build on what’s driven our success since 2020. We’re determined to be First Choice for Food, ensuring more customers in more of our stores can enjoy more brilliant Sainsbury’s food. That means more space for our food offer, while still delivering the general merchandise products customers want from us. That way, not only will we find more ways to delight new and existing customers, we will also continue growing volume market share.

“While I’m proud of the progress we’ve made to date, we’re only just at the beginning of rediscovering quite what this business is capable of. By taking Sainsbury’s to the next level, delivering for customers and colleagues, we will also deliver enhanced returns for shareholders through a share buyback and committing to a progressive dividend.”

Loyalty and retail media offering
The Next Level Sainsbury’s strategy also championed the supermarket’s Nectar loyalty scheme and its Nectar360 media network. It reported that Nectar has delivered ahead of plan and is playing an ever-larger role for customers and within the business.

Sainsbury’s credited the launch of Nectar Prices for transforming Nectar sales participation, customer recognition of the value that Nectar provides, and wider value perception.

Furthermore, Nectar360 – which manages Sainsbury’s and Argos retail media services – now serves over 870 clients directly, and has built partnerships with the key agency groups.

Sainsbury’s forecasts an incremental £100mn of Nectar360 profit contribution over the next three years (previous guidance was £90mn over the four years to March 2026).

Retail media networks, such as Sainsbury’s Nectar360, are the focus of a brand new event coming to London on 11 June 2024.

MediaX explores the experiences of well-established retailers in this space to new entrants and the agencies who are helping make things tick.

The full agenda for the latest RetailX event MediaX is coming soon, but the key themes can be seen here.

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A curated assortment from the Rabanne H&M collection featuring exclusive colourways is now available for hire in stores in London, Berlin, Amsterdam, Antwerp, and Stockholm.

Announced on a LinkedIn post, H&M Group said its rental service gives customers the chance to enjoy fashion without buying something new.

“A single garment can be worn and cherished over and over again by several fashion lovers. It’s a fantastic way to keep your wardrobe fresh and exciting, while playing a part in the movement towards a more circular fashion economy,” the statement read.

The fashion giant already offers a rental service of its clothing, as well as &Other Stories pieces from its own sites and in partnership with Selfridges. The rental offering is part of its wider circular approach to fashion, which also sees it offer second-hand pieces in store and online.

H&M has partnerships with Reflaunt and ThredUp for pre-loved collections, while it also works with Sellpy in 24 markets to enable customers to buy secondhand clothing.

The retailer, which is trialling sustainable solutions across its brands including Cos, said: “We’ve already learnt a lot about resale. To make it a sustainable business, we need to build solutions that can help close the gap between customer intentions to shop more sustainably and their actions. We need to make second-hand as convenient and attractive as the traditional linear model. ”

Repair services are available in selected stores, with one of its UK distribution centres working to repair returned items for resale.

Discover more about a circular approach to ecommerce in the RetailX Sustainability 2023 report. Read how the resale market offers brands and retailers access to a new revenue stream which is currently owned by C2C sites.

Download the full report here.

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Within the next few months, it will launch stores under the Avon brand, with its sales representatives running the “mini beauty boutiques” as franchisees.

“We are on the cusp of new frontiers for Avon. It is an exciting new chapter. Women like to touch and experience the product and have that joy of seeing all the colours available,” said Angela Cretu, global chief executive, Avon International.

“Many customers go to the stores for an opportunity to try many of the products, or simply to enjoy a pamper experience with a beauty adviser.

“We want to be as inclusive as possible. We want to give women the opportunity to open a business, especially in areas where it is not so easy for them to launch a startup.”

Avon added that the new stores will target “neighbourhood communities” rather than traditional high street locations.

Furthermore, the beauty brand has expanded its partnership with Superdrug. In September it started stocking Avon products in 100 stores, as well as sell online. From 27 November, the collaboration will be expanded to hundreds more stores, with plans to eventually make Avon products available through Superdrug’s entire chain of almost 800 outlets.

