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PRShots Digest brings you the latest retail news from JD Sports, Pretty Green, Harrods, Castore, Brompton Bikes, Bally, JYSK, Mamas & Papas, Ikea, and On. Plus articles on how Boohoo is planning for growth, how to avoid being cancelled, a guide to social media reputation management and more.  

THE LATEST RETAIL INDUSTRY NEWS

JD Sports sales soar in ‘record results’

JD Sports saw sales of £10.1bn for the year ending Jan 29, up from £8.5bn in 2022, with “record” profits before tax and adjusted items of £991.4m and expected to be around £1.03bn in 2023.

Harrods boss tells government to ‘stop burying its head’ and bring back tax-free shopping

Harrods’ managing director Michael Ward has urged the UK government to “stop burying its head” and do a u-turn on its removal of VAT-free shopping for overseas shoppers.

Watches of Switzerland hails strong performance

Watches of Switzerland saw group revenue of £1.5bn in the year to April 3 and expects adjusted EBIT to be between £177m and £181m, surpassing last year’s £144m.

On Q1 sales jump 78.3%

Swiss sports brand On sales grew 78.3% to 420.2mCHF (£375.8m) for Q1 and has raised its net sales outlook for the year to at least 1.74bnCHF (£1.56bn) with a gross profit of over 1bnCHF (£894m).

Castore banks on new kit deals and retail stores as it expands into Europe

Sportswear brand Castore plans to accelerate its growth in Europe driven by new sports partnerships with leading European clubs and more bricks-and-mortar stores over the next year.

UK filed 5,318 influencer complaints in 2022

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) annual report reveals it received 5,318 complaints against influencers last year up 9% from 2021.

UK ranks fourth globally in Shopify Entrepreneurship Index

UK businesses on Shopify generated £28.8bn in business activity and contributed £14.3bn to GDP in 2022, with the businesses supporting over 78,000 jobs directly and nearly 200,000 jobs in total.

Brompton Bikes confirms £19m equity raise to fund expansion

Brompton Bikes has sold an 8.5% £19m stake in the company to growth fund BGF as it looks to accelerate international expansion and to consolidate its success in China, Germany and the US.

Walpole pushes for the reinstatement of tax-free shopping for visitors in the UK

Walpole, the industry body that represents more than 250 British luxury companies is lobbying the government to reinstate a tax-free shopping scheme for international tourists.

Frasers Group believed to be exploring sale of Liam Gallagher’s Pretty Green

Frasers Group is understood to be in a series of discussions regarding the possible sale of Liam Gallagher’s Pretty Green after it acquired the brand from JD Sports last year.

eBay to be headline sponsor for Love Island

ITV has announced that eBay will be the new headline sponsor for reality show Love Island when it returns to ITV2 this summer for its 10th season.

TRENDS, STRATEGY AND TECHNOLOGY

Are glory days over for Boohoo in the wake of Shein’s runaway success?

As both sales and profits slump for Boohoo amid the cost-of-living crisis in a highly competitive market, Retail Week looks at whether Boohoo can recapture its glory days.

How Boohoo plans to get back to growth – with help from Debenhams

Back in January 2021, Boohoo bought Debenhams out of administration in a £55m deal and CEO John Lyttle says it is “very happy” with Debenhams’ performance which is already profitable.

How to avoid being cancelled

The threat of being 'cancelled' on social media is a reputational risk that needs to be factored into your crisis planning argues Charlie Holding.

A guide to social media reputation management

Social media reputation management isn’t about controlling the narrative, it's about listening, learning from feedback, and responding in a way that builds trust in your brand.

Reach, frequency and influence: understanding the third pillar of brand growth

Luke Barnes of agency Influencer argues that alongside reach and frequency, the social world has built a third coefficient of brand growth: influence.

Why you need to address all 3 stages of the search journey

Chris Pitt of Vertical Leap explains why your search marketing strategy could fail if you don’t seriously consider each part of the customer journey.

Affluent and younger shoppers are most eco-focused

A ESW survey found 83% of Gen Z shoppers consider sustainability when making a purchase, and 91% of cross-border e-shoppers whose average online spend is 4% more than domestic shoppers.

Retail gift card sector grows amid cost-of-living crisis

More than half 50.4% of Gen Z and 53.3% of millennials say that they were introduced to a brand through receiving a gift card.

Product placement more favourable than traditional advertising

The majority (59%) of UK consumers would prefer to watch TV programmes and films with product placement as opposed to advertising breaks.

PEOPLE, MOVERS AND SHAKERS

Ex-ASOS sustainability chief Simon Platts joins circular start-up RE-UP as CEO

Former ASOS Responsible Sourcing and ESG Director Simon Platts has joined start-up RE-UP, which offers a workable solution for circularity and end-of-life management for retailers.

