Retailers

Small firms lose four days a month to administration

Over half of smaller business owners (55%) say their company growth is being held back by the amount of time they have to dedicate to administration, new research has found. The survey from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) – answered by 1,685 business owners – found the average small…

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W.E Clark & Son earns accreditation as Living Wage employer

Sussex-based jewellery retailer W.E Clark & Son has announced it has officially been accredited as a Living Wage employer. The Living Wage commitment will see everyone working at the company – regardless of whether they are permanent employees or third-party contractors – receive a minimum hourly wage of £8.25. This…

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Allum & Sidaway appoints new jewellery design director

Jewellery retailer Allum & Sidaway has announced the appointment of Ivonna Poplanska as its new jewellery design director. A multi-award winning designer, Poplanska has had a 10-year career working on numerous bespoke commissions including the creation of the ‘The Eternal Dove’ brooch for Queen Elizabeth II, which was presented in…

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Tustains Jewellers set to undergo ‘major refurbishment’

Warwickshire jewellers Tustains has announced plans to triple the size of its showroom as part of a “major investment” planned for the summer. The firm, which has been based in Leamington for more than 120 years, will undergo a significant expansion this year in a move which is expected to…

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boutique.Goldsmiths stocks five new brands

boutique.Goldsmiths has announced it has stocked five new brands as part of its Spring Summer 2016 (SS16) collection. The retailer, which is owned by Aurum Holdings, said jewellery brands Chrysalis, Chlobo, Daisy London, Virtue London and Nordahl were launched across the company’s stores and online nationwide on 21 March. The…

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Signet reports “excellent” full-year results

Jewellery giant Signet Jewelers has reported an “excellent” full year in its latest results for the 52 weeks ending 30 January, 2016. Same-store sales across the year were up 4.1% with annual total sales of $6.55bn (£4.63bn) – an increase on the previous year of 14.2%. The results were boosted…

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F Hinds opens Doncaster store

Jewellery chain F Hinds has opened a new store in Doncaster’s Frenchgate Shopping Centre – its 118th shop in the UK. The store opened on Thursday, 10 March, with Emily Simpkins, full-time professional midfielder for Doncaster Rovers’ Belles Ladies Football Club, cutting the ribbon to its doors. The new shop…

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BUDGET: Business rates relief “doubled permanently”

Business rates relief for small businesses will “more than double” during the next budget period. The Chancellor, George Osborne, announced that he was raising the threshold to £15,000 for the lower rate (up from £6,000) and to £51,000 got the higher band (up from £18,000). He said the measures would mean…

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Retail footfall declines in February

Retail footfall has declined by 1.1% in February compared with the same period last year, according to the British Retail Consortium.  UK Summary Footfall in February was 1.1% down on a year ago, lower than the 1.2% rise seen in January and lower than the three-month average rate of -0.8%.…

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Tunbridge Wells historic jewellers to close its doors

Historic jewellery store in Tunbridge Wells, Payne & Son, is set to close after becoming a ‘victim to the rise in online shopping’. The store, which originally started as Payne & Son (Silversmiths) in Kent in 1790 and then opened an outlet in the town 146 years ago, is being…

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