In April, the cosmetic company also launched on Amazon in a bid to accelerate its omni-channel strategy. It unveiled a new visual identity and ‘Embrace your Power’ brand positioning.

The marketplace offering is designed to embrace a wider customer base who “wish to enjoy aspirational beauty products at irresistible value”, something that’s even more important for customers due to the ongoing cost-of-living crisis. Over 300 Avon beauty products are now available via the marketplace.

Discover more about the beauty sector in the RetailX Beauty & Cosmetics 2023 report.

Download it in full to read about the latest developments and the trends that will continue to drive ecommerce forward.

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The Churchill Square store, on the former Debenhams site, will offer a wide array of the brand’s most loved products: approximately 6,000 on display with 3,000 available for immediate purchase. The full range will be available for delivery via zero-emission vehicles.

Furthermore, in-store planning services will support customers’ kitchen, bedroom and bathroom planning needs, with a Swedish Deli also forming a part of the two-storey store; ensuring that the retailer’s iconic meatballs (and plant-based equivalent) will also be available.

Peter Jelkeby, country retail manager and chief sustainability officer at Ikea UK & Ireland, said: “We’re delighted to continue expanding and investing throughout the UK to make it easier and more sustainable for people to shop at Ikea. Sussex has long been an area of interest to us, and we really look forward to bringing Ikea closer to where our customers live, work and socialise and becoming a part of this vibrant community.”

The latest city store is part of Ikea’s wider multi-channel strategy. This is supported by investments in new services, the development of existing stores and new fulfilment and delivery capabilities; making it easier and more sustainable to shop than ever before.

This investment was featured in the recently published RetailX Top1000 Europe 2023 report. In an exclusive interview Anca Iordanescu, vice president of engineering at Ikea, explained that the homeware giant must give its customers the ability to buy in whatever way that they want to.

“We need to look with different eyes and meet how they want to shop. It’s not how we tell them to shop,” said Iordanescu. “We try to come back and say, okay… the customer is coming from home, preparing their list and planning. Thinking what is driving them to come – do they want to feel, to touch, to get inspiration, to get community – or just the feeling of being in a store?”

In the UK, for example, sales are about 50% online and 50% instore. In the light of that, Ikea is rethinking the way it sells both through stores and online. The emphasis is now on bringing digital into stores that are often smaller, in representing a real shift from its long-standing approach of selling through warehouses. 

Ikea opened its first UK small-format store in Hammersmith, London, in early 2022. It has a further small-format store planned for Oxford Street that is expected to open during this autumn. Similarly to the Hammersmith store, the Oxford Street will face the challenge of showing a wide range in a smaller space.

The thinking, says Iordanescu, is about: “How can we show our range in a clever way so that people can learn from our store? Because no one will go and buy a sofa from Oxford Street. So we’re looking more on inspiring them and connecting people.”

Sustainability is also set to be an important part of how the new store will work, says Iordanescu. “Ikea is very much focused on sustainability and our focus is also on looking how to have green stores – from a digital perspective.”

She adds: “I think if we are wise, as humanity, we will use technology towards sustainability.”

As yet, there is little detail on how the new store will incorporate environmentally friendly design or use digital technology in practice. In its Hammersmith store, however, Ikea shows the full range through screens, offering instore planning services, as well as the ability to order for home delivery or collection closer to home.

Read the full interview in the RetailX Top1000 Europe 2023 report. Our eighth annual Top1000 Europe report comes at a time when leading retailers are navigating a challenging economic period in which shoppers are cutting back on spending in the light of rising energy and grocery bills. The leaders in this Top1000 report are doing so by innovating and improving the service that they offer and within the report we explore the strategic decisions they make and the tools they use to do so.

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According to reports in Retail Week, the UK fashion retailer will use the deal to strengthen its omnichannel operating model and respond to changing consumer shopping habits.

New Look’s revenue rose from £839.6m in 2022 to £844.7m as it prioritised full-price sales. The retailer also recorded a 67% increase in adjusted EBITDA for the full year, from £25.2m to £42.2m.

