Up-to-date coverage of the latest events in UK retail.
9:14am HMV on brink of collapse as job losses loom
HMV is near collapse after filing a notice of intention to appoint administrators after the worst November for retailers in living memory.
HMV Retail filed the notice last week amid last chance talks with music industry suppliers, according to Sky News.
The UK’s biggest high street music retailer last fell into administration six years ago and was picked up by restructuring outfit Hilco but has since been battling the rise of digital streaming services.
The record label industry has been keen to avert the disappearance of the only major specialist bricks-and-mortar music retailer from the high street and, according to Sky, has been in talks with HMV to try and secure financial support.
The retailer employs 2,200 people and operates 130 stores nationwide.
8:51am Most shoppers mistrust influencers
The vast majority of consumers do not trust influencers ith more than four-fifths (82%) saying it was not always clear when an influencer had been paid to promote a product.
The research by the BBC found that consumers were still swayed by influencers despite a lack of trust with 54% of 18-34-year-old beauty buyers saying that they were affected by an influencer’s suggestions.
Influencers, who comprise a relatively new form of advertising, have come under new scrutiny recently with the ASA and CMA both examining the burgeoning practice.
The ASA has launched guidelines to help influencers abide by advertising rules while the CMA is looking at whether social media celebrities admit when they have been paid to promote a product.
The survey of over 1,000 shoppers was carried out for Radio 4 programme You and Yours by consumer analysts Savvy Marketing.
8:47am Plastic bag levy to double to 10p and include all shops
The plastic bag levy is set to double to 10p and will include all retailers under plans set out by the environment secretary.
The higher fee could come into effect by January 2020 and is intended to further reduce plastic use.
Smaller retailers are currently exempt from the levy but supply around 3.6 billion single-use plastic bags a year and would be subject to the new plans.
8:23am Superdry shares rise as Dunkerton fights for business
Superdry shares rose 8% yesterday as founder Julian Dunkerton battled for a voice in the future of the company he founded.
The rise came after news over the weekend that Dunkerton was preparing to ask shareholders to hold an Extraordinary General Meeting designed to reappoint him as a director at the company he founded and remove chairman Peter Bamford and chief executive Euan Sutherland.
Dunkerton, who has an 18% stake in the business, left it in May to pursue other interests but has been vying to make a return in recent months
