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PRShots Roundup brings you the latest retail news from Dr Martens, Very, Ikea, Boden, Beaufort & Blake, Cotswold Co, Saint & Sofia, Burberry, B&Q and John Lewis. Plus, are shoppers changing the way they buy groceries, how Hollywood helped transform Warburtons and more.
THE LATEST RETAIL INDUSTRY NEWS
Dr Martens swings to first-half loss
Dr Martens results for the half to 29 Sept showed a pre-tax loss of £28.7m, compared with a profit of £25.8m a year earlier.
John Lewis Black Friday searches spike following return of ‘Never Knowingly Undersold’ pledge
John Lewis has reported a surge in interest in its Black Friday deals following the return of the Never Knowingly Undersold price promise.
Very losses deepen as Q1 sales fall
Very Group Q1 sales to 28 Sept fell 5% to £450.2m, with revenue for Very UK down 3.8% to £392.1m and Littlewoods down 14.4% to £45m, with pre-tax losses up to £22.9m from £5.8m.
Black Friday footfall 'to rise 2%'
UK footfall is expected to grow by 2% on Black Friday as discounts unlock pent-up spending from bargain-focused, post-payday shoppers, according to RetailNext.
IKEA takes profit hit as price cuts dent sales
Ingka Group, the largest IKEA franchisee net profits for the year to Aug 31 were down to €800m from €1.5bn as it reduced prices to encourage shoppers back to the stores.
Gen Z shoppers set to spend over half a billion pounds on Black Friday
Gen Z consumers will spend £566m over Black Friday, which works out to be more than £82 per person, on average.
Lords committee recommends looking ‘beyond retail’ for high street success
A House of Lords committee envisages that thriving high streets will be less dependent on retail in future, although shops will remain key to their success.
Two-fifths of frontline staff believe retail stores won’t exist by 2029
Alarming new data from the Talking Shop report reveals growing concerns among store workers that the physical store will be entirely subsumed by e-commerce in the coming years.
TRENDS, SUSTAINABILITY, STRATEGY AND TECHNOLOGY
Find out what your audience thinks about your business and turn mentions into actionable insights with the right social listening tool.
Are shoppers changing the way they buy groceries?
As more shoppers turn to the premium own-label category, has how we buy food started to change?
How Hollywood helped transform Warburtons
The boss of Warburtons has said the bakery giant would not be where it is today without the help of Hollywood A-listers Samuel L Jackson, George Clooney, Robert De Niro and The Muppets.
How Boden deploys AI during “critical sales moments”
As part of its ongoing modernisation plans, Boden has introduced an AI platform to optimise product inventory and pricing.
British consumers will shop elsewhere if a retailer charges for returns
Four in five consumers said they would shop elsewhere if a retailer began charging for returns, and 63% would be more likely to shop in-store rather than online if a retailer added return charges.
BRAND NEWS
Beaufort & Blake opens first store in London
Online clothing brand Beaufort & Blake, known for its classic styles with British heritage for men and women, has opened its first store in London, marking its first move into physical retail.
Cotswold Co has opened a shop-in-shop point inside Peter Jones
The Cotswold Company is partnering with John Lewis to launch a range in Peter Jones ahead of its ‘world flagship’ transformation.
Saint and Sofia reveals store expansion plans
Womenswear brand Saint and Sofia is looking to open 10 stores by mid-2027, following its brick-and-mortar debut in Covent Garden earlier this month.
Burberry unveils kidswear made from surplus fabrics
Burberry has unveiled a new childrenswear Remake capsule, a collection of more than 30 styles “where the main materials are crafted from surplus fabrics and yarns from previous collections”.
B&Q data highlights Christmas shopping rush amid search for trees
B&Q customer data shows Tuesday 26 Nov marked the beginning of the festive season buying rush, particularly for Christmas trees.
AND FINALLY
Netflix’s ‘Buy Now!’ shows the toll of the global shopping bonanza
The new hit Netflix documentary “Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy” may have you reconsidering where to shop and how much to buy on Black Friday and beyond.
PRSHOTS TOP 10 SEARCHES
What were our users searching for on PRShots Week ending November 22nd 2024?
