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PRShots Digest brings you the latest retail news from House of Fraser, Urban Outfitters, Bench, Mulberry, River Island and H&M. Plus, articles on 7 best Instagram planning apps, how Argos is prioritising convenience and value, how using fandom can benefit your brand and more.
THE LATEST RETAIL INDUSTRY NEWS
House of Fraser to close two more stores
Frasers Group will be closing two more of its department stores in Guildford and Solihull over the next month, almost halving in size from 59 stores since it was bought out of administration in 2018.
Urban Outfitters posts record Q2 sales
Urban Outfitters Q2 sales to July 31 increased 7.5% to a record $1.27bn with net income for the quarter of $104.1m, on the back of increases at its Free People and Anthropologie brands.
London Designer Outlet posts record sales
London Designer Outlet at Wembley Park achieved a “record” month of trading in July, putting the month’s figures “on par” with the Christmas period at the destination.
Till sales at UK supermarkets plunge to lowest level since January
NIQ figures show total till sales across UK supermarkets plummeted by 7.2% in the four weeks ending 12th Aug – the lowest sale since January.
Majority of UK shoppers experiencing out-of-stocks instore and online
Retail Insight survey sees 82% of UK shoppers experienced out-of-stock products in-store in the past year, up +11 percentage points on 2022, with 60% finding the same issue online, up 6 points.
Food delivery startup Getir to cut 11% of workers in global restructuring
Turkish grocery delivery firm Getir announced a global restructuring, saying it plans to cut 2,500 jobs across five countries including the UK, or 10.9% of its total workforce.
Bench owner Apparel Brands bought by True Capital
London investment company True Capital has acquired Manchester-based Apparel Brands which owns Bench, Nicce and Hooch for an undisclosed sum.
TRENDS, STRATEGY AND TECHNOLOGY
7 best Instagram planning apps for stress-free marketing
Instagram planning apps can save you time and money and make your work week a lot less hectic. Hootsuite identifies the top 7 tools for you to consider.
How Argos is prioritising convenience and value
Argos, part of the Sainsbury’s group since 2016, operates across channels, selling both in standalone shops and new digital format stores inside branches of Sainsbury’s.
Why brand strategy based on fandom can bring benefits
From fitness brand Gymshark to rock-n-roll water company Liquid Death, fan-propelled brands abound and are successful.
Why strategy must lead tactics in marketing planning
It's time to get out of a tactics-first mindset and chart a strategic course based on knowing why you're doing what you're doing.
A quarter of consumers (25%) are worried that AI will negatively impact their shopping experiences, while 91% say they’d rather interact with humans than AI.
UK students to spend £116m+ on trainers before Christmas
UK students are expected to spend an impressive £116.5m on trainers before Christmas, according to a UniDays survey.
Programmatic ad spend to increase in anticipation of cookie demise
Investment in automated ad buying is increasing as tracking cookies crumble. New research highlights the top eight ways marketers are trying to fight adspend wastage in the privacy-first age.
PEOPLE, MOVERS AND SHAKERS
Former Fendi and Christian Dior executive to join Mulberry
Mulberry is adding ex-Fendi and Christian Dior executive Leslie Serrero as an additional independent non-executive director on the audit committee of the board.
BRAND NEWS
H&M collaborates with Iggy Jeans on limited edition denim capsule
H&M-owned Monki has teamed up with Iggy Jeans to launch a limited-edition denim collection in the beginning of September.
River Island launches public casting call for denim campaign
High street retailer River Island has put out an open casting call to find members of the public for its upcoming denim campaign this autumn.
Sportswear brands dominate store openings at Westfield
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) has posted a notable surge in signings and store openings by sportswear brands this year.
Kendall Jenner is the ultimate ‘horse girl’ in Stella McCartney’s new campaign
Stella McCartney, the brand pioneering sustainable and conscious luxury, has launched its Winter 2023 campaign, starring Kendall Jenner and a herd of McCartney-clad horses.
