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European Retail Briefing: Inc Impact of COVID-19 - July 2020

ANALYST COMMENT: THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON SHOPPING BEHAVIOUR
Overview
Consumers are still concerned about the risk of infection
Figure 1: Those worried about the risk of being exposed to the coronavirus, March-July 2020
Figure 2: Those worried about the risk of being exposed to the coronavirus, by age, 13th-22nd July 2020
Spaniards feeling uncomfortable to resume ‘normal’ activities
Figure 3: Those claiming to feel uncomfortable doing the following activities, 13th-22nd July 2020
Shift to online appears to have come to stay
Figure 4: Those claiming to have increased the amount of shopping they do online, March-July 2020
Figure 5: Those claiming to have increased the amount of shopping they do online, 13th-22nd July 2020
Opportunities for retailers as a result of COVID-19
Figure 6: Gucci’s new video service connects store staff with consumers, June 2020
Figure 7: Carrefour’s voice grocery shopping with Google Assistant, June 2020
Figure 8: Those claiming to limit the time they spend in-store, April-July 2020
Opportunities for non-cash payments
Figure 9: Those claiming to be trying to avoid using cash where possible, April-July 2020
Figure 10: Those claiming to be trying to avoid using cash where possible, by age group, 13th-22nd July 2020
Figure 11: Those claiming to be using click-and-collect more often, April-July 2020
Negative impact of COVID-19 stronger in Italy
Figure 12: Perception of impact of COVID-19 on financial situation, 13th-22nd July 2020
EUROPEAN RETAIL SALES
Key points
Figure 13: Major European economies:  Year-on-year retail sales value growth, 2019-20
Figure 14: Major European economies:  Year-on-year retail sales volume growth, 2019-20
The short, medium and long-term impact on retail
Figure 15: Expected impact of COVID-19 on retail, short, medium and long-term, 2020
Inflation
Figure 16: Major European economies:  All items CPI, 2019-20
Figure 17: Major European economies:  Food price inflation, 2019-20
LAUNCH ACTIVITY AND INNOVATIONS
France: Carrefour integrates loyalty card with Apple Wallet
Denmark: Netto launches online grocery subscription service
France: Fnac Darty to begin distributing Citroën’s latest electric vehicle at its stores
HEADLINES FOR THE MONTH
Convenience stores
Grocers
Clothing retailing
Multi-sector retailing
Department stores
Electrical retailing
Furniture retailing
NEWS ANALYSIS – FOOD AND DRINK
 CONVENIENCE STORES
Netherlands: Spar converts sea container into new ‘mini Spar’ format
UK: Nisa welcomes forecourt Ascona Group amongst its 242 new store recruitments
 GROCERS
Belgium: Spar launches automated external defibrillators at outlets
Belgium: Carrefour launches private label ‘les Belges’ in Belgium with plans for further expansion
Belgium: Colruyt
…takes majority stake in data specialist Daltix
…rolls out detachable and reusable handles for shopping trolleys
France: Carrefour launches own food marketplace for third party brands
France: Fanprix and Decathlon extend partnership
Netherlands: Albert Heijn to acquire five Jumbo Heerschap Stores
Portugal: Mercadona unveils accelerated expansion plans which will see 20 stores open annually
Spain: Eroski reports 2.4% decline in revenues for the year
Spain: Esselunga launches recyclable water bottles under private-label brand
Sweden: Coop introduces new AI-based assistant to its website
UK: Aldi and Deliveroo extend tie-up into London
UK: Asda and Uber Eats rolls out grocery home delivery service this week
UK: Morrisons
…opens dedicated website for its clothing brand Nutmeg
…reopens all supermarkets with an added hot-food takeaway service
UK: Sainsbury’s online grocery sales more than double in the first quarter
UK: Tesco
…first quarter sales boosted by surge in demand during lockdown
…to use surplus food to power stores in new renewable energy push
 OFF-LICENCES
UK: Majestic Wines to reopen its entire store estate
 OTHER FOOD SPECIALISTS
UK: Boost in online sales accelerates Cake Box’s delivery service
UK: Holland & Barrett and Booths launch on Deliveroo to boost customer reach during lockdown
NEWS ANALYSIS – CLOTHING AND FOOTWEAR
 CLOTHING RETAILING
France: Orchestra Prémaman to close stores in Belgium
Germany: Esprit closes 50 stores leading to a loss of 1,100 jobs
Germany: H&M expands Sellpy to Germany as part of its international expansion plans
Italy: Gucci
…launches virtual shopping service
…increases bag prices to mitigate COVID-19 impact
Netherlands: Suit Supply receives €40 million in government-guaranteed loans
Spain: Mango gains 900,000 new customers during lockdown as ecommerce grows 50%
Sweden: H&M reports 50% slump in Q2 results and reflects on learnings from COVID-19
UK: AllSaints launches CVA for UK and US stores
UK: Facemask vending machines launched across the UK
UK: Forever 21 relaunches online in selected European markets
UK: H&M to close 170 stores internationally
UK: Joules to end its current financial year in the red thanks to COVID-19
