Main Image: Joe Browns

PRShots Digest brings you the latest retail news from Paperchase, Home Bargains, Wickes, L’Occitane, Matchesfashion, PrettyLitteThing, Currys, Louis Vuitton, Clarks, Avon and Hunter. Plus articles on creating user-first approach apps, turning holiday spenders into regular shoppers, everything you need to know about EPR and more.

To see the latest news go to our Twitter account @prshotsr

THE LATEST RETAIL INDUSTRY NEWS

Tesco in advanced talks to acquire Paperchase in pre-pack deal

Tesco is in advanced talks about buying Paperchases name and other intellectual property through a pre-pack administration that could take place as early as Tuesday.

Home Bargains acquires Quality Save discount chain

TJ Morris owned Home Bargains has acquired the 21 stores in the Quality Save chain for an undisclosed amount

Pets at Home ups profit outlook as Christmas sales rise

Pets at Home has increased its FY2023 profit guidance from £131m to £136M following strong Christmas trading with a record number of shoppers.

Wickes posts rise in Q4 sales

Wickes core sales were up 5.2% in Q4 and group sales rose by 11.5% and expects its full-year adjusted pre-tax profit to be in line with current market expectations.

L'Occitane's Q3 sales up 8%

L’Occitane trading update for the nine months to Dec 31 saw net sales grow 16.5% to €1,602.3m, with overall sales growth in Q3 of 8%.

Hunter Boot seeks £8m cash boost

Hunter’s search for additional funding - £8m is the figure mentioned - has widened and now includes Gordon Brothers, Searchlight Capital Partners and Pentland Group.

Tesco to cut store management and axe counters

Tesco is to axe all remaining food counters and is rolling out a new store management structure, in a suite of store changes that will put more than 2,000 roles at risk.

Matchesfashion owner injects £60m to revive business under new leadership

Matchesfashion has announced that its owners, private equity firm Apax Partners, are set to invest £60m into the business.

H&M R&D investment grows 40%

H&M is boosting investment in their supply chain, digital tech and AI by 40% to bring new innovations like its ‘visual search’ tool, which lets customers get recommendations from images.

London’s Oxford Street sees strong December footfall, but rest of UK struggles

London’s Oxford Street saw a 20% month-on-month increase in footfall in December, however, footfall across all “key high streets” in the UK was down 30% on November.

TRENDS, STRATEGY AND TECHNOLOGY

8 things you need to know about Defra’s EPR packaging waste rules

The Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging waste comes into effect in October and requires UK businesses to record data about their packaging and recycling processes.

The importance of a user-first approach to app design

Apps have become a vital part of modern retail but how do you make sure you’re getting the app right for your business?

5 marketing essentials to keep brands thriving

Kantar EVP of global thought leadership Jane Ostler has created five marketing imperatives to help steer brands in the right direction for 2023.

The 5 R’s of ecommerce merchandising

A 100-year-old merchandising concept applies to modern-day ecommerce retailers, the right people, right product, right quantity, right price, right time.

How to turn holiday spenders into loyal customers

Seasonal promotions like Black Friday provide brands with vital sales spikes, but also a rich harvest of first-party customer data that can be used all year around.

A CEO’s guide to the metaverse

The Metaverse is too big to ignore, yet its future is far from certain. Companies need to dip a toe in the water and plan to take the plunge should developments warrant.

Is fashion becoming politicised?

The fashion industry seems to be embracing a desire to shake up politics in a way that Dame Vivienne Westwood would have appreciated.

Faslet digital sizing aims to reduce returns with AI

Dutch business Faslet has developed digital size advice, which, based on an innovative algorithm, data and AI (Artificial Intelligence), helps online shoppers choose the right size.

PEOPLE, MOVERS AND SHAKERS

Specsavers appoints UK board trading director

Specsavers has appointed Neil Hollins as its new UK board trading director as the brand looks to restructure its marketing team.

Iceland boss Richard Walker to stay at supermarket if elected as MP

Iceland Managing Director Richard Walked has dismissed claims he will step down from his role if elected MP

BRAND NEWS

Prettylittlething signs new London office and showroom

PrettyLittleThing has signed up to a 4,375 sq ft showroom and office space on Great Portland Street, London, the showroom will open in mid-April.

