Greggs, the retail baker, is acquiring Birketts Holdings of Cumbria, which has 57 shops, for £3.2m. [31-Dec-1996]
J Sainsbury is planning to set up a supermarket on the internet, developed in conjunction with Hewlett-Packard and offering a full range of goods. [28-Dec-1996]
Tesco, the supermarket chain, is thought to be considering all-night trading at certain locations throughout the year, and could make a decision based on the level of success from all-night opening hours over the Christmas period. [24-Dec-1996]
Asda, the supermarket chain, is planning to extend its campaign against price-fixing arrangements to other products, having recently broken such arrangements in books and drugs. [20-Dec-1996]
Wickes, the DIY retailer, has announced a £53m rights issue and capital reconstruction in an attempt to revive its fortunes following the discovery of accounting irregularities in June. [13-Dec-1996]
Harvey Nichols, the upmarket retailer with a new store in Leeds, is planning to add a further two stores, with possible locations including Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Manchester. [13-Dec-1996]
Kingfisher, the retail group, has sold its 50% stake in the Staples office supplies superstores to Staples, its US partner, for £23.5m. [12-Dec-1996]
C&J Clark, the shoe company, is discussing the sale of its factory outlet operations in Somerset and the Lake District in order to focus on shoe manufacturing and retailing. [11-Dec-1996]
Freemans, the mail-order company, is to offer a £1 lottery ticket voucher for every £10 spent by customers, having become an official National Lottery partner. [11-Dec-1996]
Wax Lyrical, the candle retailer, is planning to open 8-12 stores a year and expand overseas with the appointment of franchisees. [11-Dec-1996]
Asda, the supermarket chain, is considering the launch of doctors' services in its superstores, on contract to the National Health Service. [10-Dec-1996]
Harrods has started offering its products in the US through the QVC home shopping channel. [03-Dec-1996]
Littlewoods of the UK and Otto Versand of Germany have both expressed interest in launching a takeover bid for Freemans, Sears' mail order business which is estimated to be worth about £350m. [02-Dec-1996]
Tesco and British Land are forming a £175m joint venture in which they will pool a number of retail properties, in a type of sale and leaseback arrangement which will unlock some of Tesco's capital. [29-Nov-1996]
Safeway, the supermarket chain, is to launch an interest-bearing debit account service called ABC Bonus, in conjunction with Abbey National. [28-Nov-1996]
Sovereign Land is planning a £20m retail and leisure development at Cardiff Bay, creating about 300 jobs. [27-Nov-1996]
Optical Express is planning to acquire Specialeyes, the retail optician, for about £1.9m. [27-Nov-1996]
Safeway is planning to set up 15 superstores and 4 supermarkets a year for the next two years, in a move which will create 3,500 full-time jobs. [22-Nov-1996]
Marks & Spencer is test-marketing gold jewellery in 11 stores, and hopes to set up departments in 40 stores by next Christmas. [21-Nov-1996]
Ikea is planning its first home furnishings store in the south west, having bought the Bristol stadium and Eastgate retail park. [19-Nov-1996]
Formal Group, the menswear retailer, says it is in discussions with a number of companies which could boost the size and profitability of the group. [16-Nov-1996]
Great Universal Stores has acquired Experian, the US credit rating and information agency, in a £1.04bn deal. [15-Nov-1996]
Sears has sold its half share in the St Enoch shopping centre in Glasgow to Despa, the German property fund, for £80m. [15-Nov-1996]
Harry Ramsden's, the fish and chip restaurant chain, is planning eight new franchised and joint venture restaurants, including four in Scotland, in a move which will create 1,000 new jobs. [14-Nov-1996]
Comet, the electrical retailer, is acquiring Norweb's electricity showrooms for £29m, and is expected to withdraw from about 57 high-street shops in order to avoid conflict with its existing stores. [13-Nov-1996]
Kwik Save is planning a £300m restructuring which will result in the closure of 107 of its food stores, the loss of 1,900 jobs, and the revamp of its other 872 stores. [08-Nov-1996]
Shaftesbury, the property company, is acquiring Carnaby Street, the London shopping street, for £90m. [08-Nov-1996]
Majestic Wine, the chain of drinks warehouses, is raising £4.4m with a placing on the Alternative Investment Market, in order to fund the continued growth rate of about 8 new stores a year. [06-Nov-1996]
Marks & Spencer is planning to take on 2,000 extra staff at its stores, in order to improve customer service. [06-Nov-1996]
Dixons, the electrical retailer, has bought DN Computer Services, the mail order computer company, for £9.7m. [05-Nov-1996]
Dawn Til Dusk is planning to double the size of its 35-strong chain of convenience stores in the north west, funded by a flotation on Aim which should raise £1.5m. [04-Nov-1996]
