Main Image: Primark

PRShots Roundup brings you the latest retail news from WHSmith, The Range, Homebase, Boohoo, Burberry, Blake Mill, Lululemon and M&S. Plus, how to get your emails delivered, 15 social media trends for 2025 strategy and more.  

THE LATEST RETAIL INDUSTRY NEWS

WHSmith posts strong profits and revenues

WHSmith sales for the year ending 31 Aug were up 7% to £1.92bn, and profit before tax was up 16% to £166m. With its travel arm revenues up 11% to £1.47bn.

The Range owner snaps up Homebase brand and 70 stores

The Range and Wilko owner, CDS Superstores, has acquired the Homebase brand name, intellectual property, and up to 70 UK stores saving up to 1600 jobs.

Boohoo raises cash amid Frasers boardroom battle

Boohoo has urged investors to reject Mike Ashley’s bid for a board seat and has launched a fundraiser for £39.3m, which it said was “significantly oversubscribed”.

New Burberry CEO launches ‘urgent’ turnaround plan

Burberry’s CEO Joshua Schulman has unveiled a strategic plan to “reignite” the brand as it sank to an operating loss of £41m in the half ending 28 Sept, down from a £223m profit last year.

British Retail Consortium warns Reeves of ‘inevitable’ job losses and price rises due to Budget

The British Retail Consortium has written to the Chancellor Rachel Reeves warning that her national insurance raid in the recent Budget will inevitably lead to job losses in the sector.

Global Luxury sales to fall 2% in 2024

Sales of personal luxury goods are projected to fall 2% this year, marking one of the weakest performances on record.

Second hand and refurbished market growing by 17% annually

The global market for second hand clothing is valued at almost $200bn in 2023 and will grow another $100bn by 2026.

TRENDS, SUSTAINABILITY, STRATEGY AND TECHNOLOGY

How to get your emails delivered

Deliverability may not be the most interesting part of email marketing, but it is the most important. It doesn’t matter how good your creatives or offers are if they never get to the email inbox.

15 social media trends for 2025 strategy

With social media trend cycles moving faster than ever, Hootsuite looks at what’s worth paying attention to in 2025.

What went wrong at Homebase and what’s next?

Homebase plunged into administration yesterday appointing Teneo, what went wrong and what’s next for the chain?

The 50 global retailers powering tech transformation

Retail Week’s inaugural index of retailers and brands driving digital innovation is published today. The report is a celebration of inspiring businesses leveraging tech for growth.

Over half of UK adults have bought a second-hand item online in the past year

Orders from second-hand platforms have seen an “explosive growth”, according to delivery firm Evri’s UK ecommerce pulse report.

BRAND NEWS

Burberry launches campaign starring celebrated brand fans

Burberry has unveiled its new ‘Wrapped In Burberry’ campaign featuring David Tennant and Alex Hassell as well as a number of less famous superfans of the brand.

Blake Mill label launches in John Lewis

Menswear brand Blake Mill has joined the long list of third-party brands featuring at department store chain John Lewis.

M&S expands beauty takeback scheme to 100 stores across the UK

M&S has expanded its beauty takeback scheme to an additional 60 stores in the UK in its latest push for circularity and sustainability.

Lululemon launches new limited-edition capsule collection with Disney

Lululemon has partnered with Disney to launch a new, limited-edition collection of its activewear range with added graphics from Disney’s archive.

Topologie opens first UK store

Topologie has taken its next step in it plan to expand globally with its first flagship store in the UK in Dray Walk in Shoreditch.

Cambridge Satchel to open debut store in Leeds

Leather bag brand Cambridge Satchel will open its first store in Leed’s Victoria Quarter in December.

Garmin has opened its first-ever UK store

Garmin has opened its first-ever store in the UK as part of its commitment to its “growing base” of active-lifestyle customers,

Läderach expands UK presence with new High Street Kensington store

Läderach, the Swiss premium chocolatier, is continuing its UK expansion with the opening of a new store in Kensington.

AND FINALLY x2

Assos of Switzerland sues UK’s ASOS - report

Swiss premium cycling brand Assos is suing fashion e-tail giant ASOS in the UK courts, it’s believed the issues is over the rights to use the Asos name in Germany and selling cycle clothing.