1/ Christmas
2/ AW24
3/ Leopard
4/ SS25
5/ Sequin
6/ Candle
7/ Cushion
8/ Bathroom
9/ Lighting
10/ Sofa
NEW BRANDS TO PRSHOTS
Ernest Jones the jewellers came from modest beginnings, launched in 1949 it has grown from a single store in London's Oxford Street to a national chain of 100+ jewellery stores.
H Samuel are a jeweller with a long history. Started in 1862 the brand continues to this day with a mix of jewellery and watches, that are affordable and feature trend-led styles.
Frangipani was established in 2010, and produces men’s shirts and accessories crafted from high-quality materials and featuring bold prints or subtle contrasts. With each shirt embodying a perfect balance of comfort and elegance.
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.
Saywood was created in 2020 by Harriet Saywood-Bellisario, who graduated from the London College of Fashion before working at Paul Smith, Richard Nicoll and Label/Mix. The brand specialises in beautiful edits of wardrobe essentials and classics contemporised with unexpected details made to be worn and re-worn.
Jellycat is the brand of the moment and has been around for a quarter of a century. Over this time, their unmistakable characters have gained the affection of millions across 77 countries.
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 24 hours, week, or month.
BRANDS WITH NEW IMAGES
Clothing, beauty and accessories
Oliver Bonas has new February uploads of jewellery, women’s clothing, bags, shoes and accessories as well as new ranges for the New Year and SS25.
New Look has more new November outfits, winter and occasion wear outfits for women, plus ranges of womenswear including coats, jumpers, skirts and tops.
Roman Originals has more AW24 imagery, new Petite, Curve and Dusk campaign ranges of womenswear for cosy evenings and big events, new nightwear ranges with pyjamas and cosy dressing gowns.
John Lewis has new clothing and accessory gift ideas for all ages for Christmas.
Matalan has new last-minute Christmas gifts, transitional ranges, Valentine pyjamas, a new Disney and Lilo and Stitch Stitchmas collaboration, Taylor & Wright collaboration of menswear, a menopause lingerie range plus a new collaboration with The Lion King, Marvel, and Paddington.
Cotton Traders has new SS25 outfits, Christmas jumpers, cosy womenswear and menswear for AW24 including jumpers, cardigans and coats.
National Trust has new accessories including socks, hats, jewellery, scarves, bags and sunglasses for SS25.
Primark has new accessories, a new ski range, a new Rita Ora collaboration of clothing, shoes, bags, jewellery and accessories, and new tie-ups with Wicked, The Grinch, Sonic the Movie and Ashleigh Huish.
Fable England has new core jewellery ranges.
M&S has new menswear and womenswear from its Christmas adverts, a Bella Freud bag collaboration, the Christmas beauty advent calendar, party outfits for all the family, Christmas clothing, accessories and lingerie sets as well as post-surgery bras, the Dress the Nation range with Vernon Kay and AJ Odudu.
TK Maxx has SS25 clothing, accessory and makeup ranges including crochet outfits, Christmas gift-guides for men, women, kids and pets, plus new menswear and womenswear ranges including coats, jackets and hoodies.
Very has new V by very ranges of clothes and footwear including metallics, sequins and faux fur, a new Michelle Keegan collaboration, new Grinch-themed pyjamas for all the family, stocking filler accessories, and partywear ranges.
Monsoon has new designer ranges, plus clothes, shoes, boots, bags and accessories for Christmas, new edits for women and kids, bags, shoes, jewellery and accessories.
River Island has a Christmas Gift Guide and Christmas jumpers, plus new Premium and Winter Reds collections, along with party outfits and accessories for the Christmas season for men, women and children.
George at Asda has a Children in Need range, women’s and menswear for Christmas occasions and parties, Children in Need Christmas outfits, a new Roksanda and Tickled Pink collaboration clothing ranges.
Peacocks has new Christmas jumpers and fashion, Caprice Christmas pyjama collections, new womenswear, a new Louise Redknapp AW and Christmas Edit, a Michael Owen collaboration and new AW24 womenswear and jewellery.
Fatface has a new Copper & Black range of womenswear, new menswear, and kids clothing, plus Christmas clothing, accessories and jewellery for all the family plus gifts for under £50, plus more AW24 Edit ranges of womenswear.