J Sainsbury is aiming to win back market share from Tesco by offering Extra Reward Points for its loyalty cards on over 200 products. [02-Nov-1996]
Body Shop, the environmentally-friendly cosmetics retailer, is to revamp its stores and stop selling some of its cheaper green-label products in order to attract higher spending customers. [01-Nov-1996]
Marks & Spencer is to launch a range of vitamin and mineral supplements in its first step into the healthcare market, a move seen as a threat to Boots. [29-Oct-1996]
Watson & Philip has announced plans to convert all of Total Oil's petrol site convenience stores in the UK into its Alldays format. [29-Oct-1996]
J Sainsbury is linking with Bank of Scotland to set up Sainsbury's Bank, which will start providing telephone banking services in its supermarkets from early 1997. [26-Oct-1996]
Pet City Holdings of the UK is to undergo a £140m merger with PetsMart of the US, as the first step in the US pet product retailer's European expansion plans. [26-Oct-1996]
General Nutrition Centres of the US is opening its first UK health food store in Bristol, and plans to set up 400 high street stores over the next four years. [24-Oct-1996]
Asda has bought a superstore in Havant, Hampshire, from the Co-operative Society for undisclosed terms. [24-Oct-1996]
The Birthdays chain of 330 greetings cards shops has been sold to a consortium of investors for £90m. [22-Oct-1996]
Burton, the clothing retailer, has acquired Racing Group, the mail-order concern, for £19m. [22-Oct-1996]
The Office of Fair Trading is to refer price fixing in the non-prescription drugs market to the restrictive trade practices court, a move which could result in a price war in pharmacies. [19-Oct-1996]
Marks & Spencer is planning to launch a franchise chain in Australia, initially centred in Sydney. [18-Oct-1996]
DFS Furniture is to open eight more stores this year and believes the format could be expanded to 100 stores throughout the country. [17-Oct-1996]
Boots is to open its first Boots the Chemists store in the Irish Republic next month, in a Dublin shopping centre, and more are expected to follow. [16-Oct-1996]
Tie Rack is to set up a new chain of outlets selling luggage with wheels, following a trial at Heathrow airport and Waterloo station. [16-Oct-1996]
Majestic Wine, the drinks warehouse chain, is planning to raise about £4m by joining the Alternative Investment Market in order to fund the opening of eight warehouses a year. [12-Oct-1996]
Boots is to open chemist shops in Japan, Thailand and the Netherlands on a trial basis, as well as a chain in Ireland. [11-Oct-1996]
Laura Ashley, the clothing and furnishings retailer, is to take back control of its distribution from Federal Express at a cost of about £1m. [09-Oct-1996]
Thorntons, the chocolate maker and retailer, is planning to invest £30m in 90 new shops by 2000, creating 550 jobs. [09-Oct-1996]
Legal & General is preparing plans for a £500m shopping centre development at Bracknell which would create 3,000 jobs. [08-Oct-1996]
Moss Bros, the menswear retailer, is planning to open a further 11 shops in the second half of this year. [08-Oct-1996]
Kingfisher is in discussions to acquire the Norweb white-goods chain of shops from United Utilities. [07-Oct-1996]
Unichem has acquired three community pharmacies in Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and London, for £1.9m. [04-Oct-1996]
The planned flotation of the Harrods department store has been delayed by the Fayed brothers for undisclosed reasons. [03-Oct-1996]
JJB Sports, the sports goods retailer, is to open a further 25 stores this year and has signed an agreement with Tesco in which it will lease space in new Metro stores. [03-Oct-1996]
House of Fraser, the department store concern, has confirmed it could close up to 10 of its 51 stores in order to eliminate rising losses. [02-Oct-1996]
Oasis, the women's wear retailer, is to open two stores, six concessions and a new headquarters in the second half of this year. [01-Oct-1996]
Grand Metropolitan has sold its Pearle Vision chain of optician shops in North America and Europe to Cole National of the US for £140m. [26-Sep-1996]
Kwik Save has seen its shares fall to their lowest level in 8 years, as analysts believe the troubled food retailer could be preparing to close 100-300 of its 1,000 stores. [26-Sep-1996]
John David Sports, the chain of 61 sportswear shops, is raising £9m in a share placing in order to fund the opening of 25 new shops a year over the next decade. [25-Sep-1996]
J Sainsbury is acquiring 12 superstores in the US from Royal Ahold for $52m, a move which will make it the second biggest food retailer in Connecticut. [24-Sep-1996]
T&S Stores plans to double its chain of convenience stores to 500 outlets by the year 2000, and also aims to have 50 stores operating on a 24-hour basis by the end of 1996. [24-Sep-1996]