All Rolex Submariner watches ever made are now near a total $50bn market value

The total market value of all Rolex Submariner watches ever made is almost $50bn, based on analysis of the first-ever release of production data by the Swiss watchmaker.

PRSHOTS TOP 10 SEARCHES

What were our users searching for on PRShots Week ending November 8^th 2024?

1/ Christmas

2/ AW24

3/ Leopard

4/ Sequin

5/ Yellow

6/ Cushion

7/ Candle

8/ Coat

9/ Home  

10/ Boots

NEW BRANDS TO PRSHOTS

Frangipani was established in 2010, and produces men’s shirts and accessories crafted from high-quality materials and featuring bold prints or subtle contrasts. With each shirt embodying a perfect balance of comfort and elegance.

Mission C founder Qes discovered that CBD oil helped his Grandad - who was living with dementia - feel calm and contented, he knew it could help others too. So he created a natural and accessible remedy for people looking to improve their quality of life.

Saywood was created in 2020 by Harriet Saywood-Bellisario, who graduated from the London College of Fashion before working at Paul Smith, Richard Nicoll and Label/Mix. The brand specialises in beautiful edits of wardrobe essentials and classics contemporised with unexpected details made to be worn and re-worn.

Jellycat is the brand of the moment and has been around for a quarter of a century. Over this time, their unmistakable characters have gained the affection of millions across 77 countries.

Priestleys was founded by husband and wife team James and Karen and specialises in producing little luxuries in their Lincolnshire workshop.  Their leather bags, belts, wallets and accessories are handcrafted using responsibly sourced leathers from gold and silver-rated tanneries in Europe and are supplemented with ranges of scarves and jewellery.

Sims Wear was founded by Billy Sims-Hilditch with the idea of creating British made menswear, using best-in-class natural fibres. The range is all home produced in Aberdeenshire from fibre carding and spinning, through to knitting, weaving, cutting and sewing.

HELP WITH YOUR IMAGE SEARCHES

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BRANDS WITH NEW IMAGES

Clothing, beauty and accessories

River Island has a Christmas Gift Guide and Christmas jumpers, plus new Premium and Winter Reds collections, along with party outfits and accessories for the Christmas season for men, women and children.

Peacocks has new Christmas jumpers and fashion, Caprice Christmas pyjama collections, new womenswear, a new Louise Redknapp AW and Christmas Edit, a Michael Owen collaboration and new AW24 womenswear and jewellery.

Fatface has a new Copper & Black range of womenswear, new menswear, and kids clothing, plus Christmas clothing, accessories and jewellery for all the family plus gifts for under £50, plus more AW24 Edit ranges of womenswear. 

Cotton Traders has new Christmas jumpers, cosy womenswear and menswear for AW24 including jumpers, cardigans and coats.

Roman Originals has more AW24 imagery, new Petite, Curve and Dusk campaign ranges of womenswear for cosy evenings and big events, new nightwear ranges with pyjamas and cosy dressing gowns.

Celtic &Co has new Christmas accessories, jumpers and cosy outfits from the winter.

Oliver Bonas has new women’s clothing, bags, shoes, accessories and jewellery for the New Year and SS25.

Primark has new Rita Ora collaboration of clothing, shoes, bags, jewellery and accessories, and new tie-ups with  Wicked, The Grinch, Sonic the Movie and Ashleigh Huish, plus going out shoes, boots and bags for women, a range of US NBA tops for men.

Bonmarché has new Christmas jumpers and partywear, lingerie ranges, new jewellery and accessory ranges for Christmas and the winter and AW24 clothing ranges.

M&S has a Bella Freud bag collaboration, the Christmas beauty advent calendar, party outfits for all the family, Christmas clothing, accessories and lingerie sets as well as post-surgery bras, the Dress the Nation range with Vernon Kay and AJ Odudu.

Scamp & Dude has Christmas party outfits and new AW24 womenswear ranges.

