Asos says that the sale of a majority stake in the Topshop and Topman brands to Heartland is in the best interests of its shareholders and, as part of the deal, it will relaunch Topshop.com within six months of the joint venture being completed. The joint venture means Heartland will hold a 75% interest in the venture while Asos will hold 25%.
John Lewis brings back its ‘Never Knowingly Undersold’ price promise “for the Modern Age”. The department store will match 25 retailers’ prices - including M&S, AO and Amazon – both in store and online, adopting AI technology to carry out the checks, “giving customers the John Lewis assurance on quality, service and price”.
In an online push, Mango names Marlies Hersbach as ecommerce executive director amid plans to expand its online business by moving into 12 new countries. The move will bring its total international presence online to more than 120 global markets.
Extending its physical reach beyond the UK, Gymshark is set to open a store in Dubai Mall towards the end of this year. The opening, which will be the brand’s first permanent store outside of its domestic market, follows its launch of localised ecommerce services in the region.
Emphasising its commitment to sustainability, Primark is partnering with circular clothing company Verte on introducing a limited run of Swap Shop pop-ups in certain stores in London, Manchester and Birmingham. Customers can swap up to five fashion items at the pop-up for digital tokens on the Verte app to redeem against other pre-loved clothing.
Further expanding in the US, Mountain Warehouse purchases key assets from US-based Eastern Mountain Sports (EMS) in a $10m (£7.6m) rescue deal. It acquired the EMS brand, website, seven profitable stores and other assets.
Ramping up its fulfilment options, The Perfume Shop recently launched on rapid delivery platform Deliveroo, allowing customers to order from a selection of designer perfume brands to be delivered in as little as 25 minutes. The retailer has also continued to open experiential stores.
Sainsbury’s purchase of 10 Homebase leasehold branches ties into its Next Level strategy, which includes expanding its reach to shoppers and providing a bigger range. The grocer said the move means nearly 400,000 more people will be within a 10-minute drive of a Sainsbury’s supermarket.
Morrisons’ new loyalty drive sees it cut the prices on more than 2,000 products for its More Card customers for the duration of September. Its Lidl and Aldi Price Match was also extended by an additional 70 products. The move was labelled its “single biggest investment in loyalty and pricing for many years”.
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