Waterstone's is planning to open the UK's first book superstore in Glasgow next spring. [23-Sep-1996]
Wyevale Garden Centres is acquiring two garden centres in Timperley, Cheshire, for a total of £1.95m. [23-Sep-1996]
Boots is acquiring Laboratoires Lutsia, the French skincare concern, for £115m, as part of its strategy to develop its over-the-counter healthcare activities. [21-Sep-1996]
Signet has rejected an offer from Apax for its 600-store jewellery business, saying that the deal would not have provided sufficient value for shareholders. [20-Sep-1996]
Wm Morrison Supermarkets is planning an expansion programme with the opening of four more stores in 1997 and the creation of 3,200 jobs. [20-Sep-1996]
Sears is planning to open four more Selfridges department stores in city centres such as Birmingham and Glasgow, but they are unlikely to open until 2000. [18-Sep-1996]
Signet has still failed to find a buyer for its jewellery shops and is now said to be considering keeping the Ernest Jones and H Samuel chains. [17-Sep-1996]
J Sainsbury, the supermarket, is expanding the features of its Reward customer loyalty card to offer free phone calls through British Telecom and the opportunity for cardholders to make donations to the NSPCC charity. [12-Sep-1996]
The introduction of Sunday trading has made very little difference to the sales and profits of retailers, according to a survey commissioned by Healey & Baker. [11-Sep-1996]
Kingsbury Group, the furniture retailer, is planning to open five more stores in the second half of this year. [11-Sep-1996]
Wickes, the do-it-yourself retailer, is now said to have overstated its profits by about £50m over the past four years, due to the way it treated suppliers' rebates in its accounts. [10-Sep-1996]
Safeway is planning to open 100 small supermarkets on BP petrol station forecourts, in a £100m joint venture which will create up to 2,000 jobs. [07-Sep-1996]
Booker, the cash and carry group, has made a £264m takeover bid for its main rival Nurdin & Peacock. [05-Sep-1996]
Iceland, the frozen food retailer, is planning to open 31 new stores this year and 25 next year, and is investing in a sales-based ordering system. [04-Sep-1996]
Allders has bought eight department stores from Owen Owen for £24m. [02-Sep-1996]
Body Shop International is discussing the acquisition of Craigross Holdings, which operates six Body Shop franchises in Scotland. [31-Aug-1996]
Superdrug is planning to set up a further 250 in-store pharmacies over the next four years at selected branches of its 710-store network. [27-Aug-1996]
Capital Shopping Centres is introducing a Visa credit card at the Lakeside retail centre in Thurrock, Essex, making it the latest in a line of retailers moving into financial services. [20-Aug-1996]
Argos, the catalogue retailer, is planning a chain of 70 stores in the Netherlands with the first opening in 1998, its first move into continental Europe. [20-Aug-1996]
John David Sports, the sportswear retailer, is planning a flotation in the autumn with a value of up to £100m. [19-Aug-1996]
N Brown, the mail order concern, is looking to expand with a big acquisition, and also wants to decrease its reliance on catalogues for older women. [15-Aug-1996]
J Sainsbury is in discussions with Royal Ahold of the Netherlands to buy 12 superstores in the US. [13-Aug-1996]
Calvin Klein of the US is planning to open two fashion stores in London next year, followed by eight further stores in other cities. [12-Aug-1996]
J Sainsbury has seen a slight revival in its market share since the June launch of its loyalty card, and now has 5.5m cardholders with 100,000 new cards a week. [12-Aug-1996]
Software City has opened in Leeds, the first of 50 software superstores planned over the next four years. [08-Aug-1996]
J Sainsbury is increasing its stake in Giant Food, the US supermarket group, to 20% at a cost of $62m, and may be preparing to take full control. [07-Aug-1996]
Allders is in discussions to buy up to ten department stores from Owen Owen. [05-Aug-1996]
Stylo has bought the retail and wholesale operations of the Hush Puppies shoe business from Sears for £23m. [03-Aug-1996]
J Sainsbury has acquired full control of its Homebase DIY chain with the acquisition of GIB's 25% stake. [02-Aug-1996]
Elf of France is planning to launch a chain of food shops on UK high streets, in support of an expansion of its Le Shop chain on petrol station forecourts. [30-Jul-1996]
Jessop Group, the chain of 70 photographic shops, has undergone a management buy-out backed by NatWest Ventures. [26-Jul-1996]
Littlewoods is preparing the nationwide launch of its Index Extra mail order catalogue, supported by a £16m advertising campaign this autumn. [24-Jul-1996]
Apax Partners, the venture capitalist, is said to be about to buy Signet's two jewellery chains - Ernest Jones and H Samuel - for £280m. [23-Jul-1996]
Tesco has decided not to bid for Docks de France, the French retailer facing a £2.1bn hostile takeover bid from Auchan. [23-Jul-1996]
