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PRShots Roundup brings you the latest retail news from Gap, Kurt Geiger, Body Shop, AllSaints, Gymshark, Homebody, Sunspel, Asda, Yours Clothing and M&S. Plus, do consumers really want to talk to bots, and the social media management expert playbook and more.
THE LATEST RETAIL INDUSTRY NEWS
Gap standalone stores return to UK
Gap is ramping up its UK brick-and-mortar expansion with the opening of three new standalone stores, including one flagship.
M&S boss urges chancellor to back business, not burden it, in Budget
Marks & Spencer chief executive Stuart Machin has called for business rates reform and no new taxes that affect consumers in the forthcoming Budget.
Consumer sentiment holds steady ahead of golden quarter
Consumer sentiment in the UK remained flat at –5, unchanged from the level recorded at the beginning of July. With 85% of consumers worried about inflation, up from the summer.
Retail sector struggles with weak consumer sentiment as profit warnings surge
Profit warnings issued by listed retailers were up double for the same period in 2024, according to new data from EY.
Kurt Geiger has another strong year as sales and profit jump
Kurt Geiger FY accounts to 1 Feb show turnover up to £372.8m from £338.9m, and pre-tax profit increased to £32.38m from £25.83m.
Ex-Body Shop chief in line for Bodycare rescue
The former CEO of Erno Laszlo and Molton Brown, Charles Denton is leading a bid for Bodycare, the chain that ran into trouble and went under last month with all of its stores now closed.
Serial returners fall by a quarter within UK retail
The number of “serial returners” within the UK retail consumer market has dropped by a quarter, from 12% to 8% of all consumers.
UK retail insolvencies fall back month on month
UK retail trade insolvencies fell 7% to 171 in August from the previous month (184), however, that was up 25% on 2024's figure of 137 insolvencies.
TRENDS, SUSTAINABILITY, STRATEGY AND TECHNOLOGY
Do consumers really want to talk to bots?
Attitudes toward AI-powered customer service are shifting, but age and industry are important factors.
The social media management expert playbook
Four social experts share insights on the future of social media management, from team structures to strategy, and proving business impact.
How the AWS outage has revealed a payments dispute timebomb
From ecommerce giants to payment platforms and customer service tools, the October 20th AWS outage has exposed the critical dependency many businesses have on a single cloud provider.
How to build enterprise influencer marketing programs
Influencer marketing isn’t just for DTC brands. Martech explains how enterprises can partner with industry voices, scale campaigns, and drive measurable ROI.
UK consumers to embrace AI agents for festive shopping
A new survey expects 45% of UK consumers to use artificial intelligence (AI) to assist with their Christmas shopping this year.
PEOPLE, MOVERS AND SHAKERS
AllSaints recruits new chief creative officer
AllSaints has announced the appointment of East London designer Aaron Esh as chief creative officer, effective 3 Nov.
BRAND NEWS
Gymshark links with Dick's Sporting Goods in US
Gymshark has been focusing heavily on the US recently and has named Dick’s Sporting Goods as its first-ever US wholesale partner.
Expanding British luxury brand Sunspel puts down roots in Paris
Sunspel is steadily expanding its retail footprint with a new store opening in Paris, marking its third opening of 2025.
Homebody moves into womenswear
Luxury British men’s sleepwear brand Homebody has launched its first full women’s sleep and loungewear line fronted by wellness advocate and former model Rosemary Ferguson.
Yours Clothing continues UK expansion with raft of openings
Plus-size retailer Yours Clothing has unveiled a host of new store openings and relocations across the UK.
Asda to open nine new Express stores this week
Asda is launching nine new Express convenience stores this month including seven in central London, as it acts on its plans to strengthen its presence in high-footfall urban area.
Astrid & Miyu expands US footprint
Astrid & Miyu is strengthening its foothold in the United States with the launch of a new store on New York City’s Madison Avenue.
Mint Velvet is going big on coats this winter with the launch of its Icons Collection, featuring a range that celebrates the brand’s most popular outerwear fronted by group of “inspiring women”.
