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PRShots Roundup brings you the latest retail news from WHSmith, Castore, Morrisons, Frasers, Quiz, Halfords, Ikea, Space NK, H&M and Primark. Plus, how retailers can empower store staff with technology, do loyalty programmes retain customers and more.
THE LATEST RETAIL INDUSTRY NEWS
WHSmith high street sales sink
WHSmith group sales were up 4% in the 21 weeks to 25 Jan, with travel sales up 7%. However, its high street division sales fell 6%.
Castore has ‘strongest ever sales performance’
Castore enjoyed a “record Christmas” with revenues up 16% in December its “strongest ever trading performance” over the period.
Morrisons hails ‘broad-based progress’ as profits and revenues jump
Morrisons Q4 revenues were up 4.9% to over £3.7bn with underlying profits of £275m, up from £259m in Q4 2023.
Frasers Group snaps up stake in THG
Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group has bought a 4.8% shareholding in THG following the news that THG expects to return to growth later this year after the spin-off of its Ingenuity technology platform.
WHSmith cuts over 100 travel store manager roles amid overhaul
WHSmith is cutting over 100 manager roles across its travel store network as part of its restructuring plan focused on its growing travel business. #Retail #RetailNews
Quiz on verge of administration
Quiz Clothing, which recently delisted from the London Stock Exchange, is understood to be lining up Teneo as administrator in a move expected to take place before the end of next week.
Halfords upgrades profit forecast
Halfords has raised its profit expectations for the year to £32-37m following improved trading, but warned it is preparing for a £23m rise in costs due to the Autumn Budget.
TRENDS, SUSTAINABILITY, STRATEGY AND TECHNOLOGY
How retailers can empower store staff with technology
New staff data shows that while many retail leaders are excited about the opportunities afforded by advancing in-store technologies, the store staff themselves still have many reservations.
Do loyalty programmes retain customers?
Loyalty can’t be manufactured outright: it’s earned. And for most businesses, dependency is the foundation on which loyalty is built.
Eight digital and marketing trends for 2025
From pragmatism to personality, Econsultancy looks at some attributes (and trends therein) that will define marketing and digital in 2025.
How DeepSeek will be a boon for marketers
The powerful open-source AI from China is less expensive than ChatGPT and Gemini and just as good. Expect better and cheaper marketing tools soon.
Ikea eyes second-hand expansion across Europe as it scales up trial
Ikea is expanding its second-hand marketplace from pilots in Oslo and Madrid to run nationwide across Norway and Spain and with plans to open it to “all markets in Europe” in a “couple of years”.
BRAND NEWS
Space NK selects Bluewater for first store opening of 2025
British beauty retailer Space NK is landing at Bluewater Shopping Centre in April, marking its first store opening of 2025 amid its continued expansion.
H&M increases online return fees for UK customers
H&M is increasing its fees for customers choosing to return their online orders by post from £1.99 to £2.95 from 3 Feb.
Mango to open second Oxford Street flagship amid global expansion
Mango is to open a UK flagship store at 415-419 Oxford Street as it accelerates its expansion plans. This will be its second store on Oxford Street.
The Range and Wilko launch ‘customisable’ insurance plans
CDS Superstores is launching an insurance offering for The Range and Wilko, which will cover pets, home contents, gadgets, travel and bill protection.
Primark launches new line for people with disabilities
Primark has launched clothing created specifically for people with disabilities. Designer Victoria Jenkins adapted the most sold items to suit the needs of shoppers with disabilities.
Marella launches capsule collection with Emily Ratajkowski
Italian fashion brand Marella, has teamed up with supermodel and entrepreneur Emily Ratajkowski for the launch of a capsule collection.
AND FINALLY
Warburtons launches ‘Snacktive Wear’ range of athleisurewear
Breads, pittas and crumpets manufacturer Warburtons is launching its debut “Snacktive Wear’ athleisure range, which it claims combines “fitness and flavour”.
PRSHOTS TOP 10 SEARCHES
What were our users searching for on PRShots Week ending January 24th 2025?
