Latest news with #HouseOfFraser
The Sun
18-07-2025
- Business
- The Sun
‘Broken' department chain launches 20% off clearance sale as it announces permanent closure of shopping centre store
AFTER nearly three decades of trading, a popular House of Fraser store is set to close. The department store in Victoria Centre, Nottingham, which first opened in 1997, will roll down the shutters in October this year. 1 It's bittersweet news for shoppers, who have been treated to a 20 percent off sale inside the store. The once-thriving shopping hub was nearly shut in 2022 after Fraser Group chief exec Michael Murray described the brand as a "broken business". At the time, he said: 'House of Fraser was a broken business when we bought it. "We've completely changed the operating model. It was mostly concession, the stores were way too big, they were under‑invested. "Our future vision is that House of Fraser will diminish and Frasers will grow.' Once boasting more than 60 stores across the UK, the department store has steadily shuttered locations since its 2018 acquisition by Mike Ashley's Frasers Group. Between 2022 and 2025 alone, over a dozen sites—including flagship locations like Oxford Street and regional mainstays in Cardiff, Cheltenham, and Nottingham—have closed their doors. The closures reflect a deeper failure to adapt to a rapidly evolving retail landscape. Many of its stores were oversized and heavily reliant on concessions—third-party brands renting space—which offered little control over stock or customer experience. Frasers Group is now repositioning itself around a new retail vision, investing in smaller-format 'Frasers' stores and upmarket lifestyle hubs, with sport and luxury offerings as its focus. The Sun has approached House of Fraser representatives for comment. House of Fraser is just one brand struggling against recent economic pressures and changes in consumer habits. A combination of rising inflation, energy costs, and interest rates has squeezed both household spending and business margins, creating a perfect storm for retail operators. For many consumers, essentials have taken priority over discretionary purchases, leading to a noticeable decline in footfall and in-store spending. Even major players with established reputations have found themselves forced to close stores, reduce staff, or pivot entirely toward e-commerce. This comes as Poundland bosses implemented a series of closures this year after the business was hit by spiraling operating costs and weakening footfall. In Cornwall, one Poundland was evicted from one of its locations - leaving staff locked out of work overnight. The budget chain was kicked out of its store on Fore Street in St Austell, CornwallLive reported. A bizarre notice was also posted in the window of the popular store. It read: "We as authorised agents acting on behalf of the above-named landlord have today re-entered these premises and any lease or licence is hereby determined. "Any attempt to enter these premises without the written authority of the above-named landlord will result in criminal/civil proceedings being taken." A Poundland spokesperson confirmed that the locks were changed overnight without notice. RETAIL PAIN IN 2025 The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs will cost the retail sector £2.3billion. Research by the British Chambers of Commerce shows that more than half of companies plan to raise prices by early April. A survey of more than 4,800 firms found that 55% expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll conducted in the latter half of 2024. Three-quarters of companies cited the cost of employing people as their primary financial pressure. The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year. It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year. Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: "The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025." Professor Bamfield has also warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector. "By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer's household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020."