Matalan has a new menopause lingerie range plus a new collaboration with Marvel, Paddington and Alder Hey hospital, Christmas women’s eveningwear, outdoor clothing, footwear, Christmas and Winter outfits for the whole family.

George at Asda has a Children in Need range, women’s and menswear for Christmas occasions and parties, Children in Need Christmas outfits, a new Roksanda and Tickled Pink collaboration clothing ranges.

Very has new V by very ranges of clothes and footwear including metallics, sequins and faux fur, a new Michelle Keegan collaboration, new Grinch-themed pyjamas for all the family, stocking filler accessories, partywear ranges.

Peachaus has new sleepwear and lingerie for AW24 and SS25.

New Look has more new November outfits, winter and occasion wear outfits for women, plus ranges of womenswear including coats, jumpers, skirts and tops.

Dune London has new shoes, boots and bags.

Accessorize has some new Valentine’s day and SS25 collections of clothes, bags and shoes, a new bridal collection, new Christmas 2024 ranges of pyjamas, jumpers, bags, jewellery and accessories.

Fable England has new small accessory ranges, a Core collection of bags and accessories, a Wolf Garden range of clothes, jewellery and bags, a new AW24 collaboration with the National History Museum, plus new jewellery ranges.

Barbour has new collaborations with Noah, Ganni and Baracuta and has new outdoor ranges, a gifts under £50 range, a Alexa Natalie range, plus a Flower Mountain collaboration of trainers and clothes.

London Grace has new nail varnish ranges and nail varnish gift boxes.

Deichmann has new lifestyle imagery of its new shoes, boots, slippers and bags.

Shoe Zone has women's slippers and men's boots.

Monsoon has new clothes, shoes, boots, bags and accessories for Christmas, new edits for women and kids, bags, shoes, jewellery and accessories, new womenswear for special occasions and children’s Christmas-themed and winter accessories.

TK Maxx has its Christmas gift-guides for men, women, kids and pets, plus new menswear and womenswear ranges for AW24 including coats, jackets and hoodies, plus Leopard skin prints t-shirts and skirts.

See additional new clothing and accessories images from

Online Home Shop F&F Threadbare Oliver Bonas Iolla Regatta John Lewis Joe Browns

Home, garden and food

Oliver Bonas has new furniture and home accessories including mirrors, lighting and tableware for the New Year and SS25.

Fatface has a collaboration with homeless charity Shelter, Christmas decorations for the Christmas tree and homeware gifts.

George Home has a new Christmas decorations for the tree, tableware, soft furnishings and trees, Stacey Solomon Christmas and Autumn collaborations on cookware, bedding, dining, and homeware.

Quorn Stone has new natural stone and tumbled herringbone cobbles outdoor ranges, marble ranges for the bathroom and kitchen and Limestone cobbles for outside.

Primark has new Wicked and Grinch themed gifts for kids and pets, furniture, Christmas decorations and homeware gifts, AW24 furniture, homeware, bedding, diffusers and candles.

Matalan has SS25 homeware images for the dining room, bedroom, bathroom and garden, plus Christmas gifts and decorations, a new Connie the Cockapoo range, AW24 soft furnishings and gifts, a new AW Cosy Shop range of bedding and soft furnishings, Christmas bedding ranges and presents for pets.

Treats by Mars has new Galaxy ranges of hot chocolate. 

Cutter & Squidge has a new boxed cookie range.

Sofology has new SS25 Premiere and Westwood ranges of sofas, chairs and recliners.

Homesense has new Christmas gift ideas for family and pets as well as new Christmas decorations.

Hobbycraft has new ideas for Christmas decorations.

The Gluttonous Gardener has Christmas gifts for keen cooks and budding chefs.

Arran Sense of Scotland has Christmas gifting ranges for men and Christmas scented diffusers and handwashes.

Monsoon has new Christmas decorations for the home and the tree.

Habitat has new made to measure upholstery collections of sofas and chairs Christmas wreaths and decorations for the home and Christmas trees, plus a Willaim Morris collaboration of furniture and soft furnishings, plus new lighting, furniture for the living dining and bedroom plus new tableware.

Fritz Fryer has lamps and lights for every room in the home.

Home Bargains has new gift ranges for Christmas including candles.

