With the cost-of-living crisis set to make the back-to-school period a particularly difficult time for many UK parents, M&S said Thursday it aims to protect the price of its school uniforms offer for a third year.

​The members of the KPMG/Ipsos Retail Think Tank (RTT) have been looking at the retail market again and are questioning whether an online-only model is still viable.

​There are special collections and really special collections and the latest from Roberto Cavalli, that’s set to make waves at Selfridges, is undeniably one of the latter.

The positives certainly came together for UK retail in the 21-27 May trading week. The run-up to school half-term week, the late May public holiday weekend and good spring weather all contributed to strengthen footfall.

​Matalan has made a key change to its line-up as it continues to transform itself under new owners. Interim buying and merchandising director Ben Smith is now chief trading officer, reporting to CEO Jo Whitfield,

​News last week that Chanel’s sales rose in double digits in 2022 was followed by the company saying it would double the size of its global HQ in London’s Mayfair and will move in during 2025.

The Office for National Statistics International Passenger Survey has shown that tourist visitors to the UK are well below 2019 levels with the New West End Co directly blaming the abolition of tax-free tourist shopping.

​The end of the week has seen two alternative views of UK retail released with official figures for April proving better than expected, but the latest CBI report for May suggesting disappointing turnover in recent weeks.

​The UK government has been asking for evidence that the end of the VAT-three shopping perk for tourists is hurting British retail and payment software specialist Planet came up with some of that again on Friday.

M&S is on a mission to cut costs by more than £400 million over the next five years, and among a raft of store initiatives is a plan to roll out hundreds more self-service tills.

​Armani Group’s 2022 results have shown ongoing progress at one of the world’s best-known luxury names as net revenues jumped 16.5% to €2.35 billion and profit rose even faster.

Central London is the place to be if you’re renting prime commercial and office space. Demand is sky-high and in Wednesday’s year-end results, key landlord GPE referred to its “strong strategic positioning".

​UK inflation — including clothing prices — slowed again in April, although the rate remains high and prices continue to rise, which means consumers are thinking long and hard about discretionary purchases. 

M&S’s annual results offered more evidence of the strength of its turnaround with the retail giant reporting higher sales and headline profits, although operating profits were hit by tough comparisons and higher costs. 

One of the UK retail’s highest-profile execs — Richard Price, MD of Clothing and Home at M&S — is to join Fabacus, the data management and bureau service for the licensing industry, as a member of its Advisory Board.

Klarna’s UK boss Alex Marsh is stepping down from the buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) financier for personal reasons. A replacement has yet to be announced.