AND FINALLY x2
Pressure grows on Nike over Mary Earps replica shirt
Nike’s much-criticised decision to not issue a replica jersey for England goalkeeper Mary Earps has led to a petition to get Nike to change its mind, it currently has over 86,000 signatures
The UK's top 100 coolest brands according to kids
With 72% of the UK’s kids aged 7-14 deeming it ‘cool’, Netflix has won Generation Alpha’s hearts, while homegrown British brands struggle to gain a foothold on the list.
PRSHOTS TOP 10 SEARCHES
What were our users searching for on PRShots Week ending August 18th 2023?
1/ AW23
2/ Christmas
3/ Halloween
4/ Throw
5/ Green
6/ Bags
7/ Cushion
8/ Wreath
9/ Beach
10/ Bikini
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
Style For Stroke x FUND FUND is a fashion-for-good brand with a mission to fund positive change, prioritising people and planet in everything they do, and since their launch in 2020, they have donated 100% of their profit to good causes.
Fable England produces bags, accessories and delicate hand-painted jewellery with each piece made with positivity and kindness to uplift the human spirit and bring joy to their owners.
Neem London produces sustainable, stylish and classic menswear pieces with low emissions, and according to the Guardian, is “a label to consider for your wardrobe staples.”
Rebecca Rhoades is a successful and well-acknowledged Leeds-based womenswear designer who specialises in slow fashion featuring beautiful designs that are well known across the globe with influence in the UK, UAE, AU & EU.
Amelia Scott is a new London-based accessories brand created by Jane Hebden, an award-winning watch and jewellery designer. The jewellery range celebrates individuality and embraces the wonderful world of colour.
Lola Starr ranges are designed with the environment and functionality in mind. They source only the highest quality recyclable materials designed to be recycled, recreated and remoulded again and again. They are a British brand that champions local expertise and keeps the carbon footprint to its lowest level.
Arran Sense of Scotland puts quality and fragrance first, so you can be sure that each of their Bath, Body & Home products have been expertly crafted and manufactured with the greatest care on the Island home of Arran.
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
Roman Originals has new autumn clothes ranges.
New Look has the last drops for August womenswear including cardigans, jumpers, coats, knitwear, bags, blouses, bodysuits, tops, jackets, skirts, trousers, footwear and jewellery.
Primark has makeup accessories, Halloween outfits, and a new AW23 clothes for women, men and kids, plus shoes and bags, as well as makeup, new Click and Collect Exclusives and Flexi Formal range.
Matalan has new AW23 Papaya and Et Vous womenswear including blouses, jackets, trousers, dresses, bags, belts, scarves and lingerie ranges, jewellery ranges, back-to-school ranges, plus pink and Barbie ranges.
Very has new Lucy Mecklenburgh ranges of womenswear and childrenswear plus V by Very women’s ranges of dresses, skirts, jackets, and nightwear for AW23.
Fatface has new AW23 womens, mens, and kids clothing ranges plus shoes, jewellery, bags and accessory ranges.
Dune London Mens has new AW boots and shoe and accessory collections.
Dune London has new shoes, bags and accessories for going out, and new ankle and cowboy boots, sandals, trainers, shoes and luggage.
PrettyLittleThing has a new Indiyah, Ami Charlize and La La Anthony edits.
Accessorize has Christmas themed jewellery, Christmas gifts as well as new bags, purses, cardholders, belts, accessories and jewellery ranges.
Silk & Lawn has new multi-coloured turban and headband ranges.
The Morphbag by GSK has a new range of vegan handbags for Christmas.
Marks & Spencer has new M&S Collection AW23 boots, shoes, bags, hats and scarves for women.
TK Maxx has new clothing, accessories, shoes and boots for women, men’s clothes and shoes and clothes for children and babies.
Belissh has new vegan leather bags and dresses for the party season.
Threadbare has new Urban Renaissance and Luxe women’s wear ranges.
Radley has more 25th anniversary special bags as well as new bag and shoe ranges for releases in August/September/October AW23.
River Island has new womens wear for AW23 including tops, jackets, skirts, trousers, knitwear, bags and partywear.
