Email not displaying properly? View web version
The Retail Pulse FSP Retail Business Consultants January 2015
Retailer Births & Deaths
There were 2 administrations in January: lossmaking Bank, and USC, although this was primarily a restructuring exercise and was subsequently acquired by a sister company. There were 14 new additions to the FSP Retailer Database in January, with 1 new retailer proposing to enter the UK market: Pep & Co, a valuefashion chain which plans to open at least 50 shops during a sixweek burst from midJuly.
Retail Burn This month, as usual, the big national chains attract the most press. The most talked about retailers, according to the Retail Burn, include: ASDA, Argos, Pets at Home, Decathlon, BHS, Staples, Beales, Tesco plc, Austin Reed and Bank. The retailer with the highest number of positive news articles in January was ASDA, with the news that it is investing £300m in price cuts and is trialling a new online service with Timpsons as it looks to broaden its offer and entice shoppers. Bank is at the other end of the scale, as it became the first retail casualty of 2015 having struggled in the market and been lossmaking for a number of years.