Booths, Britain’s oldest family-owned supermarket, which has traded since 1847, has announced a major evolution of its brand identity and a strategic push to expand beyond its traditional store estate. The upmarket Northern grocer, founded in Blackpool by Edwin Henry Booth, has introduced the new identity line “The Family Grocers” as part of a refreshed visual identity.

This includes a richer “Booths Blue” colour and greater prominence for its iconic lion logo, intended to reinforce the brand’s heritage, trust, and quality. The changes, described as an evolution rather than a complete overhaul, will be rolled out across stores, packaging, and digital platforms throughout 2026. They were developed with brand consultancy The Strategy Shop and design partner Smith.

Emma Booth, chief brand officer and sixth-generation family member, said the move would allow the company to reach more customers while remaining true to its roots.

She explained: “We see a significant opportunity to take what makes Booths special and share it with more customers beyond our store estate. This evolution gives us a clearer and more confident platform to grow the brand into new channels and markets, particularly through our Booths brand ranges, while staying true to the quality and provenance that have defined Booths since 1847.”

Booths aims to position itself as “the irresistible food and drink specialist” in the UK. The strategy focuses on expanding distribution of its award-winning own-brand products, including ready meals, butchery, tea, coffee, wine, and craft beers, through new channels and potential partnerships.

The rebrand emphasises Booths’ connections to customers, colleagues, producers, and food-loving communities, particularly in its heartland of Lancashire, Yorkshire, Cumbria, and Cheshire.

The retailer operates a relatively compact estate of premium stores and has built a reputation as the “Waitrose of the North”.

The announcement follows strong trading, including record Christmas sales in 2025, and comes after a leadership refresh earlier this year in which Emma Booth was promoted to her current role.

Booths has traded continuously as a family business for nearly 180 years, maintaining a focus on high-quality, locally sourced produce and personal service that distinguishes it from larger national chains.

Radley has been bought out of administration from the owners of Poundland in a deal which leaves the retailer’s shops at risk of closure. Gordon Brothers, which also owns LK Bennett, purchased the Radley brand, intellectual property and some assets in a pre-pack administration deal.

However, the takeover does not include Radley’s retail operations, which include 21 stores across the UK. It confirmed that 42 jobs would also be lost “with immediate effect”, as a result. It came after Radley hired administrators from FTI on Tuesday, after being hit by a slump in consumer demand and higher costs.

Handbag specialist Radley was founded by Australian designer Lowell Harder in London in the 1980s, starting from a stall in Camden Market.

Previous owner Freshstream, a private equity company, purchased the business in 2016 but reportedly put it up for sale earlier this year amid pressure on its finances.

In a statement, FTI said: “The administration team will guide and support affected team members over the coming weeks through the redundancy claims process.

“The administration appointments follow a sustained period of challenging economic conditions for the retail environment, including declining customer demand and increasing operating costs, all of which have had a negative impact on trading.”

It is the latest rescue deal from Gordon Brothers, which purchased Poundland for £1 last year before overseeing significant store closures to help drive the brand’s turnaround.

Aldi has confirmed it will open a huge new supermarket in Salford later this month. The discount retailer is moving into the former Morrisons site on Trafford Road, which has been empty for around a decade.

The new store will open its doors to customers at 8am on May 28. Plans for the redevelopment were approved by local councillors in October 2025, clearing the way for Aldi to take over the 50,000 sq ft building.

The site had stood vacant for years before the supermarket stepped in.

Once open, shoppers can expect Aldi’s full range of fresh fruit and vegetables, everyday essentials and its Specially Selected products.

The store will also include the brand’s well-known middle aisle, where Specialbuys are updated every Thursday and Sunday.

The opening is part of a wider revival of the former Morrisons building.

A new PureGym is also set to launch at the site on May 22. The 24-hour gym will replace the Exchange Quay branch.

Local councillors have welcomed the development. Ordsall councillor Brendan Keville said: “This will bring back jobs and services, it will increase the availability of affordable food and retail for residents, and it brings back into use a building without any major demolition or construction, provides investment into retail and leisure and increases jobs and the local economy.

“For all these reasons, we’re very supportive of it.”

Aldi has continued to expand across the UK in recent years, opening new stores and taking over former retail sites.

Customers will be able to visit the new store from 8am on May 28, when it officially opens to the public.