Currys offers £5 voucher to customers recycling e-waste

Currys new “Cash for Trash” initiative offers consumers a £5 voucher for recycling e-waste (such as laptops, phones, consoles etc) against purchases of new tech over £25.

Louis Vuitton launches baby collection

Louis Vuitton had never ventured into children's fashion until now, although it has often addressed childhood as a theme, in some of its advertising campaigns or by creating toys.

Clarks teams up with Zara for new footwear collection

Clarks has teamed up with Zara for a new collaboration which sees both its classic Wallabee and Desert Boot reinvented.

Avon's boldest (and most expensive) rebrand yet

Avon is modernising its market identity via a new global rebrand and a new campaign 'Embrace Your power', along with a streamlining of its product portfolio.

AND FINALLY

12 year-old girl wins Hype’s ‘Backpack to the Future’ competition

A 12 year-old girl from Huddersfield has won the national ‘Backpack to the Future’ competition in with a design that filters polluted air, inspired by her mum’s asthma condition

PRSHOTS TOP 10 SEARCHES

What were our users searching for on PRShots Week ending January 27^th 2022?

1/ Valentine 

2/ Easter

3/ Dress

4/ Floral

5/ Bedroom

6/ Spring

7/ Pink

8/ Bathroom

9/ Kitchen  

10/ Chair

COLLABORATIONS ON PRSHOTS

Our PRShots brands are looking for media and influencers who want to work with them on collaborations. Register for free at PRShots new collabs service to find out more https://collabs.prshots.com/ 

NEW BRANDS TO PRSHOTS

LolaStarr is a proud British activewear brand whose clothes are designed with the environment and functionality in mind and champions local textile industries using a talented UK team of skilled designers, pattern cutters, and seamstresses.

Hobbycraft was founded in 1995, and has since grown to be the largest arts and crafts retailer in the UK with over 100 stores across the UK, and has everything you need for art, knitting and crochet, haberdashery, papercraft, wedding and party, baking, jewellery making and more.

Silk & Lawn are a Brighton-based accessories brand creating beautiful handmade headbands, hair ties & turbans for little and grown-up people made from silk and Tana lawn cottons.

HELP WITH YOUR IMAGE SEARCHES

The latest images on PRShots are found here https://www.prshots.com/whatsnew why not bookmark the page for a regular feed of the latest images on PRShots!! You can select the latest images from the last 24hours, week, or month.

BRANDS WITH NEW IMAGES

Clothing, beauty and accessories

Joe Browns  has new women’s and men’s ranges

Primark has new bridal, Denim ranges, Varsity ranges, women’s ranges, Valentine’s outfits, new Disney 100 ranges and baby outfits

Roman Originals has new spring and summer ranges

Very has new kids tops, womenswear, jewellery, and Valentine’s fashions

Aspiga has new womenswear

Oliver Bonas has new drops for March including clothes, jewellery, bags and accessories.

From my mother’s garden has new ranges for 2023

Dune London has new SS23 shoe and bag ranges and accessories

New Look has new January drops

Cath Kidston has new womenswear and accessory ranges

TK Maxx has new SS23 fashion and accessory ranges

Dune London Men’s has new SS23 footwear

Barbour has new ranges for adults and dogs

Fatface has new clothing ranges and accessories for kids and adults

Threadbare has new SS232 clothing ranges for him and her

Matalan has Mini Me outfits, menswear and suits, new kids ranges plus a character shop for dressing up

PrettyLittleThing  has a new Gemma Owen collabs and a new Renew range featuring Molly Mae and Valentine’s Day lingerie and going out wear

River Island has new Valentine’s outfits Active ranges and SS23 winter clothes for Jan-Feb drops

Freemans has new womenswear

Night Store has new pyjamas and maternity wear

See additional new clothing and accessories images from the last few weeks at

Peacocks John Lewis Monsoon Bryony Bel Tu Clothing Radley F&F Marks & Spencer Bonmarché Deichmann UK NoLoGo Cath Kidston George at Asda Accessorize Dancing Leopard Sarvin Lipsy M&Co  Cotton Traders

Home and food

George Home has new homeware, Valentines gifts and gifts for your pet

Dobbies Garden Centres has new edible planting, patio furniture, house plants, chimeneas, pizza ovens, firepits.