Burton, the clothes retailer, is buying Innovations, the direct mail order concern, for £45m, a move which will give Burton a new channel to sell its brands. [20-Jul-1996]
Finelist Group has made a £46m recommended bid for Motor World Group, the car parts retailer. [19-Jul-1996]
Uno, the chain of 9 three-piece suite superstores, has finalised its Alternative Investment Market flotation with a value of £18.8m. [17-Jul-1996]
Monsoon, the fashion chain, has postponed its £250m flotation following a dispute with BZW, the sponsor and broker. [11-Jul-1996]
Dixons, the electrical retailer, is planning to open 10 Currys superstores and 10 PC Worlds this year, creating 2,500 jobs. [11-Jul-1996]
Next, the clothing retailer, has acquired a 30% stake in Cotton Traders, the leisurewear concern, for undisclosed terms. [11-Jul-1996]
Budgen plans to open ten new supermarkets and ten smaller outlets at Q8 and Mobil petrol stations this year. [10-Jul-1996]
Tesco is said to be considering a bid for Docks de France, the French retailer undergoing a hostile approach from the Auchan group, in a move that would cost up to £2.5bn. [09-Jul-1996]
Cantors, the furniture retailer, is to undergo a reverse takeover with Harveys Holdings, the textiles and furniture concern, creating a group with sales of £140m and almost 300 stores. [06-Jul-1996]
Safeway, the supermarket chain, may move into the electricity supply business when the market is deregulated in 1998, either by acting as an agent and setting up kiosks in its stores or by using a more direct approach and buying electricity from generators to sell on to the public. [05-Jul-1996]
Redcar's local council has chosen the Teesland Development Company as preferred developer for a £20m retail development in Redcar town centre. [05-Jul-1996]
Boots is planning a further 110 small stores and out-of-town chemist stores over the next four years in a £300m investment programme, and is also preparing to launch a loyalty card. [03-Jul-1996]
MFI, the furniture retailer, is considering plans to move into Spain and Portugal. [02-Jul-1996]
C&J Clark, the shoe group, is closing three factories - in Plymouth, Shepton Mallet and Cumbria - and cutting back its Somerset head office, with the loss of 1,400 jobs. [02-Jul-1996]
Escom is to shut 65 of its high street computer stores in order to reduce losses, but will retain 170 outlets. [02-Jul-1996]
Boots has bought back about 5% of its shares for £300m, but has retained enough funds for making acquisitions in healthcare and investments in retailing. [28-Jun-1996]
Asda is planning to open eight new stores this year, creating 3,000 jobs. [28-Jun-1996]
Kingfisher has increased its stake in BUT, the French electrical retailer, from 20% to 26%, for £25m. [27-Jun-1996]
Harvey Nichols, the London department store, plans to open a store in Leeds in October and the first of several restaurants in London in September. [27-Jun-1996]
Wickes, the DIY retailer, has seen its shares suspended following the discovery of major accounting problems concerning "the timing of recognition of profit from supplier contributions". [26-Jun-1996]
UniChem, the pharmaceuticals retailer, is linking up with United Drug of Dublin to move further into the market for pre-wholesaling, which involves acting as a distribution agent for manufacturers. [25-Jun-1996]
Marks & Spencer is introducing cheap personal loans of up to £3,000 for customers who use its charge card. [24-Jun-1996]
Whittard of Chelsea, the speciality tea and coffee retailer, is planning to open 15 branches a year for the foreseeable future. [22-Jun-1996]
Formal Group is acquiring Blakes Menswear, which operates mainly in the south east, for up to £4.5m. [22-Jun-1996]
Littlewoods Stores is planning a further 40 stores across the country and a distribution centre in Burton on Trent, creating 3,000 jobs over the next four years. [20-Jun-1996]
Watson & Philip is planning to expand its Alldays chain of convenience stores to 540, with a further 100 outlets this year. [19-Jun-1996]
Carpetright is planning to expand its chain of carpet stores from 200 to 260 by next April. [19-Jun-1996]
Sainsbury has introduced a loyalty bonus discount card, called the Reward Card, which will allow customers to collect British Airways air miles. [18-Jun-1996]
Moss Bros has bought Blazer, the chain of 28 casual wear shops, from Storehouse for £7.1m. [14-Jun-1996]
WH Smith has sold Paperchase, the chain of 12 stationery stores, to management for £1m. [14-Jun-1996]
Edinburgh Development and Investment has announced plans for a £100m shopping mall under Princes Street in Edinburgh. [14-Jun-1996]
Monsoon, the fashion retailer, is to seek a stock market listing that will value it at about £250m. [13-Jun-1996]
Richardson Developments has announced plans for a £90m out-of-town shopping centre in York. [12-Jun-1996]
Boots is to acquire WH Smith's share in their joint Do It All chain of DIY stores. [10-Jun-1996]