Forbes
17-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Billionaire Mike Ashley's Frasers Hit By Higher Labor Costs And Drop In Luxury Sales
Mike Ashley's retail empire is estimated to be worth $5.5 billion. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty ... More Images) Retail giant Frasers Group blamed the government's tax-hiking budget for adding to its labor costs at a time when it also had to grapple with a challenging retail market. The group, owned by British retail billionaire Mike Ashley, reported on Thursday that revenue for the year to April 27 dropped 7.4% to £4.93 billion ($6.6 billion). Frasers attributed the decline to 'challenges in the luxury market' combined with the closure of its unprofitable stores. More than half of the group's revenue is derived from its 'UK Sports' division, which recorded a 7.2% fall in sales. Its 'Premium Lifestyle' unit, which accounted for just over 21% of its total revenues last year and includes brands like Flannels and House of Fraser, saw its sales tumble by almost 15%. But the retailer expressed a note of optimism that the market is on the mend. 'Following an especially weak period after last year's budget, both U.K. consumer confidence and trading conditions improved into 2025, and recent sales trends have been more encouraging,' the group said. Despite the drop in revenue, Frasers still managed to report an improvement in its underlying pre-tax profits that came in at £560.2 million, a 2.8% rise from a year earlier. In December, Frasers had downgraded its profit forecast for the fiscal year to between £550 million and £600 million, citing weak consumer confidence and tougher trading conditions. It also said at the time the government's budget would add another £50 million to it labor costs, which it confirmed on Thursday was indeed the case. Frasers's CEO Michael Murray, said, 'I'm pleased with our performance this year, despite the headwinds caused by last year's budget.' Since the Labour government unveiled its budget in October, businesses groups have repeatedly warned that changes, such as the payroll tax hike and minimum wage increase, would force them to cut jobs and raise prices. And data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published on Thursday supports the warnings. The U.K.'s unemployment rate rose to 4.7% in the three months to May. That's the highest rate in four years. The number of job vacancies has fallen continuously for three years. Britain's inflation rose last month to 3.6%, which is well above the central bank's target of 2%. Frasers said it's still facing cost pressures, but it's 'working hard' to mitigate these by using more artificial intelligence and sustaining a robust gross margin. Frasers accelerated its international expansion over the past year, announcing partnerships in Australia, Asia, the Middle East and Europe. The group's strategic investments included upping it stakes in Hugo Boss, and Murray joined the board of the German fashion house. Murray became CEO of Frasers in 2022, taking over from his father-in-law, Mike Ashley, stepped down from the company's board later that same year. Ashley has a current net worth of $5.5 billion, according to Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List. Ashley began building his retail empire at the age of 18, when he founded Sports Direct in 1982, a business that he turned into Britain's largest sporting goods retailer. He expanded his group of businesses over the years through series of investments and acquisitions, including House of Fraser and department store chain Flannels.
The Sun
22-06-2025
- Business
- The Sun
High street giant launches 20% off ‘everything must go' sale ahead of store shutting for good in just weeks
A HUGE high street giant has launched a mega sale with just weeks left until the store shuts up shop for good. Locals have been left disappointed as the popular retailer is due to close down in just a matter of weeks, it has announced. 1 The GAME shop in Victoria Centre, Nottingham, will close its doors next month. The video game retailer has put up clearance signs in the windows announcing that all stock must go before it winds down. The store has operated at Victoria Centre for a number of years but will cease trading on July 17, according to the shop window signs. The notice also says that all stocks must go with 20% of most items. But video game fans shouldn't panic just yet as there is a House of Fraser opposite the store which has a GAME section and is under the same ownership. The Frasers Group acquired GAME in 2019 as part of a £52 million deal. GAME sells a variety of video games, consoles and pop culture merchandise. But the closure comes as the retailer has shut a number of its locations across the UK in recent months. Some have been converted into concessions within Sports Direct and other Frasers Group stores. Following Frasers Group acquiring GAME in 2019, significant restructuring and downsizing of the video game retailer has commenced. While plans don't indicate that the stores will disappear from the British high street completely many locations are expected to close. GAME, in Festival Place, Basingstoke, will be holding a 20 per cent off everything closing down sale before shutting up shop for good on August 10. As with the Nottingham branch, no reason has been given for the retailers abrupt departure from the shopping centre. But elsewhere in the Victoria Centre, other outlets have recently undergone significant refurbishments. Why are so many shops going bust? The HMV store opened a new store in April after a new revamp. What's happening to GAME? Game was acquired by billionaire businessman Mike Ashley's Frasers Group in 2019 as part of a £52million deal. However, by January 2020, the retailer announced plans to close 40 of its more than 300 stores across the UK. Today, there are