Barbour has new winter coats plus autumn dresses, coats, bags, gloves and scarves plus gift ranges for Christmas and back-to-school ranges.
Monsoon has Christmas gifts, new back-to-school kids clothing ranges, plus AW23 womenswear, bags, scarves, dresses, kaftans, jackets and jumpers, accessories and jewellery.
Curvy Kate has new Non-Stop, Balcony, Peep Show and plunge ranges.
Joe Browns has new AW23 Autumn Elegance, Charmed Life and Day Dreamer clothing including cardigans, coats, dresses, blouses, trousers plus new footwear ranges.
See additional new clothing and accessories images from the last few weeks at
Bonmarché Oliver Bonas Shoe Zone Peacocks Regatta Cardfactory Deichmann UK George at Asda Scamp & Dude National Trust shop Tu Clothing From my mother’s garden Aspiga Cotton Traders
Home, garden and food
Daisy Park has new Christmas decorations.
Sofology has new sofa, chairs and footstool ranges.
Primark Home has new homeware collections, Halloween decorations, click and collect exclusives, new AW23 home ranges for kids and adults bedrooms, as well as the kitchen and dining room.
Dunelm has new back-to-university student homeware starter packs, autumn Halloween homewares, sewing, Disney, Harry Potter and Winnie the Pooh home and gift, pets, and furniture ranges.
B&M has new ranges for the kitchen, bathroom and bedroom plus autumn, Halloween and Christmas decorations and homeware.
Dobbies Garden Centres has new Christmas wreaths, and Christmas gifts and decorations, plus house plant and outdoor living collections.
Cardfactory has a range of Christmas gifts for kids.
Next has new Christmas homeware, bedding, gifts, wrapping and decorations and new Town & Country furniture range, a Natural Rustic furniture ranges plus new bedding and homeware ranges and Halloween homeware.
National Trust shop has new Halloween gift and decorations ranges.
Cambridge Imprint has new Christmas crackers, envelopes and paper ranges.
TK Maxx has new Halloween decorations and Christmas gift including spa gifts and toys plus new AW23 home ranges.
Homesense has new Christmas decorations and gifts, plus AW23 homeware for the bedroom, lounge, kitchen and bathroom and Halloween decorations as well as gifting ranges.
Cuckooland has the Woody outdoor pizza oven, and an innovative 2-person roof-mounted tent.
Oliver Bonas has new homeware, household gifts and accessories as well as furniture for the bedroom and the lounge and decorations for the tree.
Hobbycraft has made and DIY Christmas decorations.
Biscuiteers Baking has a Natural History museum collaboration, and new goodies for Christmas from gifts to edible decorations.
Cartwright & Butler has new Christmas hamper ranges.
Hotel Chocolat has new summer gifting chocolate collections including vegan collections and liqueurs.
See additional new home images from the last weeks from
Cult Furniture Cutter & Squidge The Range Very Matalan George Home Marks & Spencer Wilko Tweedmill Ivyline Imp & Maker Furniture Village Designers Guild
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 Halloween – 69
Days until Singles Day – 80
Days until Black Friday – 93
Days until Christmas Day – 124
Days until Valentine’s Day - 175
AUGUST DIARY
How to make your products attractive to the media in August
Summer is in full-swing and hopefully the weather will improve – ie stop raining in the north and stop being so damn hot in the south. So, there are just a few weeks left to boost your summer-related images before the AW23 images fully kick in.
Plus tag anything relevant with summer/high-summer, and push anything to do with the outside; garden furniture, anything for a garden party, or a picnic or barbecue. Plus, don’t forget to add all of the other spellings BBQ, Bar-B-Que etc and other related keywords like picnics, garden party, garden parties etc and if you have them then firepits and chimineas for the colder UK evenings would be good.
It's also a good time to start uploading your AW23 images. So jumpers, scarves, coats, boots along with raincoats, hoodies, and cardigans will all start to be searched for by the media.