Harrods, the London department store, may be floated in order to fund expansion, and could be valued at up to £2bn. [10-Jun-1996]
Allders, the retailer, has agreed to sell its duty-free business to Swissair for £160m, thus ending the attempt by BAA to buy the business. [08-Jun-1996]
Littlewoods plans to spend £35m opening between 40 and 70 Index catalogue shops over the next four years. [07-Jun-1996]
Cullens Holdings is to start opening food stores at Mobil petrol stations. [05-Jun-1996]
Tesco is to add debit and interest payment facilities to its Clubcard loyalty card scheme in direct competition with high street banks. [04-Jun-1996]
WH Smith is said to be planning an overhaul of its 550 stores in order to improve profitability, a move which could result in 1,000 job losses. [03-Jun-1996]
Sketchley, the dry-cleaning group, is aiming to build up its textile services to represent 75% of its business, with retail taking the remaining 25%, funded by a £22m rights issue. [01-Jun-1996]
Facia, the troubled retail group, is said to be in takeover discussions with Texas American Group, the US leisure concern. [31-May-1996]
Apax, the venture capitalist, is thought to be the only remaining bidder for Signet's UK jewellery shops, expected to be sold for £280m. [31-May-1996]
Moss Bros, the menswear retailer, is to open a further 10 stores this year, to bring the total to 142. [31-May-1996]
Whittard, the coffee and tea retailer, is planning to float on the Alternative Investment Market next month, and expects to double its 82 stores over the next five years. [27-May-1996]
Boots is to pull out of DIY retailing as it is looking for a buyer for its Fads and Homestyle chains and its share in Do It All. [27-May-1996]
Liberty is to close its 20 regional stores, with the loss of 350 jobs, in order to reverse declining profits. [23-May-1996]
Marks & Spencer plans to open a further two stores and refurbish 14 in the UK this year, and create over 1,000 jobs. [22-May-1996]
Allied Carpets, the carpet retailer, is planning to float in London in the summer, at a value of over £200m. [20-May-1996]
Argyll Group is to change its name to Safeway and transfer its 110 Presto outlets to the Safeway format. [16-May-1996]
The Office of Fair Trading is looking at the possibility of taking action against the discount pricing of supermarkets, as small high-street shops fear being driven out of business. [15-May-1996]
Cantors, the furnishings retailer, is discussing an acquisition, possibly a small out-of-town furnishings group. [11-May-1996]
N Brown says it is still interested in buying Littlewoods' mail order business, despite last year's failed attempt. [10-May-1996]
La Senza, the underwear retailer from Canada, plans to open 152 new UK shops funded by a float on the Alternative Investment Market that should raise £19m. [03-May-1996]
Signet, the jewellery retailer, has rejected a £150m bid from Argos, leaving Goldsmiths as the company most likely to succeed in acquiring Signet. [01-May-1996]
Marks & Spencer is to open its first Czech franchise in Prague later this year, with more cities to follow in the next few years. [01-May-1996]
Out-of-town superstores will account for about 33% of UK retail sales by the year 2000, compared to 28% in 1995 and 12% in 1985, according to a report from Verdict. [30-Apr-1996]
Powerstore, the electrical retailer, has been placed in administration due to cashflow problems and tough competition in the market. [30-Apr-1996]
Whitecross Group, the high street dentists chain, plans to open 10 new practices over the next three years, funded by a share placing on the Alternative Investment Market in May. [30-Apr-1996]
Safeway is to introduce Shop & Go to all its 150 superstores, a system which enables customers to work out their own bills with the use of a hand-held scanner before they reach the check-out. [27-Apr-1996]
Rhino Group, the software and video games retailer, is responding to increased losses by refurbishing its stores and introducing new stock control systems. [26-Apr-1996]
DFS Furniture, the furniture retailer, is to open four more stores this year, with three around London and one in Plymouth. [26-Apr-1996]
JJB Sports, the sports retailer, plans to open a further 15 superstores and 20 high street stores this year. [25-Apr-1996]
Adare Printing of Ireland has bought Prontaprint, the chain of 250 design and print centre franchises, for £23m. [24-Apr-1996]
Reflex of Ireland plans to raise £1.2m in a share offer to fund the development of a chain of internet cafes in the UK. [24-Apr-1996]
Powerstore, the electrical retailer, is in crisis talks with creditors as it tries to stave off administration, which would threaten 1,300 jobs. [23-Apr-1996]
Sears has sold Hoogenbosch Beheer, the Dutch shoe retailer with 308 outlets, to a management buy-out for £47m. [23-Apr-1996]
WH Smith has sold its Niceday stationery supply business to Guilbert of France for £142m. [19-Apr-1996]
