Smaller shopping centres worst hit by closures

Smaller shopping centres were the worst affected by the number of store closures last year, a new study has shown. Data compiled by retail and leisure researchers, the Local Data Company, showed shopping centres which were given a LDC Health Index Score ranking of 300 or lower saw vacancy rates…

Read More »

Shoplifting incidents increase 4% in a year

An OnBuy investigation which used data from the UK Police has revealed a 4% increase in shoplifting offences in this financial year. The figures were compared with previous years’ figures for England and Wales. The investigation showed a total of 378,725 shoplifting incidents reported to 42 police forces in England…

Read More »

Footfall drops 8.6% as sunshine fails to attract shoppers

The UK high street saw an overall 8.6% year-on-year drop in footfall despite the warm May bank holidays, figures show. According to Ipsos’ UK Retail Traffic Weathermap, London and the south east saw the sharpest decline with 13.3% fewer shoppers on the high street compared with the same period last…

Read More »

Over 10,000 stores predicted to close in 2018, analysts say

A new report from the Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has predicted that 2018 will be the worst year on record for store closures, with more than 10,000 outlets disappearing from the high street. The ‘Retail At Bay 2018’ study also argues that the developing crisis in the retail sector…

Read More »

Sotheby’s to hold London auction in June

Sotheby’s has announced that it will hold an auction at its London gallery on 6 June featuring an array of diamond jewellery. Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and Bulgari feature strongly in the London auction, alongside tiaras, retro jewels from the 1940s and a selection of sapphire and emerald jewels.…

Read More »

Everledger announces deal with HK Group to track My Diamond Story diamonds

Everledger and Hari Krishna Group (HK Group) have announced a deal that will see Hari Krishna’s flagship private label brand My Diamond Story tracked using blockchain technology. With this new development, Everledger, a global emerging technology enterprise, and the HK Group, one of the world’s largest diamond manufacturers and exporters,…

Read More »

High street health

Two interesting things struck me in our news coverage this month. First a new selling feature on photo-sharing social media app, Instagram, was ignored by more than 80% of retailers in its first week. A new ‘Shopping’ feature was rolled out to business accounts in the UK, as well as…

Read More »

British Society of Enamellers appoints new vice-chair

The British Society of Enamellers (BSOE) has appointed silversmith and enameller Monika Kamycka as vice-chair. She is skilled in ‘Plique-a-Jour’ enamelling, a technique which allows the enamel to become translucent, and is an advocate of enamelling education and promotion. Kamycka, who also owns the jewellery brand Mona Pink, said: “I’m…

Read More »

Average online order value rises for 14th consecutive month

The average order value for online purchases has increased for 14 months in a row, according to new data. Figures from the IMRG MetaPack UK Delivery Index showed UK shoppers fuelled most of the increase, with the value for each month increasing compared with the same month the previous year.…

Read More »

Versus Versace launches ‘Millennial focused’ timepieces

Fashion brand Versus Versace has launched its new summer watch collection, Buffle Bay, aimed at Millennial customers. The watches feature a 3D lion’s head, positioned on the right side of the timepiece in the 3 o’clock position, and is available in four colours: light blue, white, deep red or dark…

Read More »