The definitive Index cataloguing the triumphs, challenges and progress of the 500 most significant retailers in the UK. With a focus on “RetailCraft”, the way a retailer trades, manages, grows and connects with customers, the IRUK 500 assesses retailers across six dimensions of performance. Via this hub you can access the annual report, the performance dimensions, news and analysis as well as the new monthly indices launching in March 2016. Let us know your thoughts on research@internetretailing.net
Focusing on mobile retail is paying dividends for Screwfix . Sue Harries, director of ecommerce, tells Dominique Corlett why this channel works so well for its customer base and how the rest of the Kingfisher Group is learning from its experience. If mobile is the future of ecommerce, then the (more…)
Omnichannel retailer DFS says its growth strategy remains on track, despite falling second-half revenues. The sofa retailer, a Top250 trader in IRUK Top500 research, reported a 4% fall in second-half revenues, taking growth for the year to 1%. And it warned that profits were likely to be at the low (more…)
Next said its strategy of reducing discounting across channels had paid off as full-price sales rose in the second quarter of its financial year. However, full-price sales in the first half of the year were down by 1.2%, while total sales, including markdown sales, fell by 2%. Online, full-price directory (more…)
The Yoox Net-A-Porter group this week updated investors on the progress of a multichannel strategy that focuses on online luxury through in-season and off-season websites, as well as flagship websites for third party retailers, as it published half-year results. The retail group reached €1bn in revenue for the first time (more…)
Wickes and Toolstation owner Travis Perkins this week reported rising sales and profits in its consumer-facing division in the first half of its financial year, in contrast to a fall in profits across the business. Across the group, revenue reached £3.2bn in the six months to June 30, 3.5% up (more…)
The largest multichannel retailers in the UK have a comparable number of consumers living within a short distance of a store despite the retailers’ total number of stores varying considerably, reveals a recent study by IRUK 500 knowledge partner Geoblink .
Prioritising the shopping device that’s always close to hand makes sense for IRUK Top500 retailers. Here are 12 strategies that these leading companies use both to improve the m-retailing experience and to put mobile at the heart of their multichannel businesses 1. Mobile-first strategies As more and more ecommerce traffic (more…)
Sports Direct this week unveiled full-year results, with group revenue of £3.2bn in the year to April 30, up by 11.7% on the same time last year. Pre-tax profits of £281.6m were down by 22.2% on last time. Chief executive Mike Ashley said the retailer was on course to become (more…)
Quiz this week outlined its omnichannel approach ahead of a stockmarket flotation that it will use to buy out investors and to expand the brand. The fast fashion Glasgow-based brand, founded in 1993, is valued at £200m in a placing at 161p per share. It is a Top100 retailer in (more…)
AO World today said that sales via AO.com in the UK had grown by 6.2% this spring despite a “challenging environment”. Between April 1 and June 30, the multichannel retailer’s sales rose by 2.5% overall, reflecting a planned decline in its white label website and logistics sales as the retailer (more…)
Mothercare chief executive Mark Newton-Jones today said that he did not believe that slowing online sales growth, combined with growing like-for-like store sales, represented a long-term change in behaviour for the retailer’s customers. The retailer for the parents and carers of young children, a Leading retailer in IRUK Top500 research, (more…)
This year’s IRUK Top500 Mobile and Cross-channel Performance Dimension Report, published in association with Akamai, is now available online. The report comes at a time when mobile commerce is growing quickly, and when shoppers who previously browsed and researched purchase decisions via mobile are now willing to complete their transactions (more…)
Amazon says that Tuesday’s Prime Day event was the biggest shopping day in its history. Customers taking part in the event, exclusive to members of its subscription-based Prime scheme, outspent previous global records, including spending on Black Friday and Cyber Monday in the run up to Christmas. In the UK, (more…)
Marks & Spencer today said its strategy was on track as it reported rising sales both online and offline. The multichannel food-to-clothing retailer, an Elite trader in IRUK Top500 research, turned over £184.8m online in the first quarter of its financial year, 5.8% more than at the same time last (more…)
Dunelm says it believes it now has ‘arrived’ as a significant player in the ecommerce homewares market in the wake of its acquisition of Worldstores. The retailer, a Top100 trader in IRUK Top500 research, said in a year-end trading update that its market share is growing and that a fifth (more…)
Online grocer Ocado today reported double-digital growth in sales and profits in its half-year results. Group sales of £713.8m were 22.1% up on last time, while retail sales of £659.6m were 22.1% ahead. Pre-tax profits of £7.8m in the six months to May 28 were 9.4% down from the £8.5m (more…)
Topps Tiles has described how it is working to make a shopping journey that spans online and offline sales channels “as inspirational as possible”. The tile supplier, a Top100 retailer in IRUK Top500 research, said that almost all its customers now visited both its website and one of its stores (more…)
Sainsbury’s today said that a differentiated strategy was delivering sales growth, as it reported retail sales up by 2.7% in the first quarter of its financial year. The retailer, a Leading trader in IRUK Top500 research, says that that its emphasis on quality, value and choice is helping it to (more…)
Game Digital said today that it continued to focus on improvements to the customer experience, with plans to expand its in-store gaming arena network, as it focuses on growing its business. The gaming retailer is looking at how it will finance the roll-out of its new in-store gaming arenas. Its (more…)
Home shopping company JML has taken a majority stake in start-up business Brand Evangelists in a £2.3m deal that it believes will enable it to tap into its social media marketing expertise. The deal gives JML , a Top500 retailer in IRUK Top500 research, a 51% stake in the business, (more…)