The RetailX UK Top50 retailer posted a statutory loss before tax of £87.8m for the period – up from a £25.5m loss in 2022, attributing it to a one-off impairment charge of £47.4m following annual accounting assessment of all tangible and intangible assets.

“We have turned focus back on what the core business is about: cost and our strategic investments. We often reference omnichannel, as does everyone, but for New Look it has made a meaningful difference,” explained Helen Connolly, chief executive, New Look.

“We are really focused on those customers who shop in both channels; they are the ones who are most loyal and the most valuable to us.”

She went on to confirm that the retailer’s 2021 voluntary agreement, which was challenged by landlords, is “on track” to end next year.

Connolly added: “We have closed a number of stores, but we are also investing in opening new ones to put our store portfolio in a strong position. We can now start investing back into some refurbishments and we are looking at new store opportunities.”

Furthermore, Connolly stressed that despite the on-going challenges surrounding inflation the brand was confident of its long-term appeal and looked forward to strong sales on the lead up to Christmas.

“We had our best-ever sales last year during Black Friday weekend, so we’re hoping to replicate that again,” noted Connolly.

“We want to maintain a strong full-price position and, throughout the course of November, will look at what promotional activity is there for customers. We’re not going to do blanket promotions; they will be very targeted.”

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The group warned last week that it could go into administration if restructuring plans failed, however, the company confirmed the intention to appoint Will Wright and Rick Harrison of Interpath Advisory today to Beaconsfield Footwear Limited (OpCo), which operates Hotter Shoes.

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In a statement, the company said that “having regard to the group’s obligations to its creditors and wider stakeholders, it is now clear to the board that it is no longer appropriate to progress these parallel discussions further”.

It added: “It is currently expected that, following their formal appointment, the administrators will implement a sale of the trade and assets of OpCo to a third-party purchaser as soon as reasonably practicable thereafter.

“There can be no certainty that any such sale will proceed or as to the terms or timing of any such sale.”
The group has also requested a suspension of trading in its shares on London Stock Exchange junior market AIM with effect from today.

However, according to reports, a pre-pack deal is likely to be announced in the next few days, which would sell the business following a brief appearance through an insolvency process, to a trade buyer.

However, the move could result in all 26 Hotter Shoes stores at risk of closure, with locations including Glasgow, Exeter, Cardiff, Canterbury, York, Rugby and Norwich.

Click here to view:

Hotter is ranked Top100 in 2023 RXUK Top500 research. Find out more about how retailers facing challenges from the Covid-19 pandemic, rising energy costs and soaring inflation.

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In a statement published on the London Stock Exchange, Frasers’ increased its holding in N Brown from 17.6% to over 18%.

The parent company of House of Fraser and Sports Direct also increased its stake in Currys from 10.4% to 11%, respectively.

The move comes after N Brown recently posted an almost 10% fall in revenues in the first quarter.

The move follows Frasers recently making further investments in electricals etailer AO and acquiring fashion brands Studio Retail and I Saw It First, alongside a raft of non-core brands from JD Sports.

Last month Frasers also purchased a 5% stake in British fast fashion giant Boohoo, making it one of its major shareholders.

The move comes as Currys announced its partnership with Samsung UK to offer customers discounts on select products when trading in unwanted tech.

As a result, this month the company is offering shoppers between 10%-15% off over 390 of the brand’s products.

“By working together with Samsung, we have been able to pass on great savings to customers, whilst also encouraging more sustainable behaviours,” Currys chief commercial officer Ed Connolly said.

“At Currys we help everyone enjoy amazing technology, and we are uniquely positioned to help do this in an environmentally responsible way. By working with Samsung on a campaign that provides a further financial incentive for customers to take their e-waste into stores, we’re doing just that, and can’t wait to see the results.”

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N Brown Group’s brand Simply Be is ranked as a Top150 retailer in the 2023 RXUK Top500 report, whilst JD Williams and Jacamo are both ranked Top250 retailers. Find out where other retailers are ranked in the listing…

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The new platform aims to deliver a more seamless customer experience, with a frictionless checkout process, with the same being offered to users across mobile devices.