UK: Matalan outlines recovery phase as revenues grow 2.3%
UK: Monsoon Accessorize bought out of administration by owner
UK: New Look warns landlords of pre-pack deal if it cannot renegotiate turnover-based rents
UK: Oliver Bonas receives £3.5 million in funding to help it transition out of lockdown
UK: Primark
…reopens all 153 stores in England with ‘strict social distancing protocols’
…Q3 sales fall but reopened stores has seen an encouraging performance
UK: Quiz appoints administrators to subsidiary Kast Retail in a bid to negotiate rent terms
UK: River Island
…plans to cut 250 head office roles following fall in sales
…signs first licensing agreement with KMI Brands
UK: Ted Baker raises £100m to help it weather the COVID-19 downturn
UK: The Fraser Group buys £100m stake in Hugo Boss
UK: TM Lewin to close all stores as it works to ‘right-size’ the business
 FOOTWEAR RETAILING
UK: Hotter shoes launches CVA to downsize store portfolio
UK: Kurt Geiger will donate first month of store profits from June 15
UK: LK Bennett to reduce selected head office employees’ salaries by 10%
UK: Shoe Zone closes 20 stores amid half-year losses
NEWS ANALYSIS – MIXED GOODS
 MULTI-SECTOR RETAILING
France: Action to trial click and collect service allowing customers to fill ‘virtual baskets’ online
Netherlands: Hema negotiates debt reductions with creditors
UK: B&M reports strong full year results despite COVID-19 disruptions
UK: Halfords sales inch up in the year as cycling drives lockdown sales
UK: M&S relaunches overhauled loyalty programme
UK: Mothercare looks for new funding providers
UK: Poundstretcher launches CVA as it ‘seeks to restructure UK store portfolio’
UK: Wolf & Badger reports ‘record growth’ amidst COVID-19 peak in April
 DEPARTMENT STORES
Belgium: Galeria Inno to open online marketplace in 2021
France: Historic department store Tati on boulevard Barbès in Paris is to close
UK: Debenhams reveals more store closures in shopping centres after talks with Intu fail
UK: Harrods
…to open at Westfield London on July 3
…to cut 680 jobs blaming COVID-19
…holds sale outside Knightsbridge flagship store for the first time in a new Westfield outlet
UK: John Lewis warns of job cuts as part of its post-coronavirus cost-cutting drive
UK: Liberty London rebrands logo and website in celebration of its 145th anniversary
NEWS ANALYSIS – HOUSEHOLD GOODS
 DIY RETAILING
France: Bricolage unveils new ad campaign to celebrate its 40th anniversary
UK: Kingfisher
…and delivery services firm DPD hire 7,500 workers to meet increasing demand
…reveals new strategic direction as full year profits fall
UK: Topps Tiles sales decline 53% in the third quarter
UK: Travis Perkins to cut 2,500 UK jobs and close 165 stores across its group
 ELECTRICAL RETAILING
Belgium: Coolblue opens largest Benelux store in Brussels
UK: Microsoft moves online and closes its global network of stores
UK: PC Currys reopens 131 stores as ‘tech help hubs’
 FURNITURE RETAILING
Sweden: Swedish bed brand Carpe Diem debuts in UK
UK: Bensons for Beds bought out of administration in pre-pack deal
UK: Oak Furnitureland future sealed in a pre-pack administration deal
 HOMEWARES RETAILING
UK: Dunelm reveals its first ‘localised edit’ concept store in West Sussex
NEWS ANALYSIS – ONLINE
UK: Amazon
…launches start-up accelerator programme
…CMA approves Amazon and Deliveroo tie-up
…Amazon may postpone Prime Day to October
UK: Ao.com teams up with Emarsys platform in new personalisation push
UK: Boohoo
…launches urgent review of UK supply chain
…snaps up Oasis and Warehouse online businesses
UK: Emma revenue grows 120% during first half of 2020
UK: Gear4music reports significant increase in demand during coronavirus lockdown
UK: Google launches new campaign to help small British businesses
UK: Instagram expands in-app shopping feature to small businesses and individual creators
UK: MaskClub launches in the UK with a subscription service
UK: N Brown posts 6.1% dip in revenues but 5.5% growth in online
UK: Naked Wines reduce losses as lockdown accelerates sales
UK: PrettyLittleThing films summer campaign with drone
UK: Sosandar reduces losses for its first quarter thanks to quick response to COVID-19
UK: Studio Retail Group report 55% rise in sales
UK: The Very Group cuts 106 head office roles but creates 100 jobs for its technology division
NEWS ANALYSIS – OTHER RETAIL
 HEALTH & BEAUTY RETAILING
UK: Boots parent and Microsoft team up in personalisation push
 SPORTS AND LEISURE GOODS RETAILING
UK: JD Sports
…appoints administrators to its Go Outdoors brand
…reacquires Go Outdoors in pre-pack administration deal
…calls for ‘rental realism’ as it looks to a new normal
UK: Pure Electric reopens 11 converted Cycle Republic stores
UK: Under Armour to launch ‘sportmask’ for athletes
 TOYS AND GAMES RETAILING
UK: The Entertainer revamps Bullring flagship in Birmingham with £1m investment
 SHOPPING CENTRES
UK: Intu falls into administration after talks with lenders fail
UK: Westfield reveals plans to turn House of Fraser store into co-working space

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