News

Hard economic times will see thieves intensify their onslaught on shops this Christmas, a retail expert has warned.

Kitchenware provides one of the few bright spots in the latest retail sales figures, released today in the BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor.

Many of the most prominent retailers in the housewares industry have already signed up to attend the inaugural Housewares Conference & Innovation Awards.

A controversial new ruling means that customs officials cannot now seize suspected counterfeit goods in transit through the EU to and from countries outside the EU unless they believe they are intended to be sold in the EU.

John Lewis has won The Marketing Society's Brand of the Year accolade for a second year in a row.

Homewares company Cath Kidston drove sales up 37% to £68.9m in the 53 weeks to April 2011.

Ikea has announced plans to invest almost £27m in its UK stores, despite a 3% fall in like-for-like sales in the UK in the 12 months to August 31 2011.

Discount retailers will be one of the key drivers of expansion in the UK food and grocery market over the next five years.

Claire and Edward Bourne, the owners of Bishops Home Hardware in Forest Row, East Sussex, have been declared winners of the Bertie Kingdon Perpetual Memorial Cup as Home Hardware Retailer of the Year.

Retail and other business organisations have given a cautious welcome to this week's Autumn Statement by Chancellor George Osborne, but are warning that the help given to consumers and businesses may not go far enough.