Retail

ArrowXL, the leading home delivery and fulfilment expert, has secured a contract to provide home delivery services to Aldi across the UK.  Under the terms of the agreement – which runs for three years – ArrowXL will provide a comprehensive two-person home delivery solution to online shoppers purchasing specific oversized items from Aldi’s website. This covers a wide range of products such as garden furniture, spa pools and DIY items. The company expects to handle…

Furnishing retailer Dunelm has reported a 23% jump in its annual pre-tax profits of £125.9m, compared with £93.1m in 2018. Dunelm said sales rose in June due to a rise in online spending, as well as wet weather in the month driving consumers to visit its out-of-town stores. In particular, the retailer said it benefited from tablet-based selling tools that enabled its staff to offer customers home delivery on an extended range of products. Dunelm…

Marks & Spencer is set to drop out of the FTSE 100 for the first time since the index was introduced 35 years ago, after its stock market value fell below the threshold for inclusion. The bellwether retailer’s exclusion was confirmed by stock market closing prices on Tuesday, which undertakes a quarterly reshuffle of the UK’s top listed brands. The official announcement is due to take place today and changes will take effect on September…

Brazilian cosmetics group Natura has announced that it is buying UK-based direct-selling cosmetics business Avon. Natura, which already owns The Body Shop and Aesop, is Brazil’s top business in cosmetics, perfumes and toiletries. Its all-stock offer of about $2bn (£1.6bn) means Natura shareholders will hold 76% of the combined company, which will have annual revenue of over $10bn. The deal will create the world’s fourth-largest cosmetics company. The new combined company will boast 3,200 stores…

Struggling department store chain Debenhams has agreed a £200m refinancing lifeline with lenders. The deal offered “reassurance” for employees, pension holders, suppliers and lenders, it said. The retailer said it would continue with plans to cut the number of its stores and negotiate rent reductions. The financial deal leaves the door open for Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct, which has been has been vying to seize control of Debenhams, to make a bid. “We are pleased…

Debenhams is close to receiving a £200m lifeline from lenders that would prevent the department store falling into the hands of largest shareholder Mike Ashley. A deal finalising its borrowing facilities, which are larger than expected, could be announced as soon as today, according to Sky News. The retail chain said earlier in the month that it was in “advanced negotiations with its current lenders about additional facilities of approximately £150m”. The figure has increased…