Ebay is launching its first ever eBay Live event in the UK, hosted by comedian Katherine Ryan and the marketplace’s pre-loved style director Amy Bannerman. The livestream, which premieres at 8pm on 1 May, will allow consumers to shop for exclusive pre-loved clothing in real time, will all funds being donated to the Women’s Health Information & Support Centre (WHISC) charity. The shopping experience will include a range of outfits from Ryan’s own wardrobe, with fans able to purchase looks worn at her comedy shows, on the red carpet, and on her TV show The Duchess. All of the garments will b ..read more

Frasers Group is shutting its Manchester office, placing roughly 100 jobs at risk across Studio Retail and I Saw It First. The Sports Direct owner is set to close its Trafford office, according to Drapers, with affected staff members reportedly being given the chance to move to Frasers’ other offices depending on their role functions. In an email to workers, Frasers Group said: “Due to the challenging economic and trading climate, there is a need to continue to review resources and operations to ensure that all group companies are operating efficiently and cost effectively. “It is against this ..read more

Burberry faces a potential takeover threat, city analysts have cautioned, following a 20% decline in the luxury fashion retailer’s share price since the beginning of the year. A profit warning from fellow luxury rival Kering, which owns Gucci, triggered the British brand’s shares to slump on Wednesday (24 April). The 2.5% drop means Burberry is now worth £4bn. Abrdn investment manager Sasha Kachanova told The Telegraph: “Burberry remains a potential takeover target, particularly at its current valuation.” “As the sole British brand of scale operating independently – a rarity in the luxury indu ..read more

John Lewis is posting its job interview questions online, in a bid to make the process less overwhelming for potential staff members. The retailer is set to publish its questions “for every role” online “for everyone to see,” according to the Financial Times. John Lewis talent acquisition lead Lorna Bullett said: “We want the right people, from a variety of backgrounds, with the best talent to join our organisation. “It makes absolute business sense to find ways of helping candidates to really demonstrate what they can do.” Subscribe to Retail Gazette for free  Sign up here to get th ..read more

PrettyLittleThing co-founders Adam Kamani and Umar Kamani have launched a new interior design business, Kamani Rossar. The new firm from the entrepreneurial brothers, which has studios based in London and Dubai, is a business partnership with interior designer Rob Rosser, with the three holding shares in the new firm. Kamani Rossar will provide interior design services to an external base of global, luxury clients, as well as for Kamani Property Group’s portfolio of commercial, residential and industrial buildings across major cities including London and Dubai. Adam Kamani said: “It has been a ..read more

Mango has unveiled its spring/summer 2024 capsule collection designed in collaboration Victoria Beckham as the fashion brand marks its 40th anniversary. The capsule collection features ready-to-wear, including tailoring, lingerie, dresses, and knitwear, alongside bags, jewellery, and footwear, with prices ranging from £50 to £300. The Spanish fashion retailer said the new line, which is now available worldwide, reflects “the essence of the designer’s eponymous label, considered the perfect blend of classic British luxury with a subtle contemporary twist”. The collaboration with Beckham i ..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

JD Sports has agreed to acquire US sportswear brand Hibbett for £899m in a bid to speed up its US expansion. The sportwear 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 revenues ..read more

Primark is expanding its click-and-collect service to all British stores by the end of 2025 as its first half profits surge. Pre-tax profit across owner Associated British Foods surged 37% to £881m while the fashion retailer experienced a “significant increase” in adjusted operating profit, up 46% to £508m. Primark’s sales jumped 7.5% to £4.5bn in the 24 weeks to 2 March, as like-for-like sales edged up 2.1%. Growth was driven by newly-opened stores and by last year’s “carefully selected price increases” to offset inflation, which helped margins increase from 8.3% to 11.3%. In the UK, sales gr ..read more

M&S is encouraging customers to donate their used clothes via a postal donation bag as part of its tie-up with Oxfam. The fashion retailer is trailing the option for consumers to send their unwearable clothes from any label using a pre-paid postal donation bag that is left with a local courier that the charity can then resell, reuse, or recycle. The new initiative sits alongside its existing in-store scheme with Oxfam for wearable items and is funded by a £1m accelerator fund linked to M&S’ ethical project Plan A, that aims to find ways to reduce textile waste. Subscribe to Retail Gaze ..read more