Celtic &Co has new Christmas accessories, jumpers and cosy outfits from the winter.
Bonmarché has new Christmas jumpers and partywear, lingerie ranges, new jewellery and accessory ranges for Christmas and the winter and AW24 clothing ranges.
Scamp & Dude has Christmas party outfits and new AW24 womenswear ranges.
Peachaus has new sleepwear and lingerie for AW24 and SS25.
Dune London has new shoes, boots and bags.
See additional new clothing and accessories images from
Accessorize Barbour London Grace Deichmann Shoe Zone Online Home Shop
Home, garden and food
Oliver Bonas has new furniture and home accessories including mirrors, lighting and tableware for the New Year and SS25.
John Lewis has new home gift ideas for Christmas.
Online Home Shop has new side tables and chest of drawers, rugs, bedding, foot warmers, hot water bottles, heated pads, body wraps, plus bar stools, mirrors, cuddle cushions, shaped pillows and bolsters.
Quorn Stone has new natural stone and tumbled herringbone cobbles outdoor ranges, marble ranges for the bathroom and kitchen and Limestone cobbles for outside.
National Trust has new gifts for the home and the garden for SS25, plus decorations for Easter.
Dunelm has a new Sophie Robinson collaboration and its SS25 range of bedroom and living room furniture, soft furnishings and kitchenware.
Sofology has new SS25 Serene, Premiere and Westwood ranges of sofas, chairs and recliners.
Fritz Fryer has new antique lighting ranges, kitchen lighting ranges, as well as lamps and lights for every room in the home.
TK Maxx has a new 1960s-inspired summer range of kitchenware and furniture for the office, plus new gifting ranges, a wellness range for the New Year, Christmas gift-guides for the home.
Designers Guild has new Studio Stripes patterns for SS25.
Jan Constantine has new cushions for SS25 and Valentine’s day.
M&S has a new Nordic notes Christmas decoration ranges, National Gallery collaboration, stocking filler Christmas images and new Fearne Cotton Happy Place range, Christmas homeware including tableware, soft furnishings, candles and diffusers, Christmas decorations, homeware and bedding ranges.
Ivyline has new planters, pots for its indoor living ranges.
Cult Furniture has a new collaboration with Daniela Tasca.
Fatface has a collaboration with homeless charity Shelter, Christmas decorations for the Christmas tree and homeware gifts.
George Home has a new Christmas decorations for the tree, tableware, soft furnishings and trees, Stacey Solomon Christmas and Autumn collaborations on cookware, bedding, dining, and homeware.
Primark has new Wicked and Grinch themed gifts for kids and pets, furniture, Christmas decorations and homeware gifts, AW24 furniture, homeware, bedding, diffusers and candles.
Matalan has SS25 homeware images for the dining room, bedroom, bathroom and garden, plus Christmas gifts and decorations, a new Connie the Cockapoo range, AW24 soft furnishings and gifts, a new AW Cosy Shop range of bedding and soft furnishings, Christmas bedding ranges and presents for pets.
Treats by Mars has new Galaxy ranges of hot chocolate.
Cutter & Squidge has a new boxed cookie range.
Homesense has new Christmas gift ideas for family and pets as well as new Christmas decorations.
See additional new home images from
Hobbycraft The Gluttonous Gardener Arran Sense of Scotland Monsoon Habitat Home Bargains Very B&M Rebel Walls Dobbies Garden Centres Cambridge Imprint
DIARY
PRShots Retail Calendar Alerts
Days until Black Friday – 1
Days until Christmas – 27
Days until Valentine’s Day – 78
Days until Easter - 143
How to get your brand on the November media calendars
We are well into autumn and the Christmas season, and the media are looking for images that help them fill all those “what to buy on Black Friday” features, the endless Christmas gift guides, and all those “What to wear for the Christmas party season” articles.
You should be uploading Black Friday and Christmas images for most media, but long lead-time magazines will be looking at January issues, so anything that helps illustrate the inevitable “New you for 2025” issues will also be welcomed. So, any athleisure, outdoor, healthy, sporty images will all be useful.
As always, don’t forget to add keywords – Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Thanksgiving, Gifts, Christmas, Xmas, Winter, plus all those words beloved of home and women’s magazines like cosy, cosiness, hygge and wellbeing.