However, according to the company the new site is already showing improvements in conversion rates.

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Last month, the company revealed that it remains “confident in the strategic direction of the business” and the benefits of the ongoing investment in its digital transformation, with a focus on “delivering sustainable profitable growth”.

The digital transformation includes investment in the new mobile-first website for the menswear brand, which follows the launch of the new website for Simply Be in FY23.

“From the positive results we have seen across both the new Simply Be and Jacamo sites, it’s clear our digital transformation is successfully addressing the group’s legacy online infrastructure and delivering a better customer experience,” N Brown chief operating officer Nuno Miller said.

“Utilising the latest technology to create an enhanced, customer-first experience is central to our aim of providing a flexible, responsive, and ergonomic platform from which to drive future growth.”

Click here to view:

N Brown Group’s brand Simply Be is ranked as a Top150 retailer in the 2023 RXUK Top500 report, whilst JD Williams and Jacamo are both ranked Top250 retailers. Find out where other retailers are ranked in the listing…

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In its latest results, the online-only retailer’s sales fell 3.8% to £2.2 billion, amid a “challenging market” thanks to the ongoing cost-of-living crisis with customers opting to buy more in-store and purchasing fewer items.

As a result of its latest performance, the grocer is set to receive a 40% less performance payment from M&S, The Times has reported.

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M&S is now expected to pay £70 million less this year as part of its final instalment, worth £191 million of its £750 million venture deal in 2019. However, according to Norman, the company “strongly believes in the future of Ocado”, claiming that it is the “right model for M&S online“.

As a result, a “reset” is currently underway, which includes improving customer experience, the introduction of cost-cutting measures and improving product availability.

The partnership also hopes to maximise the potential of its expanded customer base by diversifying its offering, the board outlined at its AGM.

This comes as recently, M&S CEO Stuart revealed that over 700 M&S products had been added to Ocado’s website, claiming that “the range is getting better”.

Earlier this year, M&S reported a 4.8% rise in online sales to £1.2 billion, with growth in click-and-collect sales, active app users and Sparks loyalty membership.

In the 52 weeks that ended 1 April 2023, the omnichannel retailer saw total revenues grow by 9.6% to £11.9 billion, compared with the same period last year.

Download the report for the latest ranking of the best retailers in the UK:

M&S is ranked as a Leading Retailer in the 2023 RetailX UK Top500 report, whilst Ocado is named as a Top350 retailer.

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The space, which is not open to the public but is open to existing and prospective merchants and creators, from 30th June to 6 July, focuses on technology, home & living and book product categories.

InternetRetailing checks out the space to see what’s on offer.

On the back of research by the social media platform revealed that 50% of TikTok users have bought something after watching a TikTok Live, the space allows merchants and customers to host live streams from the venue.

The space also features a raft of products from brands including Swan, Box.co.uk, Nothing and Xiaomiuk. QR codes are also provided allowing curators to earn commission when customers buy from the TikTok Live Stream.

Through this pop-up shop, creators will also have the opportunity to meet TikTok experts to learn all about the power of social selling and how businesses can tap into the online community and trends like #BookTok and #TechTok.

“TikTok’s community has created a brand new era of social commerce opportunities, where a single piece of content can quickly go viral and create both demand and opportunity,” TikTok general manager of ecommerce, Patrick Nommensen said.

“We’ve seen merchants and creators transform their businesses and their lives in a way that would be impossible on any other platform.

“Our community can now discover and buy everything from a new coffee machine to the latest drone, or their favourite #BookTok best seller, all without leaving the platform. Through this exciting pop-up shop on the iconic Oxford Street, we hope to shine a light on the opportunities available for merchants and creators to be discovered and thrive on the platform.”

Find out more about how TikTok is becoming one the leading social sites for fashion marketing, influence and sales in the 2023 RetailX Europe Fashion report, click here to download.

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