Wren Kitchens has given an update on its UK stores after ceasing operations in the US. The company, Britain’s number one retailer of fitted kitchens, abruptly shut 15 stores in the US last week, with all staff losing their jobs without warning.

It has now been confirmed that the decision to withdraw from the US market was made to “focus investment” on accelerating the firm’s development in the UK, including new showrooms and product categories. Mark Pullan, CEO of Wren Kitchens, said the stores were shut “reluctantly” but he is now intent on growing the business in Britain following a period of encouraging market growth. He also thanked colleagues and customers in the US for their support.

Mr Pullan said: “We reluctantly took the decision to appoint a Trustee who is managing our exit from the US market, in line with US regulations. We regret the impact of this decision on our US colleagues and our customers and thank both of them for their support.

“Our focus is on further growing our UK business where last year we recorded our second most successful year since the business began and hit the £1bn turnover mark with strong profits despite what remains a subdued market.”

He added: “Encouragingly, this market growth has carried through into the first quarter. These results reflect the hard work and dedication of our teams across the business and our sustained re-investment in the business – over £500m over the past 15 years.

“We are beginning to see the early benefits of the investment in our new factory, which is enhancing both capacity and efficiency, while continued investment across our UK operations is helping to improve resilience, support fuel cost stability and reduce our environmental impact.”

The Wren Kitchens boss is now hopeful of opening 15 new showrooms across the UK in the near future. The company is also planning on introducing new product categories.

It comes after the US branch filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation, a legal process in the US that allows businesses to eliminate debts by selling assets to repay creditors, on Friday, April 24. Staff were informed on a Zoom call the day before that all stores and showrooms would be closing with immediate effect.

Wren Kitchens added in a statement: “After careful consideration, we made the difficult decision to withdraw from the US market and focus investment on accelerating our core UK business, which is experiencing double-digit growth.

“The US business, a separate legal entity from the UK, which is unaffected by this decision, was growing from a small base – accounting for around 4% of our Group’s overall turnover. Its future success, however, relied on expanding our US retail estate. Despite our best efforts sadly we could not reach agreeable terms that would enable us to do that.”

Aldi has announced a major £1billion move that will be welcome news to British farmers. The German supermarket giant, which has more than 1,050 stores across the UK, has committed to investing £1.1billion over five years into British egg production to further strengthen and support its domestic supply chain.

Aldi says it sells more than 1,500 tonnes of British eggs every week, equivalent to around 2.5 million packs, sourced from poultry farms across the UK. The investment is underpinned by newly established five-year long-term agreements (LTAs) with the supermarket chain’s egg suppliers, running to the end of the decade.

Aldi says the agreements “provide farmers with greater financial certainty, enabling long-term investment in efficiency, infrastructure and animal welfare”.

Aldi is the second-largest retailer in the country for free-range egg volume.

Julie Ashfield, chief commercial officer at Aldi UK, said: “Our egg supply depends on British farmers, and we want to give them the certainty they need to plan ahead.

“By working closely with our suppliers through long-term agreements, we’re able to provide the stability and confidence they need to continue investing in their farms, while ensuring our customers have access to high-quality, British eggs every day.”

Daniel Fairbun, chief executive officer at L J Fairburn & Son, one of Aldi’s major egg suppliers, added: “The long-term nature of Aldi’s agreements gives us the certainty to invest and keep improving how we produce British eggs.

“That confidence also helps us plan year after year to meet customer demand.”

The announcement builds on Aldi’s wider commitment to long-term partnerships with British growers. The supermarket has already increased the number of long-term agreements in place with UK produce and horticulture suppliers earlier this year.

Aldi is aiming to secure at least 50% of its domestic produce supply through long-term agreements by the end of 2027, providing greater certainty for growers and supporting more resilient supply chains.

Discount retail giant B&M has announced four new megastores are set to open across the UK next month as part of its continued nationwide expansion.

The bargain chain has thrived while many high street rivals struggle. B&M will launch new stores in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland within the next few weeks. The openings come amid strong financial performance, with B&M – which also owns the UK and France operations and the Heron Foods chain – reporting revenues up 2.5% to £5.6 billion in 2024.

The first of the new stores will open in Diss, Norfolk, on Saturday, February 28. Three further openings will follow in quick succession next month.