Bally creative director exits

Bally creative director Rhuigi Villaseñor has exited the Swiss luxury fashion brand after less than two years in the role.

BRAND NEWS

Ikea’s opens new distribution centre in Kent

IKEA has opened a new 452,000 sq.ft. distribution centre in Dartford Kent to enable faster deliveries across London and forms part of IKEA’s push to grow its online business.

Wilko, URNB & Jo Malone tap Clearpay to offer customers flexible payments

BNPL platform Clearpay has partnered with a raft of retailers including Wilko, Mac, Jo Malone, Tom Ford and the parent company of Urban Outfitters, URBN to offer flexible payments in-store.

JYSK Announces the Opening of its 30th UK Store in Warrington

Danish retailer JYSK will be opening its 30th UK store in Warrington this month and plans to focus for the rest of the year on renovating six of its current UK stores.

Mamas & Papas launch Loved for Life circular offering

Mamas & Papas, has launched a new recycling initiative ‘Loved for Life’ which offers parents a range of sustainable services that encourage baby products to be reused, refreshed or recycled.

Chloé collaborates with footwear brand Teva

French luxury fashion house Chloé has unveiled an exclusive footwear collaboration with sport sandal brand Teva.

AND FINALLY

Martha Stewart, 81, is oldest Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover model

American lifestyle guru Martha Stewart has become the oldest cover model for Sports Illustrated's annual swimsuit edition, at the age of 81.

PRSHOTS TOP 10 SEARCHES

What were our users searching for on PRShots Week ending April 12^th 2023?

1/ Summer

2/ Garden

3/ Sunglasses

4/ Cushion

5/ Sandals

6/ Green

7/ Coronation

8/ Picnic

9/ Stripe  

10/ Outdoor Living

COLLABORATIONS ON PRSHOTS

Our PRShots brands are looking for media and influencers who want to work with them on collaborations. Register for free at PRShots new collabs service to find out more https://collabs.prshots.com/ 

NEW BRANDS TO PRSHOTS

HebTroCo are based in Hebden Bridge and started in 2015 in the pub; they started selling trousers back in 2016 and have never looked back and now sell everything from jackets, to gifts, to their unique Action Blankets. 

Paria sell cycle clothing and accessories that couple urban influences with the grit and fervour of the Yorkshire countryside, and collaborate with artists, designers, and illustrators to create something inspiring that promotes a friendly and inclusive attitude to cycling.

Love Hero founders Joshua, Tanja and Heather believed there was a better way to produce clothing that didn’t cost the planet and could reflect the real people who live on it. Which resulted in Love Hero a planet-conscious clothing for ordinary people living extraordinary lives.

Studio started back in 1962 and delivers everything from homewares through to clothing and footwear from top brand names as well as its own branded clothing.

Mission C founder Qes discovered that CBD oil helped his Grandad - who was living with dementia - feel calm and contented, he knew it could help others too. So he created a natural and accessible remedy for people looking to improve their quality of life.

Lavender Hill creates luxurious staples, using natural sources, with extra emphasis placed on how the clothes feel,  giving every item the softest touch imaginable and that every piece feels soft and comforting next to your skin.

Jessica Russell Flint is British designer who creates vibrant, entirely unique hand-illustrated prints, with luxury products ranging across accessories, clothing, sleepwear and homeware.

Tweedmill is a family run business established in 1971 that creates beautiful British-made blankets, picnic rugs, home accessories and more and are stocked in more than 4000 retailers UK wide.

HELP WITH YOUR IMAGE SEARCHES

The latest images on PRShots are found here https://www.prshots.com/whatsnew why not bookmark the page for a regular feed of the latest images on PRShots!! You can select the latest images from the last 24hours, week, or month.

BRANDS WITH NEW IMAGES

Clothing, beauty and accessories

Matalan has new summer accessories, mens Taylor & Wright suits, kids summer outfits and beachwear plus new womenswear.

Shoe Zone has new summer shoes, trainers and sandals and welly boots for festivals.

Monsoon has new shoes, accessories, jewellery and women and children’s summer dresses and beachwear.

Silk & Lawn has new clothing and accessories.

Threadbare has more summer clothing and beachwear from its new Greecian Getaway range.

PrettyLittleThing  has new Bridal edit,  Kappa and Gemma Owen collaborations, plus beach outfits and a Sasa By Lopez collection.

Primark has a new Keith Haring collab, new makeup, Primark Cares and EDIT ranges, Jurassic Park kids range, a new Bridgerton range of clothes and accessories.

Fatface has new denim jackets, kids summer clothing, sandals, bags, clothes, accessories and jewellery for the summer plus Father’s Day gifts.

Very  has new V by Very ranges

Scamp & Dude has new summer wear.

F&F has new summer ranges modelled by Kelly Brook

Peacocks has new womenswear ranges with swim and beach wear.

Roman Originals has new spring and summer ranges in all sizes.