AND FINALLY x2
Penguin and Club bars can no longer be called chocolate
McVitie's Penguin and Club bars are no longer classed as chocolate after rising cocoa prices led the makers to switch to using other ingredients.
Charlie Bigham launches £29.95 ready meals for home diners
Charlie Bigham’s new fine-dining brassiere range launched in 70 Waitrose stores, with some meals costing triple the £9.95 typically charged for its bestselling fish pie.
PRSHOTS TOP 10 SEARCHES
What were our users searching for on PRShots Week ending Oct 17th 2025?
1/ Christmas
2/ AW25
3/ Boots
4/ Coat
5/ Halloween
6/ Heels
7/ Bag
8/ Earrings
9/ Jacket
10/ Dress
PRSHOTS DIARY
PRShots Retail Calendar Alerts
Days until Halloween – 10
Days until Black Friday - 38
Days until Christmas Day – 65
Days until Valentine’s Day - 116
How to make your products attractive to the media in October
Our October PR toolkit and content calculator is here to help PRs and marketers forward-plan campaigns and pitches armed with some timely and topical angles, plus it’s a checklist for potential campaign hooks.
We’re into autumn, and the nights are starting to draw in, and the heating is probably on. The media are looking for images that reflect the changes, so anything that looks cosy and warm is suitable; roaring fires, big jumpers, coats, hats, knitwear, scarves, and wellies in a leaf-strewn outdoors – all the clichés – are what the media are looking for.
If you can do some night shots with sparklers, then you’re also ticking the boxes for Bonfire Night next month. We also have Halloween at the end of the month, so if you can get a pumpkin in your images, then you’re hitting two birds with one stone.
You should be adding Christmas images, and for those magazines with very long lead times, then start to look for the images of people working off the Christmas excesses for the January issues.
Don’t forget to add keywords like Gifts, Christmas, Xmas, Autumn, Winter, Halloween, Fireworks night and Bonfire night, as they will be looked for from now. Also, PRShots has a worldwide audience, so add those American holiday versions e.g. The Holidays, Fall, Pumpkin Day, Thanksgiving, etc and words like hygge that are starting to enter the language and are associated with the autumn.
Media will also be searching for party outfits for Halloween, Guy Fawkes, and the office party season - which will soon be with us some businesses have their Christmas parties in November.
The media are also starting to look for and create Christmas gift guides, so try and be creative, do ones for every eventuality e.g. gifts guides for him/her/mum/dad/kids/teenagers/pets etc also gifts under £150/100/£50 and guides for secret Santa’s gifts under £20.
Please put prices on everything!!! Otherwise, you stand no chance of getting into any of the features that include “Presents under £50”, “Party dresses for £150”, etc.
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.
October Diary - Weeks/Months
October is also known as ‘Stoptober’, which started as a campaign around giving up cigarettes, but is now joined by MacMillans Go Sober for October, so if you have anything non-alcoholic, then get it on PRShots and make sure you add Stoptober and non-alcoholic as keywords.
It’s also Black History Month, Wool Month, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Menopause Month, Vegetarian Awareness Month, Apple Month, Cookie Month, Spinach Lovers' Month, Pork Month, and National Pasta, Chilli, and Pizza Month.
Fashion and Beauty Weeks and events include – National Wedding Show London (18th -19th), British Beauty Week (20th-26th), Gran Canaria Swim Week (22nd- 25th), The Baby Show (24th-26th), National Wedding Show Manchester (25th -26th).
National Baking Week (14th-20th)
October - Days
25th – World Pasta Day
25th – 2 months until Christmas Day
26th – National Pumpkin Day
26th – Clocks go back tonight
27th – National American Beer Day
27th – Global Champagne Day
28th – National Chocolate Day (US)
29th – National Cat Day (US)
31st – Halloween
NB - All dates have been checked, but some events may change due to unforeseen circumstances or have not been fully confirmed for 2025 by the authorities controlling the event(s).
WANT TO GET YOUR IMAGERY IN FRONT OF OVER 20,000 MEDIA?
