​The Seven Dials area of London is to welcome four emerging, female-led brands via individual pop-up retail space, major landlord Shaftesbury said on Monday.

In the countdown to non-essential stores reopening, how has UK footfall fared in the latest recorded week? In a nutshell, high streets poor, shopping centres not bad, retail parks good.

​And so the preparations begin in the bid to ensure destinations are are on consumers’ ‘must visit’ lists when non-essential retail reopen from 12 April.

M&S has launched webstores in 46 new international markets as it works to boost its global sales, “instantly expanding online reach to over 100 countries and enabling millions more customers to purchase M&S products”.

What had once seemed unthinkable is now not only happening but accelerating as failed UK retailers' giant spaces are transformed for new uses. And a spate of news on Monday showed the extent of the issue.

Deep into its well-publicised transformation strategy, UK retailer Marks & Spencer has appointed Alastair Brass as retail operations director, effective April.

​In a typically blunt statement, Frasers Group has blasted Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Budget as doing virtually nothing for hard-pressed retailers on business rates. And it seems some of its stores are at risk as a result.

The Redress Design Award, a sustainable fashion competition for young fashion designers, has opened applications for its 2021 cycle with a new design opportunity with Timberland. 

After a “turbulent” trading year, it certainly wasn’t all bad news for Coats Group despite delivering mostly negative numbers in its 12-month trading statement to 31 December on Thursday.

​UK footfall climbed steadily during February and while the year-on-year decline compared to a year ago remained huge (-61%), it was better than the -65.6% seen in January.

Heralded as becoming “Scotland’s premier designer village” the Caledonia Park redevelopment in Gretna has completed a “significant” first phase, according to the project’s investor RPMI Railpen.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has unveiled what has been touted as the most important budget statement in decades. And there's plenty in the latest announcement that directly impacts the fashion and retail sectors.

Data and analytics expert Manjiry Tamhane has joined property giant Landsec as an independent non-executive director. 

Ahead of Wednesday’s key budget, the government has received calls to cut retail taxes and provide extra support for women in business.

UK shoppers are continuing to flood back to stores, even though most remain closed at present, and this bodes well for non-essential stores reopening next month.

Debenhams is closing its 15 Scottish stores immediately with 647 job losses as a result, its administrator said in an update on the process to wind down the remaining parts of the business that Boohoo didn't buy.