Retail Gazette

3 days ago | retailgazette.co.uk | Georgia Wright

River Island has named the 33 stores it plans to close as part of its formal restructuring proposal, which is due to go to a creditor vote in August before being sanctioned by the High Court. The closures are part of the embattled fashion retailer’s strategy to reshape its store estate and cut costs amid mounting losses. Drapers reports that River Island will keep the affected shops open until January 2026 to benefit from peak trading and re-align its stock position.

4 days ago | retailgazette.co.uk | Georgia Wright

UK retailers face a major shake-up to business rates in April 2026 — a reform aimed at “levelling the playing field” in one of the industry’s most contentious areas by offering relief to smaller stores while raising costs for larger players. The policy will see reduce a reduction to the business rates multiplier for smaller retail, hospitality and leisure sites from next year, which will be funded by an increase in the multiplier on larger properties.

4 days ago | retailgazette.co.uk | Georgia Wright

Grocery inflation hit 4.7% in June — the highest level since March 2024 — as UK shoppers made 490 million trips to supermarkets in the four weeks to 15 June, according to the latest data from Kantar. Despite rising prices consumers shopped more frequently, averaging almost 17 grocery trips per household and marking the highest footfall since March 2020. This increase in visits was balanced by a slight drop in average spend per trip, which fell by 3p to £23.89.

4 days ago | retailgazette.co.uk | Georgia Wright

Aldi is introducing faster payment terms for small fresh produce suppliers as part of its ongoing support for British growers facing pressure from this year’s dry weather conditions. The German discounter said it will offer quicker payments for all fresh produce suppliers with a turnover under £5m for the remainder of 2025, aiming to ease cashflow challenges amid a hotter-than-normal summer forecast.

4 days ago | retailgazette.co.uk | Georgia Wright

Debenhams Group is expanding its delivery options with the launch of a new partnership with InPost, aiming to offer shoppers more convenient parcel collection across the UK. The tie-up sees InPost’s network of 10,000 lockers and 6,000 parcel shops integrated as a primary delivery choice on several key brands under the group‘s umbrella, including Dorothy Perkins, Coast, Warehouse, boohoo, and Nasty Gal.