House of Fraser may sell or close up to 12 of its 51 stores this year as part of a move to boost the performance of the department store group. [19-Apr-1996]
Laura Ashley, the fashion and furnishings retailer, is planning to restructure by changing its products and distribution chain and shaking up its manufacturing activities. [19-Apr-1996]
La Senza, the lingerie retailer, is to float on the Alternative Investment Market, raising £20m to expand its outlets from 22 to 174 over the next 4 years. [19-Apr-1996]
Tesco is in discussions with the National Westminster Bank about launching a credit card under the Tesco brand name to be offered to the 8m members of its Clubcard loyalty scheme. [18-Apr-1996]
Tesco plans to open 24 new stores this year, including 12 compact stores, 4 Metro stores and 8 superstores, thus creating 4,000 new jobs. [17-Apr-1996]
Asda is approaching the European Commission in its attempt to remove the legal price fixing agreement that exists on over-the-counter medicines. [17-Apr-1996]
Tie Rack, the tie and fashion accessories retailer, plans to open 50 new outlets this year, mainly overseas. [17-Apr-1996]
CINVen, the venture capitalist, and Argos are now thought to be among the bidders for the H Samuel and Ernest Jones jewellery chains being sold by Signet. [09-Apr-1996]
Dixons, the electrical retailer, is planning a £100m expansion focusing on its PC World and The Link outlets, and creating 4,000 jobs over the next two years. [07-Apr-1996]
Tesco is to recruit 4,500 mainly part-time staff to help customers with their shopping. [06-Apr-1996]
The offer for sale of the Signet jewellery chains - Ernest Jones and H Samuel - is said to have attracted seven interested bidders, including Goldsmiths. [04-Apr-1996]
City Centre Restaurants plans to add another 50 outlets this year, with emphasis on its newer chains rather than the established Deep Pan Pizza and Garfunkels. [04-Apr-1996]
The £200m White City shopping development in London is now expected to go ahead following a move by Chelsfield, the property company, to gain control of all the land. [03-Apr-1996]
B&Q, the DIY retailer, has joined Tesco's Clubcard loyalty scheme, and will offer points on the scheme for six months. [02-Apr-1996]
Facia, the private retailer with 1,000 stores, has denied that financial problems were behind a move to renegotiate contracts with all its landlords. [01-Apr-1996]
The government is proposing to ease the rules on late night shopping, making it easier for garage shops and convenience stores to sell groceries at night. [30-Mar-1996]
Next, the clothes retailer, is expanding its franchise operation from the Middle East into east Asia. [29-Mar-1996]
Wm Morrison Supermarkets has no plans to open new stores as it expects a difficult trading year, but hopes to improve sales through continued refurbishment and growth in own-label goods. [29-Mar-1996]
Booker, the cash and carry group, plans to grow organically and by acquiring warehouses but has not ruled out the possibility of a takeover. [29-Mar-1996]
Kingfisher is looking for savings of £20m a year at B&Q, the DIY chain, through improved presentation of products, better stock control and paying more attention to the supply chain. [28-Mar-1996]
Iceland, the frozen food retailer, plans to add another 40 stores this year and is experimenting with smaller outlets of about 3,200 sq ft. [27-Mar-1996]
Marks & Spencer is preparing plans to open stores in Korea, Taiwan and Australia, from its regional base in Hong Kong. [27-Mar-1996]
Hamleys, the toy retailer, is considering new town centre stores abroad, starting with either east Asia or the Gulf. [27-Mar-1996]
Upton & Southern Holdings is to open a department store in Hartlepool, and aims to open one or two more, probably in the north east. [27-Mar-1996]
Retail activity reached its highest level for over a year in February according to research group NTC, which could indicate a good summer for shops. [23-Mar-1996]
Fortnum & Mason is to seek planning permission to expand its Piccadilly, London, store across two adjacent buildings. [23-Mar-1996]
Panther Securities, the property investor, is trying to gain control of Elys (Wimbledon), the department store company. [21-Mar-1996]
Allied Carpets, the chain of 200 carpet stores, is said to be planning a flotation later this year, valuing it at over £200m. [20-Mar-1996]
Dickson Concepts of Hong Kong is to sell 49.9% of its stake in Harvey Nichols, the London store, in a placing next month. [19-Mar-1996]
Waitrose own-label products have been launched in Japan through the Peacock chain. [16-Mar-1996]
Casino, the French multiple, plans to expand the number of Spar stores in France from 300 to 2,000 in three years. [16-Mar-1996]
Littlewoods is reorganising its retail distribution with a new distribution centre in the Midlands replacing the three existing ones. [15-Mar-1996]
Facia is acquiring the chain of 110 Bata shoe shops in Germany, its first move into continental Europe. [14-Mar-1996]