Homesense has new SS23 home items and gifts for Easter, Mother’s day and Valentines day

Daisy Park  has new kitchenware

Very unveils its new Everyday Homes collection and has Valentines gifts

Primark Home has new storage solutions for the home

Oliver Bonas has new gifts for the home

Cath Kidston has new homeware

Cardfactory has more valentines’ gifts for him and her

TK Maxx has new things for you and your home for SS23

Cartwright & Butler has new Mother’s Day and Valentines hampers and gifts

Hotel Chocolat has new chocolates for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and pictures of the Chocmobile

Cuckooland  has new home gifts and new SS23 home goods

Cutter & Squidge has Valentine’s day hampers and goodies

National Trust Shop has new gifts and things for the garden

The Range  has kitchen and home ware to keep you organised in 2023

Paperchase has new gifts

B&M has their new Urban Eden and Superbloom collections for summer outdoors and Easter collections

Nest has new lighting

Biscuiteers Baking has new Easter goodies

Sofology has new sofa and footstool ranges as well as things for the home

John Lewis has new solutions for the whole house from living rooms to bedrooms

Marks & Spencer has gifts for valentines and homeware

See additional new home images from the last few weeks from

Cambridge Imprint  Designers Guild Cult Furniture  Matalan Next Fritz Fryer NoLoGo Dunelm Avalana Dune London Furniture Village Luxdeco Designers Guild White Stuff Monsoon  Wilko KMI Brands DFS Fatface Very Habitat Christy Matalan Oliver Bonas

Looking for inspiration??

Our trends lightboxes section has lots of ideas for features and themes but If  you can't find something or you need help then email us at support@prshots.com, and we'll see if we can help

DIARY

Days until Valentine’s Day - 14

Days until Mother’s Day – 47

Days until Easter – 68

Days until Eid al-Fitr – 80

Days until Halloween – 273

Days until Singles Day - 284

Days until Black Friday – 297

Days until Christmas Day – 328

How to get your brand on the February Editorial Calendars   

Aside from continuing to keep an eye on those SS23 drops the first half of the month is about preparing for Valentine’s day issues and the second half is about getting ready for Easter. For Valentine’s day make sure everything has some of the keywords the media will be looking for eg gifts, pink, red, lingerie etc. For Easter make sure everything has some of the keywords the media will be looking for eg eggs, chocolate, easter bunny, easter egg, chick etc.

As we’re coming out of winter it’s time to start putting up images for the spring and summer. So anything related to getting out of the house is good, so get uploading images and adding keywords relating to summer outfits, swimwear, the garden, garden parties and Barbecues (don’t forget to add all of the other spellings BBQ, Bar-B-Que etc). 

February Diary - Weeks/Months

In the UK it’s LGBT+ history month and in the US this is Black History Month. It’s a great month for food, we have Pancake Day, national Pizza Day and Bread Week (18^th-26^th)

Other events include;

Just Around the Corner Exhibition London (8^th-9^th)

Source show Olympia (12^th – 14^th)

London Fashion Week (17^th – 21^st)

New York Fashion Week (9^th-15^th Feb)

Fairtrade Fortnight Feb 27^th – Mar 12^th)

February is also National Bird Feeding Month in the US

National Apprenticeship week 6^th - 12^Th Feb

February - Days

1^st – World Hijab Day

2^nd – Groundhog Day Again!!

2^nd – Time to talk day 

4^th – World Cancer Day

4^th – Rugby 6 Nation Championships starts

5^th – Tu B’Shevat 

5^th – Yorkshire Pudding Day UK 

6^th – National Sickie Day

9^th – National Pizza Day (US)

11^th – Brit Awards 

12^th – NFL Super Bowl 

12^th – Source Fashion Event Olympia

14^th – Valentine’s Day

15^th – Singles Awareness Day

17^th - Random Acts of Kindness Day (US)

18^th – Maha Shivaratri 

21^st – Shrove Tuesday / Pancake Day 

26^th - National Wear Red Day (Support for Heart disease)

Do you have any news on your brand that you want us to feature, or have a new appointee or a new event that you would like us to feature? Get in touch at news@prshots.com We don't charge, so get emailing now!!!

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