New Look has new women’s summer wear, and footwear ranges.

Dune London has new shoes and bags in day-glow colours and embellished with diamante to leather and studs

Accessorize has a wide range of new bags and purses.

River Island has new summer wear.

Dunelm has new loungewear.

Oliver Bonas has new summer outfits, shoes, sandals, bags, accessories and jewellery.

Tu Clothing has new linen high-summer clothing.

Barbour has new mens, womens and kids ranges.

Regatta has a new Orla Kiely collaboration range.

George at Asda has new summer beach and womenswear and Father’s Day gifts.

Office has new sandal and trainer ranges.

See additional new clothing and accessories images from the last few weeks at

Dune London Men’s TK Maxx Aspiga Nologo Daisy Park Bonmarché Peacocks Matalan Bryony Bel Crew Clothing Radley Lipsy National Trust Shop Fatface Cotton Traders

Home, garden and food

Joe Browns has new homeware for the summer.

The Range has a new honey comb collection of kitchen and table ware.

Cardfactory has new Father’s Day and mermaid themed gifts.

Homesense has new kitchen and tableware for dinner parties and accessories for the home and picnic ware.

Dobbies Garden Centres has new plants, picnic ideas, terrariums and indoors and outdoors ranges  for the home.

Hobbycraft has new DIY Father’s Day gifts, foam mosaic art and paint and sew your own ranges and cardboard shop and playhouses.

George at Asda has new Father’s Day outfits.

Dunelm has a new Disney and Natural History Museum collaborations plus Timeless and Pride & Joy homeware ranges for lounge, bedroom, dining room and kitchen. 

Oliver Bonas has new home ranges for indoors and outdoors.

Primark has a new Bridgerton range of home ware.

Cartwright & Butler has new Father’s Day ranges.

Regatta has a new Orla Kiely collaboration range of tents and accessories.

Cutter & Squidge has new Father’s Day and afternoon tea treats.

TK Maxx has new homeware, picnic and beach accessories.

Nologo has new gifts.

Studio has new gift ranges.

See additional new home images from the last weeks from

Fritz Fryer Habitat Cuckooland Daisy Park Next DFS Ivyline Furniture Village Primark Home Cambridge Imprint Biscuiteers Baking Sofology Wilko National Trust shop Marks & Spencer B&M Cult Furniture Next Branch Jewellery GettingPersonal Nest

Looking for inspiration?

Our trends lightboxes section has lots of ideas for features and themes but If  you can't find something or you need help then email us at support@prshots.com, and we'll see if we can help

DIARY

PRShots Retail Calendar Alerts

Days until Father’s Day - 32

Days until Halloween - 167

Days until Singles Day - 178

Days until Black Friday - 191

Days until Christmas Day - 222

How to get your brand on the May Editorial Calendars, higher up on search engines and in social media

We’re now well into Spring, so carry on adding those spring-summer-related images and there are bank holidays aplenty this month, and hopefully, we’ll have great weather. So add all those keywords relating to being out of the house and into the garden and the great outdoors; keywords to add include garden, garden parties, barbecues, (don’t forget to add all of the other spellings BBQ, Bar-B-Que etc) picnics, outdoors etc. 

Summer holidays are on the horizon so images of beach holidays and swimwear, as well as holiday clothes, festival clothes and all of the associated keywords and phrases eg sandals, beachwear, swimsuits, bikinis, linen, summer wear.

Although with the cost-of-living increases not everyone will be going abroad so still keep keywords and phrases like “staycation” “holistay” “holiday at home” to your keywords, and why not suggest clothing like cardigans and hoodies for the colder UK evenings.

May is also the start of wedding season so if you have any wedding-related items, then get ready to promote them with any wedding keywords, bridal, bride, groom, hen party, stag do etc.

May Diary - Weeks/Months

May is National Walking Month, National Smile Month and Skin Cancer awareness month

It’s also;

National Vegetarian Week (May 15^th – May 21^st)

National Stationery Week (May 15^th – May 21^st)

Cannes Film Festival (May 16^th – May 27^th)

National Doughnut Week (May 20^th – May 28^th)

Sandwich Week (May 21^st – May 27^th)

Chelsea Flower Show (May 22^nd – May 27^th)

National Barbeque Week (May 29^th – June 4^th)

May - Days

18^th – Ascension Day

20^th – World Bee Day

20^th – World Whisky Day

21^st – International Tea Day

22^nd – World Goth Day

22^nd – Craft Distillery Day (US)

25^th - Geek Pride Day

25^th – National Wine Day (US)

29^th – National Biscuit Day

29^th – Spring Bank Holiday

29^th – Memorial Day (US)

Do you have any news on your brand that you want us to feature, or have a new appointee or a new event that you would like us to feature? Get in touch at news@prshots.com We don't charge, so get emailing now!!!

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