Ryo Matsumura, head of Rakuten Fashion, tells FashionNetwork.com about the Japanese e-commerce giant's projects. Sponsor of Tokyo Fashion Week, the platform intends to support and promote Japanese design.

Over half a million UK-wide workers striking on Wednesday was always going to be a massive challenge for retail. And latest figures showed related footfall dipped greatly, according to insight from MRI Springboard.

​When a results release starts with a message to the staff talking about “another very tough year”, you know it’s not going to be good and so it was with John Lewis Partnership on Thursday.

Liverpool One has begun 2023 where it left 2022… on a high. The city centre mall has bucked national trends since the start of the year, with a 16.5% uplift in sales compared to the same period in 2022.

The Spring Budget on Wednesday was never likely to deliver anything big for retail and it lived down to expectations. The industry welcomed some positive general developments but lamented the lack of flagship measures.

​It’s a big news week for John Lewis with its results due Thursday and a new concept store layout unveiled Tuesday. And Wednesday? Just the small matter of a new CEO.

​H&M Group delivered its provisional Q1 sales report on Wednesday and said sales in the three months to February rose a healthy 12% to SEK54.9 billion (€4.3bn/£4.9bn/$5.2bn).

​Inditex’s full-year results on Wednesday saw the Spanish retail giant once again showing why it’s such a dominant force in fashion as sales and profits both soared.

Chinese consumers, unshackled from Covid-19 restrictions, are returning to hotels, restaurants and some shops, but they are choosy about what they buy, disappointing hopes for an immediate post-pandemic splurge.

London's luxury retailers fear the city is losing its pull as a shopping destination, with tourists from the United States, China and the Gulf flocking instead to Paris and Milan where there are still tax breaks.

How important is getting customer delivery information spot on? Very, according to a new survey. Some 64% of customers will leave a negative review when their delivery is delayed or when a response isn't satisfactory.

​Severe weather conditions were to blame for declining retail footfall across UK retail destinations last week.Shopper numbers fell 7% week-on-week across the seven days spanning 5-11 March,

​The UK’s spring Budget will be delivered by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on Wednesday and retail insiders know what they want to see from it — a relaxation of Sunday trading rules and reform of business rates.

​In an interesting development, Peel L&P has announced that Next is to make its return to Gloucester Quays, the outlet and dining destination in the South West of England. 

John Lewis’s build-to-rent property project is facing resistance and delays. The plan to build 430 flats in towers up to 19 storeys high in Ealing, west London, is months behind schedule, according to local residents.

The Parisian label will unveil its 2024 cruise collection at Isola Bella in Lake Maggiore on May 24. The event will be preceded in April by Nicolas Ghesquière’s first fall pre-collection show, to be staged in Korea.