1/ SS25
2/ Valentine
3/ Leopard
4/ Easter
5/ Bag
6/ Pink
7/ Kitchen
8/ Bathroom
9/ Skirt
10/ Bedroom
HELP WITH YOUR IMAGE SEARCHES
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NEW BRANDS TO PRSHOTS
Katie Loxton Katie Loxton is the go-to online destination for beautifully personalised handbags, accessories, and gifts for all occasions including Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. All their Designed in the UK all their products are designed in the UK with their bags all made from vegan leather.
BRANDS WITH NEW IMAGES
Clothing, beauty and accessories
Barbour has new Chapter One collections, Lunar New Year clothing ranges, plus accessories for your pets, new ranges of clothing, boots and accessories for SS25 for men and women.
Primark has new Edit ranges, loungewear, Snaffle ranges of shoes and bags, NFL clothing ranges, Hello Kitty kids clothing and accessories, swimwear for the beach, a new Youth range, new bags, lingerie and nightwear for Valentines and a Performance 2025 ranges of athleisure clothes, shoes and bags.
Peacocks has new womenswear SS25 clothing ranges including skirts, jumpers, a Louise Redknapp SS25 range, a new Caprice SS25 lingerie range just in time for Valentine’s Day and a Michael Owen SS25 Edit.
Monsoon has new Jan-Feb campaigns for women and kids, new wedding outfit shoes and dresses and SS25 womenswear ranges including holiday and beachwear.
Celtic &Co has new clothing, sandals, shoes, scarves, and accessories for SS25.
Scamp & Dude has a new collaboration with Sabrina Elba for SS25, plus new leopard print dresses.
Bonmarché has new spring womenswear, including outdoor clothing ranges and swimsuits, Valentines outfits, new Dash SS25 clothing ranges, jumpers and partywear and lingerie ranges.
Dune London has new clutch bags, handbags and belts, bridal shoe ranges for casual to posh weddings, and new shoes, bags and accessories for early 2025.
Very has new V by Very and V by Very Curve ranges of dresses, jumpers, jackets, coats jumpsuits, swimwear, jeans, trousers and shoes, a new Michelle Keegan collaboration and new athleisure wear.
M&S has new US football-related kids sportswear, SS25 clothing, plus Valentine’s Day lingerie, a Goodmove collection of outdoor sports and athleisure wear modelled by Olympian Alex Scott.
Tu Clothing has new SS25 womenswear ranges of clothes, shoes, bags and accessories.
Oliver Bonas has new Mother’s Day gifting, Valentine’s Day ranges, February, March and April 2025 uploads of jewellery, women’s clothing, bags, shoes and accessories as well as new ranges for SS25.
Roman Originals has new SS25 womenswear imagery and new Petite imagery.
Matalan has new Spring womenswear, NFL clothing ranges, Valentine pyjamas, athleisure wear, a new transitional style edit, a menswear collaboration with Taylor & Wright.
Curvy Kate has new Swerve, Suspend, Suspense, Serpent, Opulence, Indulgence, Eos, Entwined, Zen, Victory, Wild One, Strawberry Crush, Ornate and more ranges of lingerie. Plus new ranges of swimwear for SS25.
River Island has new women’s denim clothing and accessories ranges in blue, black and white, lingerie for Valentine’s Day, plus Black, Brown, Blue Stripe and Butter Yellow-themed ranges, a new Jo Horner collaboration, “New Year New Look” ranges.
George at Asda has Style Stories by Erica Davies and G21 Maisie Smith collection ranges, new Gym Locker activewear ranges, plus lingerie and nightwear ranges for Valentine’s Day.
Regatta has new rucksacks and tote bags, jackets and fleeces for the outdoors and ranges of trainers, walking boots, wellies and sandals, plus kids swimming costumes and wetsuits.
TK Maxx has new Valentine’s themed clothing and jewellery, plus new clothing, shoes, boots, jewellery, makeup and accessories for SS25.
Deichmann has new shoes for SS25
Fable England has new SS25 Running Bunny and Wonderland ranges of bags and scarves, plus new accessories and core jewellery ranges.
New Look has new SS25 clothing arriving in January and February and more new winter outfits, winter and occasion wear outfits for women, plus ranges of womenswear including coats, jumpers, skirts and tops.
Fatface has new SS25 jewellery, accessories and clothes for men and women.
F&F has a new Kate Ferdinand F&F Active collaboration of athleisure wear for January, new SS25 ranges of women's clothing and accessories.
Sims Wear has new menswear ranges for SS25.
