Newspaper retail round up

A roundup of retail stories from the past week… Tesco, Hugo Boss, Sainsbury’s

Shareholders call for sale of Waterstone’s

HMV Group has come under fire from shareholders unhappy with its management of the Waterstone’s chain. Investors are calling for the group to sell the bookstore chain if its finances don’t improve by 2011.

From The Guardian

Supermarkets launch bread war

The supermarkets are launching a price war over bread. Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons have slashed the price of a basic white sliced loaf defying soaring wheat prices.

Tesco sews up school uniforms

Tesco is launching a school uniform embroidery service allowing parents to buy their children’s schoolwear with the school emblem sewn on.

Dwell sells stake to fund expansion

Dwell, the independent furniture retailer, has sold a £5m stake in the business to aid its expansion plan to open 30 branches over the next three years.

Sainsbury’s stocks Paralympics merchandise

Paralympics merchandise goes on sale in Sainsbury’s this week. Sainsbury’s has spent £20m on its sole sponsorship of the London 2012 Paralympics.

From The Times

Swedish store sets sites on UK

Swedish homewear and electricals retailer Clas Ohlson is planning to open 200 stores in Britain. it currently operates seven UK stores.

From The Telegraph

Tesco restructures Express managers

Tesco is restructuring the management roles at its Express convenience stores resulting in the loss of 2,000 staff. The duty manager position will be replaced by a combination of higher responsibility deputy manager roles and lower responsibility positions.

Peacocks up for sale

Budget fashion retail chain Peacocks is looking for potential buyers after valuing the chain at £600m. Current owners also own the Bonmarche clothing chain.

From The Mail

Hugo Boss plans more stores

Hugo Boss plans to increase store numbers from 450 to 700 this year and change its practices to bring fashion collections to the shop floor more quickly.

From The Financial Times