TK Maxx has its Christmas gift-guides for the home, plus Beetlejuice-themed things for the home.

Online Home Shop has new foot warmers, hot water bottles, heated pads, body wraps, plus bar stools and furniture, mirrors, bedding, cuddle cushions, shaped pillows and bolsters.

Very has new soft furnishings and candles and other stocking fillers plus Christmas decorations for the home and the tree.

B&M has new bedding and soft furnishings, Xmas 2024 gift guides, new Woodland Charm, Japandi and Natural Earth homeware, plus bedding and soft furnishings for AW24, Christmas 2024 ranges of decorations, Christmas mugs, cushions, candles, and things for the kitchen and the Christmas dining table. 

Rebel Walls has new big statement First Rebels wallpaper ranges for the home based on paintings by famous artists.

M&S has a new National Gallery collaboration, stocking filler Christmas images and new Fearne Cotton Happy Place range, Christmas homeware including tableware, soft furnishings, candles and diffusers, Christmas decorations, homeware and bedding ranges.

See additional new home images from

Dobbies Garden Centres Jan Constantine Cambridge Imprint DFS Joe Browns Nest Cult Furniture Next Sandberg Wallpaper

DIARY

PRShots Retail Calendar Alerts

Days until Black Friday – 15

Days until Christmas – 41

Days until Valentine’s Day – 92

Days until Easter - 157
 

How to get your brand on the November media calendars

We are well into autumn and the Christmas season, and the media are looking for images that help them fill all those “what to buy on Black Friday” features, the endless Christmas gift guides, and all those “What to wear for the Christmas party season” articles.  

You should be uploading Black Friday and Christmas images for most media, but long lead-time magazines will be looking at January issues, so anything that helps illustrate the inevitable “New you for 2025” issues will also be welcomed. So, any athleisure, outdoor, healthy, sporty images will all be useful. 

As always, don’t forget to add keywords – Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Thanksgiving, Gifts, Christmas, Xmas, Winter, plus all those words beloved of home and women’s magazines like cosy, cosiness, hygge and wellbeing.

Clothing-wise the media are looking for party wear, party dresses, nightwear, going-out outfits, Christmas Jumpers, jumpers, scarves, bobble hats, beanies, cardigans, coatigans, jackets, and coats. So, make sure you have plenty of images in those categories uploaded and labelled with as many of those words as you can.    

Also, make sure that if your clothing is made from a fabric associated with winter that it’s flagged up somewhere in the title/keyword or in more information. Wool (woolovers are a thing), cashmere, fur (faux obviously), velvet, plus the year’s big trends of sequins, metallics, red and gold.     

If you’re aiming at being included in Christmas Guides, then make sure you have added prices. Guides are normally price-led eg “Presents under £50”, “Party dresses for less than £150” and without prices, your items won’t be included.     

If you’re a PRShots brand user and you need more ideas, then take a look at the keywords that media are searching for on PRShots and try and add those in.

If you’re looking for more hooks to help promote your brand and products, then see the list of days, weeks and fortnights below.

November Diary - Weeks/Months

Events to add to your marketing diary for November include.

Movember which centres around men’s health issues and moustaches, so beard and shaving-related things might be useful. It’s also World Pancreatic Cancer Month, World Vegan Month, Men’s Health Awareness Month, and in the US, it’s also National Peanut Butter Lovers’ Month, Sweet Potato Month and Candy Month.

Weeks to celebrate in November include;

Transgender Awareness Week (13^th-19^th)

November - Days

14^th – King Charles III 76^th birthday

15^th - BBC Children in Need

15^th – International Cheese and Bread Day

17^th – Homemade Bread Day (US)  

17^th – International Students Day

19^th – International Men’s Day

20^th – World Children’s Day

25^th – 1 month until Christmas Day

28^th – Thanksgiving (US) 

29^th – Black Friday 

30^th – US Small Business Saturday 

30^th – St Andrew’s Day (Bank Holiday Scotland)

NB - All dates have been checked, but some events may change due to unforeseen circumstances or have not been fully confirmed for 2024 by the authorities controlling the event(s). 

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