If you’re a brand looking to get your imagery on PRShots then get in touch with our sales team at sales@prshots.com We have solutions and pricing for all sizes and types of business from small startups to large multi-nationals.
NEW BRANDS ON PRSHOTS
Rhoen is the brainchild of designer Rebecca Rhoades. The Rhoen collection features ready-to-wear, bridal, party, signature and casual ranges of luxury womenswear, featuring big bright prints and colours in mini, midi and maxi lengths.
BRANDS WITH NEW IMAGES
Clothing, beauty and accessories
Primark has new Christmas pyjamas and jumper ranges and lingerie, a Satin and Lace range, plus boots, shoes, bags and jackets for the winter and for the party season, men’s autumn layering, Thermalite and Heat IQ range plus adult and kids Edit range.
Roman Originals has new AW25 Dusk, Curve and Petite ranges for parties and going out, including coats, jackets, dresses and trousers.
New Look has Christmas jumpers and winter clothing, plus new going out outfits for October and autumn drops of AW25 range,s including clothes, bags, shoes, boots and accessories.
Very has a new denim range, a new Michelle Keegan collaboration, new Elegant Opulence, Future Heirlooms and West Country Craft drops for its new Very Collection range of women’s clothing which includes the labels V by Very and Everyday, new Halloween outfits, including Addams Family ranges.
Peacocks has it’s Christmas ranges modelled by Louise Redknapp and Danni Dyer, new kidswear, more Danni Dyer AW collections and a new Micheal Owen range of menswear.
Online Home Shop has new cosy outfits for Halloween.
Lola Starr has a new Earth Collection range of athleisure/active wear crafted from recycled fabrics.
Matalan has a new Winter Smart Edit, Christmas pyjamas and jumper ranges, a collaboration with Little Mistress Vicky Pattison, Grinch & Cindy themed clothing ranges for the family, new AW25 men and women’s wear, and Halloween kids costumes.
Oliver Bonas has new Autumn women’s accessories and jewellery, new womenswear including coats, jumpers, cardigans, trousers and shoes.
FatFace has a new Winter Collection of womenswear with this seasons’ must-have Faux Fur and including dresses, trousers, jackets, coats, bags, boots, shoes and hats.
Barbour has new collaborations with Arket, Paul Smith, Farm Rio and a collaboration with Kaptain Sunshine collaboration of outdoor wear, new Heritage ranges, clothing ranges plus new outfits and footwear for the festival season.
Monsoon has a new collaboration with Sarah Corbett-Winder, AW25 clothing, jewellery and accessories, including bags, shoes, boots, scarves and jewellery, new wedding and bridal ranges.
F&F has new a new Abby Clancy collaboration, new Kids and womenswear Christmas clothing ranges, and new autumn womenswear ranges.
River Island has a new collaboration with Nephthys, has new Heritage, Nostalgia and Studio womenswear ranges, a new collaboration with Olivia Attwood, new Suede season handbags, plus new ranges of clothing, shoes, bags, and accessories.
Regatta has an Orla Kiely collaboration, plus new kids, womens and menswear for winter walks and hikes, including coats, jackets, fleeces and waterproofs, plus boots, scarves and hats.
TK Maxx has new fashion accessory ranges including scarves, bags and jewellery.
Cotton Traders has new Will Mellow and Alex Jones collaboration lines, plus winter clothing ranges including coats, cardigans, trousers and Christmas jumpers.
M&S has new Christmas clothing collections and Collection and Autograph clothing, accessories and jewellery, plus ballet shoe ranges, and new kids ranges of clothes and shoes.
Joe Browns has new Christmas party and cosy evenings in outfits for men and women, Christmas jumpers and gifts for him and her, and Christmas bags, clothes, slippers, boots, shoes, jewellery and accessories.
See additional new clothing and accessories images from
Accessorize Bonmarché Sims Wear George at Asda The Orchard Deichmann Inspecs John Lewis Threadbare Fable England
Home, garden and food
Dobbies Garden Centres has Christmas gifts from the Gruffalo collection, Lemax and Disney-themed Christmas decorations, Halloween decorations, autumn houseplants.