Frangipani has new menswear and jewellery.
Saywood has new womenswear, accessories and soft furnishings.
Dune London Mens has new shoes and trainers for early 2025.
Joe Browns has new SS25 clothing for men and women plus shoes, boots, jewellery and accessories including purses, bags and shopping baskets.
John Lewis has new Anyday and And/Or SS25 clothing, shoes and accessories for women and men, a Dream Dress Edit featuring Whistles, Sister Jane, Reiss, Phase Eight and more clothing ranges for women.
Lola Starr has new sustainable activewear for the January and February bounce back.
See additional new clothing and accessories images from
Lipsy Sainsbury’s Beauty National Trust Cotton Traders
Home, garden and food
Dobbies Garden Centres has a Get Set for Spring Ranges, new Heritage range of outdoor gardening items including throws and firepits, plus indoor plants and soft furnishings, Valentine’s presents, outdoor furniture, barbecues, accessories, kids' swimming pools and pots for SS25, Mother’s Day 2025 gifts.
Designers Guild has a new SS25 Swaledale, Mayenne and Studio range of fabrics, plus washbags.
Cambridge Imprint has new block sets, ribbons, albums, tea towels, exercise books, notebooks, sketchbook, memo books, 3D card ranges, plus storage solutions including boxes, files, trays and gift card designs for SS25.
Treats by Mars has new Galaxy Pink Hot Chocolate ranges, plus more Snickers and Galaxy ranges.
Quorn Stone has new Orwell Natural Porcelain Stone, and Chastleton Ivory Stone and Natural Tiles, plus Alnwick Ivory and Provenca Crema marble and tiles for the kitchen, natural stone and tumbled herringbone cobbles outdoor ranges.
B&M has new Coastal Paradise garden and picnic ranges, Rustic Charm homeware ranges for SS25, including cushions, mirrors, vases and incense burners.
Fritz Fryer has new lantern and pendant lighting ranges.
Jellycat has new cuddliest soft toys and bags for SS25.
Hotel Chocolat has new Velvetiser ranges, alcoholic drinks and chocolates for Valentine’s Day and other events.
Online Home Shop has new storage solutions, 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.
M&S has new makeup ranges, SS25 Boho, Classic and Exquisite Earth furniture and homeware ranges, new gifts – including a Valentine Percy Pig - and decorations for Valentine’s Day, new furniture, soft furnishings and kitchenware for SS25.
Cutter & Squidge has new hampers and food and drink for the Lunar New Year, Valentine’s Day and Mother’s day.
Home Bargains has new things for garden entertaining, new home exercise accessories, Mediterranean and Travellers Bazaar ranges, homeware from SS25 for the bedroom, bathroom and living rooms plus candles, diffusers, glasses and soft furnishings.
Oliver Bonas has new furniture and home accessories including mirrors, lighting and tableware for the New Year and SS25.
Regatta has camping accessories including tents, rugs, mugs, water bottles, cooking and picnic sets.
TK Maxx has new gifts for Valentine’s Day, homeware, and a new 1960s-inspired summer range of kitchenware and furniture for the office, plus new gifting ranges, a wellness range for the New Year.
John Lewis has new Modern and Classic homeware collections of furniture, soft furnishings and accessories for SS25.
The Gluttonous Gardener has new flower ranges for the spring and summer.
Hobbycraft has Valentine’s Day and Easter decoration and food ideas.
Jan Constantine has more Valentine’s Day-appropriate cushions.
George Home has new Lucky Charm range and Dark Garden SS25 interiors ranges, Stacey Solomon collaborations on cookware, bedding, dining, and homeware.
Primark has new gifts, soft furnishings, furniture and homeware for SS25.
Nest has some new ranges for the outdoors.
Matalan has new Easter decorations and home ranges, Valentine’s gifts, SS25 homeware images for the dining room, bedroom, bathroom and garden, new Connie the Cockapoo range.
Ivyline has new plant pots, fountains and storage for the garden.
Cult Furniture has new ranges for SS25.
Homesense has a new Outdoor Taste of the Med and Summer in the Souk ranges of furniture, homeware and kitchenware, plus indoors furniture and homeware for SS25.
National Trust has new garden furniture ranges for SS25, gifts for the home and the garden for SS25, plus decorations for Easter.