It's also not too early to be thinking about back-to-school items - Scottish schools start again end of August – and university students will be getting ready to sort out their wardrobes and rooms so add fresher(s) and university as keywords to anything relevant.
It’s also still time to add Halloween ideas and Christmas gifts if you have them.
August Diary - Weeks/Months
Music festivals are still on, so add any festival wear and camping-related things you have and keyword them with festival, particularly in the weeks running up to the August bank holiday weekend with Reading/Leeds festivals 25-27th August.
The 24th marks 3 months until the Black Friday/Cyber Monday (24-27th Nov) weekend so start preparing for those sales now.
Weeks to celebrate this month include; the Edinburgh Festival (5-28th August)
August - Days
23rd - International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition
24th – 3 Months until Black Friday
24th – National Burger Day
25th – National Second-hand Wardrobe Day
25th – Christmas in August (4 months until Christmas Day)
26-28th – Notting Hill Carnival
26th - Women's Equality Day
28th – August Bank Holiday
28th – National Red Wine Day
30th - Raksha Bandhan
SEPTEMBER DIARY
How to make your products attractive to the media in September
Summer is nearly over, and it’s time to look to the autumn and to the winter. Mid-September marks just 100 days to Christmas so you should be adding your Christmas images for those monthly/weekly magazines with medium lead times. Plus, look at adding some spring-summer 24 images for those titles with long lead times, as they will be starting to look at their Feb and March 2024 issues so you can help them out with previews of SS24.
The media are going to be starting to create features around getting back to the office, what to wear for university or college, back-to-school. Now the nights are drawing in, they’ll also be running features on winter wear, so add coats/jumpers/boots plus, they’ll be looking for images for Halloween and bonfire night parties and there are decorations and gifts for Christmas and some last-minute AW images.
Don’t forget to add keywords – Gifts, Christmas, Xmas, Autumn, Winter, and Halloween will all be looked for. It’s National Yoga Awareness Month, so you could add yoga as a keyword on any athleisure wear, floor mats, rugs etc.
If you’re a PRShots brand user and you need more ideas, then take a look at the keywords that media are searching for on PRShots and try and add those in.
September Diary - Weeks/Months
September is National Honey Month and National Yoga Awareness Month, and it’s second-hand September (an Oxfam initiative https://www.oxfam.org.uk/get-involved/second-hand-september/), Self-Care September, as well as Organic, September, and Sourdough September.
September also has London Fashion Week between 15th-19th September, and this year features men's and women’s fashion and features digital and physical events. See the schedule here https://londonfashionweek.co.uk/schedule.
There’s also the Moda trade show (3rd-6th Sept), London Textile Fair (4th-5th Sept) Top Drawer (10th-12th Sept) and Sustainable Fashion Week (25th Sept to 8th Oct).
Other weeks to celebrate this month include;
British Science Festival (7th -10th Sept)
New York fashion week (7th-13th Sept)
Jane Austen Festival (8th-17th Sept)
Open House Festival (8th -21st Sept)
National Horse Race Week (9th-17th Sept)
Sexual Health Week (11th- 17th Sept)
Great British Beach Clean week (16th-25th Sept)
British Food Fortnight (16th Sept - 1st Oct)
Negroni week (18th-24th Sept)
Milan fashion week (19th-25th Sept)
Wool Week (23rd Sept – 1st Oct)
Paris fashion week (25th Sept -3rd Oct)
September - Days
1st – National Tofu Day
1st – Blackpool Illuminations start
1st – Schools start going back
4th – Labor Day US
5th – International Charity Day
6th – Read a book Day
6th – Krishna Janmashtami – (Hindu Holiday)
7th – National Beer Lovers day (US)
8th -10th – The Goodwood Revival
10th – Great North Run Newcastle
16th – 100 days until Christmas
19th – Ganesh Chaturthi – (Hindu holiday)
21st – Zero emissions day
22nd – Car-free Day
23rd – September Equinox
15th – Rosh Hashanah
25th – 3 months until Christmas Day
27th – World Tourism Day
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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