​THG Ingenuity has inked a strategic alliance with And Digital, the software engineering firm, “to accelerate digital transformation, help brands bridge the digital skills gap and unlock the potential of commerce tech”.

​Shop price inflation continues to rise, despite hopes that it would begin to ease soon. The latest BRC-NielsenIQ Shop price Index for January showed it acerbating to 8% from 7.3% in December.

Frasers Group is understood to be rolling out its own buy-now/pay-later (BNPL) offer as part of an own-brand, standalone financial package scheme. 

According to Bloomberg, LVMH, L'Oréal and Japanese group Shiseido are competing to buy a stake in Aesop, the much sought-after premium beauty brand owned by Brazilian group Natura & Co.

​Supermarkets giant Tesco said on Tuesday it had purchased the Paperchase brand and its intellectual property following the gifts and stationery retailer going into administration.

Farfetch said this week that it — along with partner Outlier Ventures (a global Web3 accelerator and investor) — has opened applications for Dream Assembly Base Camp Cohort Two taking place from April

​The festive shopping season in the UK saw a noticeable revival of consumers visiting physical stores as they discovered the joys of shopping face-to-face. And that seems to have benefited London's Oxford Street. 

​London-based software start-up Emporia has raised over £10 million of expansion funding “to reimagine the e-commerce space”. It’s aiming to bring retail into the metaverse by providing the tech to build virtual stores.

​Matchesfashion’s owner Apax partners has agreed a £60m funding package for the luxury retailer as it continues to work on its turnaround. The new package comprises £40m of equity and £20m of additional debt.

When central London retail performs, so too does commercial property giant Shaftesbury. After all, it does own a 6.4-acre, 600-building portfolio in the heart of London's West End.

UK retail vacancy rates improved in the final quarter of 2022 to 13.8%. But before you get too excited, it was only better by 0.1% on Q3 and 0.6 percentage points better than the same period last year.

Global beauty and consumer products giant Unilever has announced its new CEO who’s set to take over from outgoing chief Alan Jope on 1 July. And his name? Step forward Hein Schumacher.

What did Friday’s CBI survey report show for January? Lower sales volumes as retail got off to a slow start despite the clearance sales. They're expected to decline again next month too, “but at a slightly slower pace”.

Lark London is embarking on its first retail venture outside the UK’s capital (but not too far out). The independent lifestyle boutique brand is to open at the Victoria Place shopping centre in Woking, Surrey, in March.

​Global events company Hyve Group has appointment Julie Harris as a non-executive director, effective 2 February. She will take on the role of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Committee Chair.

Sweden's H&M reported on Friday a much larger than expected drop in September-November profit, hit by weak consumer confidence and soaring costs that it did not fully pass on to price tags.