Ivyline has Spring Summer 2026 planters, pots, watering cans and misters for indoors, plus chimeneas and pots for outdoors.
Cambridge Imprint has Christmas Crackers, new occasion cards, place cards, notebooks, patterned papers, new notecards and envelopes, Christmas cards, garlands, paper chains, coronets, and banners.
Very has new Western, Folk Cottage and Playful furniture and soft furnishing ranges, plus homeware for the kitchen and lounge, new Halloween and Christmas decorations for the home, plus Christmas toys and homeware.
Online Home Shop has new Halloween and autumn-themed mats, cushions and homeware.
Quorn Stone has new natural stone range, marble and decorative effect tiles, Parisian Manoir, Lullington, Chalfont and Orotelli decorative tiles, plus new natural stone and Canyon Terrazzo effect porcelain tiles.
Homesense has new Christmas homeware and gifts, plus Halloween and Christmas decorations, new furniture and accessory ranges for the kitchen and living room, including soft furnishings, dishes and glassware.
Primark has new Christmas homeware for the bedroom, table and the lounge, new Christmas and Wicked/Stitch/ themed gifting ranges for kids, a new low-key luxury ranges, a new Viral Product range, Halloween decorations and gifts, back-to-college ranges, harvest festival ranges of decorations.
The Gluttonous Gardener has gifts for the horticulturist in your life including their Growbar flower seed kits.
Treats by Mars has new Galaxy Caramel and vegan Galaxy dairy-free biscuits and selection boxes, Malteser gingerbread cake bars, Mars and Snickers flavour milk drinks, M&M festive and Halloween hot chocolate kits and Galaxy hot chocolate ranges.
Oliver Bonas has new homeware and Christmas gifting, a new Shrimps collaboration of homeware, new furniture, Christmas decorations, gifts and things for the home, plus new November/October drops of homeware ranges for the lounge, bedroom, kitchen, dining room.
Regatta has an Orla Kiely collaboration of thermos mugs, cool bags, picnic rugs and totes.
Habitat has new Christmas decorations for the home and the tree.
TK Maxx has new things for the home.
Hobbycraft has new Halloween and autumnal projects.
M&S has a new Kelly Hoppen collaboration, new Christmas homeware for the kitchen, bedroom and lounge plus decorations for the tree and the home.
The Orchard has new home interiors, Christmas furnishings, tabletop fire pits and mini pizza ovens, artificial Christmas tree ranges, new Miami Corner Group sofa, new autumn and Halloween decorations.
Arran Sense of Scotland has new festive collections, Island Dusk range, 2025 Christmas gift packs and an advent calendar, new refill packages, home fragrances, scented candles, plus a new mum and bride scent range.
Joe Browns has new Christmas gifts, plus homeware including lights, faux plants, signs, lamp shades, dining and drink ware, trays, coasters, stools, side tables soft furnishings, prints and throws.
B&M has its Christmas Gift Guide for her, Frosted Night, Nordic Glow, Peaceful Wishes, Snow Much Fun and Festive Folklore Christmas decorations, homeware for back to college, university Halloween decorations and accessories.
Designers Guild has new AW25 accessory ranges, and new Trevenna AW25 ranges of big-patterned print material for curtains and soft furnishings.
Matalan has Christmas decorations and gifts, AW25 homeware for the autumn including Halloween and Harvest Festival themed soft furnishings.
Ruggable has a range of Christmas themed rugs and carpets, plus Halloween and Autumn-themed doormats as well as rugs in autumn colours.
See additional new home images from
Accessorize George Home Jellycat John Lewis Oriana B Home Bargains Dunelm
WANT TO GET YOUR IMAGERY IN FRONT OF OVER 20,000 MEDIA?
If you’re a brand looking to get your imagery on PRShots then get in touch with our sales team at sales@prshots.com We have solutions and pricing for all sizes and types of business from small startups to large multi-nationals.
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THE LATEST RETAIL INDUSTRY NEWS
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NEW IMAGERY ON PRSHOTS IN FASHION/BEAUTY/HOME
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