Laura Ashley is relaunching fashion this month, debuting a new collection in partnership with Next. The 47-piece collection, which will be available to purchase at selected Next stores and on the retailer’s website, features a range of blouses, dresses, skirts, trousers, shorts and skirts, in sizes from six to 22. The spring/summer range will include the brand’s heritage prints, high necks and big prairie dresses in traditional Laura Ashley styles, in a bid to appeal to the increasing number of shoppers favouring vintage fashion. Celebrating its history, the collection draws inspiration from i ..read more

Superdry co-founder and chief executive Julian Dunkerton issued shareholders an ultimatum this week: support my restructuring plan or the business will collapse into administration. The ailing fashion retailer’s last-ditch attempt to stay afloat includes gaining rent reductions across 39 of its 94 UK stores, a £10m equity raise underwritten by Dunkerton, and delisting from the stock market. Dunkerton tells Retail Gazette: “The business is in a serious situation. It is vital that these proposals are approved, and the restructuring plan goes ahead, which allows us to save jobs and would be the b ..read more

Member prices has become a must-have for many loyalty schemes nowadays, as retailers across the board try to replicate the success of Tesco’s Clubcard Prices. Retail Gazette takes a look at the retailers that offer exclusive pricing for loyalty scheme members. Tesco Tesco has been dubbed as the godfather of member prices, when it launched Clubcard Prices back in 2019. Around 8,000 products are now available at discounted prices for its loyalty card members each week, with customers able to save up to £360 off the annual cost of their groceries. The supermarket chain revealed last week that Clu ..read more

Trouva has been snapped up by AI-enabled marketplace Fy!, marking the third time the business has been acquired within two years. The online marketplace was purchased for an undisclosed sum, with the sale set to double the size of the wall art company, according to a statement from Fy!. The business said Fy!’s AI-enhanced search, which was launched in October, has led to a 45% rise in sales per searcher. The company’s AI-powered recommendations have also reportedly nearly doubled interactions with related product grids, significantly boosting shopper engagement and satisfaction. Subscribe to R ..read more

Boohoo Group has expanded its use of search and merchandising tools provided by cloud-based e-commerce experience platform Bloomreach. As an existing user of Bloomreach’s omnichannel marketing automation with integrated customer data platform features, the fashion group is now expanding its partnership by implementing AI-powered search and merchandising across multiple brands including PrettyLittleThing, Boohoo, BoohooMAN, and Karen Millen. Since adopting the tools across its 13 portfolio brands in 2021, Boohoo has worked to maximise data-driven personalisation in its marketing campaigns ..read more

Despite posting an eyewatering £120m loss this week, Asos boss José Antonio Ramos Calamonte praised the performance of its Topshop, saying he was “very, very happy” with the brand. Calamonte said the ex-high-street staple “is still outperforming the average overall brand” at the online fashion giant. At the end of 2023, rumours circulated over a possible sale of the brand, with Shein mulling a possible bid as well as PrettyLittleThing founder Umar Kamani and Authentic Brands Group. While Calamonte remained tight lipped about a potential sale, he stressed that Asos is “ramping up marketing ..read more

Adidas has raised its profit outlook for the year after a better-than-expected first quarter. The sportswear giant now expects to pull in profits of £597m (€700m), up from the £427m (€500m) previously forecast. The news comes after Adidas reported its first losses in 30 years in March, following the financial fallout from abandoning its deal with Kanye West following his antisemitic remarks. The sportwear brand said its quarterly operating profit had hit £286.6m, compared to £51.2m the year prior. It added that it had sold another £128m worth of Yeezy products during the quarter at a profit o ..read more

Asos losses widened to £120m in its half year as sales plummeted amid its turnaround plan. Adjusted pre-tax losses fell by almost a third over the half to 3 March, as group sales were down 18%. Despite this, Asos reiterated its full-year guidance of a revenues fall of between 5 to 15% alongside positive adjusted EBITDA. The online retailer said it was ahead of plan with its stock reduction process, as it continued to push ahead with its turnaround plan. Asos offloaded 83% of its autumn collection, making it a 17% improvement from the same time last year. Subscribe to Retail Gazette for free &n ..read more

Superdry founder Julian Dunkerton has claimed he does not care that it is increasingly being viewed as a “dad brand,” as he sets about restructuring the business. Dunkerton told The Telegraph he was “not ashamed” of attracting older customers after the retailer had to launch a significant restructuring programme following a decline in revenues. He said: “I’m not ashamed of having a 50-year-old consumer as long as I’ve got a 16-year-old coming through as well.” Subscribe to Retail Gazette for free  Sign up here to get the latest news straight into your inbox each morning  The CEO ..read more

Ted Baker became the latest high street casualty last month when the brand’s UK operator No Ordinary Designer Label called in administrators. It is one of several collapses reported so far this year following a record number of retail insolvencies in the year to January 31. Retail Gazette takes a look at the retailers that have gone bust so far in 2024. Ted Baker Administrators at Teneo revealed last week that Ted Baker will close 11 stores and had served notice on an additional four sites in a move that will result in 245 job losses. Part of its inital restructuring will also include the loss ..read more