The seemingly unstoppable march of Aldi and Lidl continued last year, and was driven by one major thing: new stores. Last year, Aldi committed to a long-term target to open 500 new stores across the UK, taking its total number of sites to 1,500, with 35 new stores set to open this year alone. Despite its grand expansion plans, last year Aldi UK boss Giles Hurley told The Telegraph he had been made to delay the grocer’s opening schedule as it faced a large number of planning objections from rival supermarkets.  Its competitors reportedly filed 77 objections to its planning applications fro ..read more

Primark has hired a trio of new executives to its strategic advisory board. The fast fashion retailer has appointed ex-Sephora CEO Martin Brok, Additionally, former Tesco and Gap executive Christophe Roussel and ex-Walmart president of digital and chief marketing officer Sona Chawla. The execs will join a team led by Primark CEO Paul Marchant and chaired by its outgoing finance director John Bason, according to Retail Week. Primark company Associated British Foods (ABF) initially announced Bason’s retirement as well as the launch of a “newly constituted” strategic advisory board in 2022. Subsc ..read more

John Lewis executive finance director Bérangère Michel has resigned from the Partnership after 16 years. Michel will step down from her post in the autumn after deciding “to pursue her future career options outside of the partnership”. Her departure is the first major change to John Lewis Partnership’s executive team since former Tesco boss Jason Tarry was named as chair Dame Sharon White’s successor. Michel joined the business in 2008 as its head of financial strategy and has held various senior leadership positions across retail, supply chain and customer operations in both John Lewis and Wa ..read more

Ocado has maintained its title as the fastest growing supermarket for the second month as total online share reached 12% for the first time since July 2022. According to the latest data from Kantar, sales for the online grocer surged 12.5% in the 12 weeks to 14 April, ahead of the online market which grew by 6.8%. Ocado accounted for 1.9% of take-home grocery sales – an increase on the 1.7% share it held a year ago. Across the rest of the sector, Tesco and Sainsbury’s both gained 0.4 percentage points of share over the period, at 27.4% and 15.3% respectively. Morrisons achieved its best share ..read more

The Cotswold Company has expanded its premium delivery service to Northern Ireland as it looks to grow its presence across the UK. The luxury furniture retailer said the online expansion will allow it to pursue new growth opportunities as it aims to become one of the nation’s leading lifestyle homeware brands. It has “carefully selected” a local delivery company to service its Northern Ireland customers and ensure that large items are taken to the right room with all packaging removed and recycled. Subscribe to Retail Gazette for free  Sign up here to get the latest news straight int ..read more

B&Q has opened two in-store Energy Saving Hubs in Manchester to provide support for customers looking to make their homes more energy efficient. The DIY retailer has partnered with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) to launch the hubs inside its Trafford Park and Cheetham Hill stores. Shoppers will be able to walk-in or pre-book appointments to use the free service where a specially trained B&Q employee will be able to take a home energy assessment to provide advice and tips on how to make their house more efficient. The advisers are also able to help with grant applicati ..read more

Carpetright has been unable to trade online or in-store for almost a week following a cyber attack. Hackers targeted the flooring specialist’s head office in Purfleet, in Essex, last week by sending malware to gain unauthorised access. Staff told The Times that customers had been unable to place orders on its website or at any of its 400 shops since last Thursday when systems were taken down. Subscribe to Retail Gazette for free  Sign up here to get the latest news straight into your inbox each morning  One employee told the publication the retailer’s bosses were hoping to resum ..read more

Revolution Beauty is set for a legal battle as a former investment has filed a claim of over £45m as it accuses the business of “deceit”. Chrysalis Investments bought a £45m stake in the company in July 2021, but sold its shares for £5.7m in 2022 after Revolution’s value collapsed. It has since accused the beauty group of “deceit, negligent misstatement and/or misrepresentation” at the time of the share purchase. The investor said on Monday it “has not been satistified with the limited responses received from Revolution Beauty and its legal advisors to date”. Subscribe to Retail Gazette for fr ..read more

Asda chief financial officer Michael Gleeson has dismissed reports that its owners are looking to sell the supermarket. Gleeson told The Times that the grocer’s billionaire owners the Issa brothers and private equity firm TDR Capital had a track record “of growth and investing for the long run”. He said: “They don’t tend to be in and out of companies — they hold their positions in companies for significant periods of time. So ‘no’ is the answer to that.” Gleeson’s comments come following reports that co-owner Zuber Issa is close to offloading his 22.5% stake to TDR Capital, in a move that woul ..read more

JD Sports has agreed to acquire US sportswear brand Hibbett for £899m in a bid to speed up its US expansion. The sporting retailer said the move will accelerate its growth plans in North America, strengthen its Complementary Concepts division and brand partner relationships, and increase the size of its platform to support the continued rollout of JD Sports in the US. The business said it expects to fund the deal and refinance Hibbett’s existing debt through its US cash resources of $300m and a $1bn extension to its existing bank facilities. The enlarged group would have combined revenue ..read more