Thorntons, the chocolate company, is to relocate about 100 of its high street stores, as its refurbished stores are seeing 8% higher sales. [13-Mar-1996]
Tesco is extending the use of the Clubcard loyalty scheme to its petrol stations, a move likely to intensify the petrol price war. [12-Mar-1996]
Sketchley, the dry-cleaning chain, is to close 160 of its 720 outlets with the loss of 500 jobs, as part of a repositioning following last year's hot summer. [12-Mar-1996]
Colorvision, the television retailer, has seen a big fall in sales since the OFT withdrew its consumer credit licenses, and it is now expected to seek further meetings with the OFT as part of an appeal against the ruling. [11-Mar-1996]
Argos is to install Card Clear's Hot Card broadcast system in its stores, which checks for lost or stolen credit cards. [11-Mar-1996]
Lidl plans to open one or two stores a week during 1996 giving it 140 discount stores by the year end. [09-Mar-1996]
United Norwest is planning a £30m investment in its co-op stores, including a new superstore in Oldham, 50 store refurbishments and the expansion of its Late Shop chain. [09-Mar-1996]
C&J Clark is to combine its retail and wholesale shoe activities with the loss of 90 jobs. [08-Mar-1996]
The Advertising Standards Authority has criticised Asda for not honouring an offer to redeem money-off vouchers from other stores to two shoppers. [06-Mar-1996]
Tesco is buying Kmart's Czech and Slovak outlets for £77m, including seven department stores in Slovakia and six in the Czech Republic. [06-Mar-1996]
Marks & Spencer is selling its 85-strong Canadian chain of D'Allaird's stores to Comark, and its Canadian strategy will now be to replicate its successful UK format. [06-Mar-1996]
Storehouse plans to open a Bhs franchised shop in Shanghai in an agreement with Hutchison Whampoa, with further stores to follow in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. [06-Mar-1996]
Millets Leisure, the chain of outdoor clothes and camping equipment shops, has been bought from Sears in a management buy-out, for about £17m. [05-Mar-1996]
Body Shop International has scrapped plans to go private because future growth would have been hit by the high level of borrowings needed. [05-Mar-1996]
Littlewoods Home Shopping Group is to improve customer credit management by using electoral roll and credit information supplied by Equifax Europe. [04-Mar-1996]
Asprey, the jeweller, is planning to expand in north America and the Asia-Pacific, and is sponsoring the Ferrari Formula 1 racing team. [02-Mar-1996]
MFI is to convert all its 185 furniture outlets to the Homeworks format over the next few years. [02-Mar-1996]
Storehouse is acquiring Children's World, the 56-strong chain, from Boots for £62m and will integrate it with Mothercare. [01-Mar-1996]
The government is expected to approve plans for a £250m plan to redevelop the Bull Ring shopping centre in Birmingham by doubling the retail space and creating one of the UK's biggest indoor shopping centres. [29-Feb-1996]
WH Smith has ordered its shops to increase the discount received from local publishers from 35% to 48%, a move which is likely to anger publishers. [26-Feb-1996]
Gieves, the Saville Row tailor, has bought a 49.5% stake in Knickerbox, the 54-strong chain of underwear stores. [23-Feb-1996]
Thorn EMI is looking for a buyer for its Fona chain of 53 music and consumer electronics stores in Denmark. [23-Feb-1996]
Sears plans to open a Selfridges department store in Manchester by the end of 1998, its first outside London. [21-Feb-1996]
Argyll Group, the food retailer, is pulling out of the European Retail Alliance, the marketing programme started in 1989 with Casino of France and Royal Ahold of the Netherlands. [21-Feb-1996]
PizzaExpress plans to open 20 new restaurants this year, mainly company-owned. [20-Feb-1996]
Beale has bought Whitakers, the Bolton department store, for £1.1m. [20-Feb-1996]
Asda is to roll out the use of the Fastlane computer system which reduces queues at checkouts by informing managers when extra tills will need to be opened. [19-Feb-1996]
Paul Eyre Carpets, the 53-store carpet chain, is to close with the loss of about 500 jobs. [17-Feb-1996]
Food from Britain is considering a plan to start assisting retailers with their expansion moves in Europe by offering analysis of overseas markets. [17-Feb-1996]
Booker is now looking for new cash and carry sites, having spent the last few years with about 160 outlets. [17-Feb-1996]
J Sainsbury has received planning permission for the first 2 of 7 stores that it is planning in Northern Ireland in a £100m investment. [15-Feb-1996]
There was a 4% increase in the retailer private label business in 1995, with Sainsbury in the lead with a 66% private label share, according to Nielsen. [10-Feb-1996]
Facia, the retail group which has bought the Saxone and Curtess shoe chains, is in trouble with Companies House as it is almost six months late filing its annual return. [06-Feb-1996]