Habitat has new SS25 homeware and furniture, plus new furniture for setting up your own home office.
Dunelm has new colour drench ranges, a new Sophie Robinson collaboration and its SS25 range of bedroom and living room furniture, soft furnishings and kitchenware.
See additional new home images from
DIARY
PRShots Retail Calendar Alerts
Days until Valentine’s Day – 16
Days until Mother’s Day - 60
Days until Easter – 81
Days until Christmas Day - 330
How to get your brand in the media in January
January is all about fitness and health and getting back on track after a Christmas and New Year holiday break. So, clothes-wise it’s all about clothing for the gym and exercise, so make sure if you have anything relevant that it’s flagged up with keywords like fit, exercise and gym.
The monthlies are also starting to prepare for Valentine’s Day next month, so get any relevant clothes, accessories and gifts uploaded and keyword them with valentine. They’re also looking forward to next season so make sure anything SS25 is flagged on your drops.
Plus, as we’re still mid-winter there will still be searches for anything cosy, so pyjamas, slippers, coats, hygge, winter warmers, knitwear, scarves and everything warm.
January is also Veganuary (in 2024 over 1.8m people worldwide signed up for it! ) and it’s also Dry January so it’s a good idea to make sure you have vegan-friendly products and non-alcoholic products labelled on your media centre, plus anything that’s healthy that fits in with resetting your life.
If you sell gin and anything gin-related then it’s also Ginuary! It’s also Walk Your Dog Month, so anything dog-related would be good.
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.
Diary - Days
29th – Lunar New Year / Chinese New Year (The year of the Snake)
29th – Valentine’s Day searches rise
31st – Tax return payments are due today
NB - All dates have been checked, but some events may change due to unforeseen circumstances or have not been fully confirmed for 2025 by the authorities controlling the event(s).
How to get your brand in the media in February
Aside from continuing to keep an eye on those SS25 drops, the first half of the month is about preparing for Valentine’s Day issues, and the second half is about getting ready for Easter (it’s late this year (20th April) so you have plenty of time to prepare).
For Valentine’s Day, make sure everything has some of the keywords the media will be looking for, eg gifts, pink, red, lingerie, etc. For Easter, make sure everything has some of the keywords the media will be looking for, eg eggs, chocolate, easter bunny, easter egg, chick, etc.
As we’re coming out of winter, it’s time to start putting up images for the spring and summer. So anything related to getting out of the house is good, so get uploading images and adding keywords relating to summer outfits, swimwear, the garden, garden parties and Barbecues (don’t forget to add all of the other spellings BBQ, Bar-B-Que, 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.
If you’re looking for more hooks to help promote your brand and products, then see the list of days, weeks and fortnights below.
February Diary - Weeks/Months
In the UK, it’s LGBT+ History Month and National Wedding Month and Go Red for Heart Month; in the US, this is Black History Month and National Bird Feeding Month. It’s a great month for food, we have Pancake Day, National Pizza Day and Bread Week (15th-23rd Feb)
Other events include;
National Storytelling Week (1st – 9th)
Moda x Pure Spring Fair, NEC Birmingham (2nd -5th)
New Homes Week (3rd – 9th )
New York Fashion Week (6th-11th)
National Apprenticeship Week (10th - 16th)
London Fashion Week (20th – 24th)
February – Days
1st – World Hijab Day
2nd – Groundhog Day Again!!
2nd – Yorkshire Pudding Day UK
2nd - National Wear Red Day (Support for Heart disease) (2nd US and on 7th and 28th in the UK)
4th – World Cancer Day
6th – National Sickie Day
6th – Time to talk day
8th – Valentine’s Day searches peak
9th – National Pizza Day (US)
9th – NFL Super Bowl
11th – Flowers searches peak for Valentine’s Day
12th – Tu B’Shevat
14th – Valentine’s Day
15th – Singles Awareness Day
16th – BAFTA Film Awards
17th - Random Acts of Kindness Day (US)
20th – National Love Your Pet Day
26th – Maha Shivaratri
18th – National Drink Wine Day (UK)
22nd – New car searches rise
23rd – UK Holiday searches peak
28th – Start of Ramadan
NB - All dates have been checked, but some events may change due to unforeseen circumstances or have not been fully confirmed for 2025 by the authorities controlling the event(s).
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