A store in Strabane, County Tyrone, is set to open on Friday, March 20. Just a day later, on Saturday, March 21, another branch will launch in Fort William, Inverness-shire.

The final opening, expected to be the largest of the four and featuring a garden centre, is scheduled for Friday, March 27.

The expansion means more shoppers will be able to access B&M’s discounted ranges, spanning everything from make-up and homeware to garden products and seasonal items such as Easter chocolate.

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The openings follow recent moves by the retailer to roll out further in-store discounts in a bid to boost profits. Earlier this year it was reported that more than 35% of selected product lines had their prices cut, with reductions averaging 1.8%.

Founded in 1978, B&M has grown into one of Britain’s best-known value retailers, operating hundreds of stores across the UK.

The chain is known for its warehouse-style outlets offering low-cost homeware, furniture, food and drink, toys, electricals, DIY products and seasonal goods. Its out-of-town “megastores” often feature large floor spaces and, in some locations, garden centres.

A children’s bike manufacturer has fallen into administration, with staff being made redundant. Frog Bikes, headquartered in Ascot, Berkshire, with a factory in Pontypool, Wales, has begun laying off staff after filing for administration.

The business was launched by parents Jerry and Shelley Lawson in 2013. According to their website, the company aimed to “create high-quality, lightweight bikes specifically designed for children”. It worked with Olympic bike engineer Dimitris Katsanis to create bikes perfectly suited to young riders.

However, official records on The Gazette show that Frog Bikes appointed Anthony John Wright and Alastair Rex Massey, of FRP Advisory Trading Limited, as administrators on Thursday, February 19.

The brand previously confirmed the news, citing “tighter financial markets and reduced access to funding (making) it increasingly difficult for growing manufacturing businesses to secure the requisite working capital”.

It also blamed Brexit and difficulties adjusting to post-pandemic “supply chain disruption”, as reported by road.cc.

In 2021, the owners of Frog Bikes claimed that leaving the EU cost them £250,000 in two months. Then, just two years later, their accounts showed losses of £500,000.

Staff at Frog Bikes are now being made redundant, with a few making announcements on LinkedIn describing it as “a difficult day”.

A growing fashion retailer is opening its newest UK store in one of the country’s largest shopping centres. Whole stores like River Island and New Look shut a slew of stores due to financial hardships and changing customer habits, while others are expanding and opening new sites across Britain. One of those stores is Stradivarius, which is gearing up to open its first store in Kent. The womenswear brand is known for selling clothes, shoes and accessories, and already has 10 stores in the UK.

It is part of Inditex, the owner of fashion retailers Zara, Pull & Bear, and Bershka. Launched in Spain in 1999, it has become popular across Europe and now has stores in a number of countries. Stradivarius will open at Bluewater Shopping Centre in Kent on February 26. The new store will fill an 8,488 sq ft unit on the Lower Thames Walk, adjacent to Marks and Spencer. It adds to the 280 stores and food and drink operators already present in the massive shopping centre, which is the fifth-largest in the country. 

James Waugh, centre director at Bluewater, said: “Stradivarius has been our most requested brand for some time now, and our original announcement sharing that they’d be joining our retail line-up was met with huge excitement.

“We’re delighted to be able to give fans of the brand a concrete opening date, so that they can start planning their shopping trips.

“This marks the first time our guests will be able to shop their collections in the region, and we can’t wait to welcome them through the doors when the store opens next week.”

The shops will join a generous selection of fashion retailers in the shopping centre, including Bershka, AllSaints, Diesel, Calvin Klein, Hollister, H&M, New Look, Mango and Levi’s, among others. 

In total, Stradivarius has more than 900 stores in over 60 countries. It was originally a family business that started in Barcelona in 1994. It was eventually purchased by Intidex and began rapid expansion worldwide. 

Stradivarius currently has four stores in London, as well as sites in Bristol, Cardiff, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

It isn’t the only retailer set to open at Bluewater Shopping Centre for the first time. Premium British lifestyle brand Crew Clothing is also opening on February 26 in the Kent shopping centre. The first 50 customers who spend £50 or more will receive a free Crew Clothing tote bag with an exclusive gift on the opening day.

The British company has seen sustained growth over the last few years and has stores in locations like London, Luton, Chelmsford and Berkhamsted.