approximately 240 Game stores operating nationwide. This decline comes amid a significant drop in sales of physical video games, compared to Game's heyday in the early 2000s. The Digital Entertainment and Retail Association (ERA) revealed that in 2022, nearly 90 per cent of all video games sold in the UK were digital downloads. Why are retailers closing stores? RETAILERS have been feeling the squeeze since the pandemic, while shoppers are cutting back on spending due to the soaring cost of living crisis. High energy costs and a move to shopping online after the pandemic are also taking a toll, and many high street shops have struggled to keep going. However, additional costs have added further pain to an already struggling sector. The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs from April will cost the retail sector £2.3billion. At the same time, the minimum wage will rise to £12.21 an hour from April, and the minimum wage for people aged 18-20 will rise to £10 an hour, an increase of £1.40. The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year. It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year. Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: "The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025." It comes after almost 170,000 retail workers lost their jobs in 2024. End-of-year figures compiled by the Centre for Retail Research showed the number of job losses spiked amid the collapse of major chains such as Homebase and Ted Baker. It said its latest analysis showed that a total of 169,395 retail jobs were lost in the 2024 calendar year to date. This was up 49,990 – an increase of 41.9% – compared with 2023. It is the highest annual reading since more than 200,000 jobs were lost in 2020 in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced retailers to shut their stores during lockdowns. The centre said 38 major retailers went into administration in 2024, including household names such as Lloyds Pharmacy, Homebase, The Body Shop, Carpetright and Ted Baker. Around a third of all retail job losses in 2024, 33% or 55,914 in total, resulted from administrations. Experts have said small high street shops could face a particularly challenging 2025 because of Budget tax and wage changes. Professor Bamfield has warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector. "By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer's household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020."
Malay Mail
17-06-2025
- Business
- Malay Mail
London's Oxford Street to go traffic-free in shopping area makeover, says mayor
LONDON, June 18 — London's Oxford Street, one of Britain's busiest and most famous shopping districts, will be pedestrianised, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said on Tuesday, in a move designed to smarten up the area and create a new public space to help drive growth. The plan to rid Oxford Street of cars and buses, which has been over twenty years in the making, looks set to become a reality after consultations on proposals published in September showed a majority of Londoners and businesses back the idea. Supporters of pedestrianising the mile-long stretch in central London say similar traffic-free schemes for Times Square in New York and La Rambla in Barcelona have breathed new life into tired areas. 'We want to rejuvenate Oxford Street; establish it as a global leader for shopping, leisure and outdoor events with a world-class, accessible, pedestrianised avenue,' Khan said in a statement announcing the results of the public consultation. Oxford Street attracts around half a million visitors every day, according to the mayor's office, but many flagship stores including House of Fraser and Topshop have shut in recent years, and Khan said the area had been neglected. He will now work with the government on legislation to go traffic-free, which would happen 'as quickly as possible'. That will require finding new routes for the dozens of buses which travel down it each hour. The government has said Khan's plan for a new 'beautiful public space' which will attract more tourists, drive new investment in the area and create jobs. — Reuters
Reuters
16-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
London's Oxford Street to go traffic-free in shopping area makeover, says mayor
LONDON, June 17 - London's Oxford Street, one of Britain's busiest and most famous shopping districts, will be pedestrianised, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said on Tuesday, in a move designed to smarten up the area and create a new public space to help drive growth. The plan to rid Oxford Street of cars and buses, which has been over twenty years in the making, looks set to become a reality after consultations on proposals published in September showed a majority of Londoners and businesses back the idea. Supporters of pedestrianising the mile-long stretch in central London say similar traffic-free schemes for Times Square in New York and La Rambla in Barcelona have breathed new life into tired areas. "We want to rejuvenate Oxford Street; establish it as a global leader for shopping, leisure and outdoor events with a world-class, accessible, pedestrianised avenue," Khan said in a statement announcing the results of the public consultation. Oxford Street attracts around half a million visitors every day, according to the mayor's office, but many flagship stores including House of Fraser and Topshop have shut in recent years, and Khan said the area had been neglected. He will now work with the government on legislation to go traffic-free, which would happen "as quickly as possible". That will require finding new routes for the dozens of buses which travel down it each hour. The government has said Khan's plan for a new "beautiful public space" which will attract more tourists, drive new investment in the area and create jobs.
