Scottish retail sales grew by 0.6 per cent in the three months to March, as Scotland struggled to keep pace with the British retail rates. Figures released on Wednesday by the Scottish Government showed the value of retail sales grew 0.6 per cent in the three months to 31 March, with volumes up just 0.3 per cent.

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Sports Direct goes from strength to strength as the retailer on Wednesday posted a 14.3 per cent rise in fourth quarter sales. While its rivals struggle with low consumer confidence and tough trading on the high street, Sports Direct continued to buck the trend, with total sales in the nine weeks to the end of March rising to £317.4 million, up from £278 million the year before.

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Following its acquisition of 116 Republic stores back in February, Sports Direct has since revealed the company will not honour any voucher or gift card claims purchased before 13 February 2013. According to a report by the Guardian, around 78,000 shoppers will be left empty-handed after purchasing gift vouchers totalling £1.1 million from Republic stores.

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‘Everyday luxury’ e-commerce site My-wardrobe is said to be looking stateside to further expand its fashion and accessories brand. Having launched in the UK in 2006 and Australia in 2011, founder Sarah Curran told WWD that My-wardrobe had been looking at the US market “very carefully” as it looked to expand its audience of fashion lovers.

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Both Sports Direct and JD Sports Fashion are said to be preparing to submit bids to acquire the group behind the Bench clothing brand. According to the Independent, a number of sports retailers and private equity firms are in the process of tabling offers for Bench before the first-round deadline on 30 April.

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Debenhams focuses on second half after 5.4 per cent fall in profits for the first half of its financial year. The department store group, which has 165 locations across the UK and Ireland, on Thursday revealed a fall in first-half profit in line with expectations after the retailer issued a profit warning in March.

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Selfridges has been criticised after it was revealed that it was reportedly charging its suppliers a minimum of 3 per cent of their invoice values in exchange for the department store paying bills within 60 days. The suppliers have also been told that they can give up 5 per cent of their invoice to recieve their payment within 21 days or 4 per cent to be paid within 30 days.

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Statistics from the British Retail Consortium have shown that footfall in Scottish shops decreased by 3.8 per cent in March. The high street was the area most impacted by the cold temperatures, with a drop in sales of 7 per cent compared to a 2.4 per cent decrease in Scottish shopping centres. Helen Dickinson, the director general of the BRC, stated on the company’s website that “The prolonged cold was the main culprit for deterring shoppers, especially compared against the far milder March of 2012.

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Image Credit: PayPal / eBay Inc
PayPal is expected to face significant challenges in its move to offer payment services in American retail stores. The online payment business will enter into a partnership with Discover Financial Services on April 19th. The deal will allow customers to use PayPal for transactions in any store that currently accepts Discover credit cards.

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