Sears is cutting 300 jobs from its shoe division following the recent sale of the Saxone and Curtess chains. [06-Feb-1996]
J Sainsbury is to continue with its aggressive pricing promotions into February. [03-Feb-1996]
Hanson is to close 195 Powerhouse electrical retailing shops with the loss of up to 2,300 jobs. [03-Feb-1996]
Capital & Regional Properties is buying Wood Green Shopping City, the London shopping centre, for £33m. [03-Feb-1996]
Stewart's Crazy Prices is selling seven of its 42 Northern Ireland stores, with Iceland rumoured to be the buyer. [03-Feb-1996]
Pets at Home Superstores plans to expand its pet store chain from 16 to 50 over the next two years. [03-Feb-1996]
Compass has acquired rights to the Harry Ramsden fish and chip shop brand and plans to open 15 new shops, mainly at airports. [30-Jan-1996]
Storehouse is rumoured to be about to buy the Children's World chain from Boots. [29-Jan-1996]
Colorvision has been deemed by the OFT to be unfit to offer credit deals to customers, which could affect half its business. [27-Jan-1996]
There was a 28% fall in crime against retailers in 1995 according to a survey by the British Retail Consortium. [25-Jan-1996]
WH Smith is looking to cut labour costs with possible redundancies and closures, following a fall in interim profits. [25-Jan-1996]
Watson & Philip aims to set up a further 100 Alldays convenience stores, which would increase its network to over 550. [24-Jan-1996]
Somerfield, the supermarket chain, may be floated soon so that bankers can get back some of the money they lent. [22-Jan-1996]
Marks & Spencer is moving into Germany, with a Cologne store due to open next autumn. [22-Jan-1996]
Cantors, the furniture retailer, plans to close a further 20 high street shops in the next 18 months. [20-Jan-1996]
Costcutter, the York-based symbol retailer, is planning to launch a franchise operation in an unnamed east European country. [20-Jan-1996]
Musgrave of Ireland is moving into Northern Ireland with the purchase of four shopping centres and a supermarket from J&J Haslett. [20-Jan-1996]
Victoria Wine is acquiring 21 Thos Peatling Fine Wines outlets from Greene King. [19-Jan-1996]
Unichem is poised to acquire Lloyds Chemists for £480m, which would create the leading pharmacy chain and drugs wholesaler in the UK. [18-Jan-1996]
JJB Sports is to open seven new high street shops and 15 superstores, and is to open a new warehouse and distribution centre in the summer. [18-Jan-1996]
Budgens is introducing a Visa credit card giving up to 5% discount, in a challenge to the new loyalty cards offered by the large food retailers. [18-Jan-1996]
The Jackswood chain of five garden centres has been bought by Wyevale Garden Centres for £2.78m. [16-Jan-1996]
Sears is planning to open at least one new Selfridges store in the north of England, and eventually plans to have a chain of department stores across the country. [14-Jan-1996]
CRS is launching a new own-label range and restyling its logo for its 100 Lo-Cost stores. [13-Jan-1996]
Sainsbury is said to be planning a new loyalty card having started trials with Catalina, the electronic incentive schemes concern. [13-Jan-1996]
The UK wholesale grocery market was worth £13.67bn in 1994, with £9bn going to the cash and carry sector, according to a report from IGD. [13-Jan-1996]
Marks & Spencer may extend its new food delivery scheme to central London branches. [13-Jan-1996]
Texaco will soon decide whether to start selling beer at its forecourts nationwide, following a trial. [13-Jan-1996]
Goldsmiths may make a £280m bid for the Ernest Jones and H Samuel jewellery chains that Signet is selling. [13-Jan-1996]
Argos, the catalogue retailer, had a 8% rise in pre-Christmas sales compared to the previous year. [13-Jan-1996]
Sears plans to dispose of its Saxone and Curtess shoe chains and Millets and Sears Retail Group. [12-Jan-1996]
Signet is looking to sell the H Samuel and Ernest Jones jewellery chains in order to reduce debt. [12-Jan-1996]
Tesco has announced the first joint Clubcard promotion with another company - Thomson Holidays - in which customers gain card points for booking a holiday. [12-Jan-1996]
Carpetright is increasing market share and has plans to have about 20 Carpet Depot superstores by the end of the year. [12-Jan-1996]
Kingfisher is acquiring a 20% stake in BUT, the French electrical and furniture retailer, for £59m. [11-Jan-1996]
Laura Ashley Holdings is stopping a profit-related pay scheme which will cut the net pay of UK staff. [11-Jan-1996]
LVMH of France has acquired a minority stake in Allders, the department store company, but denies it is planning to launch a bid. [10-Jan-1996]
Marks & Spencer is withdrawing a batch of clothing incorrectly labelled as UK-made but in fact made in Morocco. [05-Jan-1996]
J Sainsbury has launched a January Savers promotion, reducing 200 prices by up to 50%, following a similar move by Iceland. [02-Jan-1996]
New Look, the 323-store fashion chain, has been sold to institutional investors for £170m. [02-Jan-1996]