Clothing-wise the media are looking for party wear, party dresses, nightwear, going-out outfits, Christmas Jumpers, jumpers, scarves, bobble hats, beanies, cardigans, coatigans, jackets, and coats. So, make sure you have plenty of images in those categories uploaded and labelled with as many of those words as you can.
Also, make sure that if your clothing is made from a fabric associated with winter that it’s flagged up somewhere in the title/keyword or in more information. Wool (woolovers are a thing), cashmere, fur (faux obviously), velvet, plus the year’s big trends of sequins, metallics, red and gold.
If you’re aiming at being included in Christmas Guides, then make sure you have added prices. Guides are normally price-led eg “Presents under £50”, “Party dresses for less than £150” and without prices, your items won’t be included.
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.
If you’re looking for more hooks to help promote your brand and products, then see the list of days, weeks and fortnights below.
November Diary - Weeks/Months
Events to add to your marketing diary for November include.
Movember which centres around men’s health issues and moustaches, so beard and shaving-related things might be useful. It’s also World Pancreatic Cancer Month, World Vegan Month, Men’s Health Awareness Month, and in the US, it’s also National Peanut Butter Lovers’ Month, Sweet Potato Month and Candy Month.
Weeks to celebrate in November include;
Transgender Awareness Week (13th-19th)
November - Days
28th – Thanksgiving (US)
29th – Black Friday
30th – US Small Business Saturday
30th – St Andrew’s Day (Bank Holiday Scotland)
NB - All dates have been checked, but some events may change due to unforeseen circumstances or have not been fully confirmed for 2024 by the authorities controlling the event(s).
How to get your brand in the media in December
Christmas is nearly over by now for the media; there are just a few dailies, weeklies, websites and influencers doing last-minute gift guides for Christmas but for most print media it’s the New Year, and what’s happening in 2025.
You should be uploading SS25 outfits and home goods for those “A new you for 2025” and “Redecorate for 2025” issues, so athleisure, outdoor healthy sporty images will all be useful, plus anything for the home.
As always don’t forget to add keywords – New Year, Gifts, Spring, Christmas, Xmas, Holidays, Winter plus all those words beloved of home magazines like cosy, cosiness, hygge, wellbeing.
Clothing wise the media are still looking for going out outfits for Christmas and New Year, so party wear, party dresses, nightwear and also winter clothing like jumpers, scarves, bobble hats, beanies, cardigans, coatigans, jackets, coats are still being looked for. So, make sure that you have plenty of images in those categories uploaded and labelled with as many of those words as you can.
You can also start to look at holiday clothing and outfits for when the weather gets a little warmer so make sure SS25 is flagged on your drops even if they’re not yet available until 2025 – If they’re not on sale until Jan or Feb then use the On Sale date field to flag this up. You can either add a specific date, 2/2/25 or if you’re not sure then you can use the text “available first week in Feb.”
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.
If you’re looking for more hooks to help promote your brand and products, then see the list of days, weeks and fortnights below.
December Diary - Weeks/Months
December is all about Christmas and New Year events, but it’s also AIDS Awareness Month, Universal Human Rights Month, Decembeard, and No Gender December.
Additionally, the 1st week (2nd-6th) is UK Charity Week, and Kwanzaa (26th - 1st Jan).
December Diary - Days
1st – World AIDS Day
1st – Advent Sunday/First Sunday of Advent
2nd – St Andrew’s Day (Scotland)
2nd – Cyber Monday
2nd – Four years since the second-lockdown ended in the UK
2nd – English Breakfast Day
3rd – National day of giving (US)
6th – St Nicholas Day
7th – Returns will start to come back from Black Friday sales – be ready for them
7th – UK Small Business Saturday
10th – Human Rights Day
12th – Christmas Jumper Day (See https://www.savethechildren.org.uk/christmas-jumper-day)
18th – Stilton Day
19th – National Regifting Day
21st – Winter Solstice
21st – Super Saturday/Panic Saturday
25th – Christmas Day
25th – Hanukkah begins
26th – Boxing Day
31st – New Year’s Eve
NB - All dates have been checked, but some events may change due to unforeseen circumstances or have not been fully confirmed for 2024 by the authorities controlling the event(s).
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