Latest news with #Cos
The Sun
10 hours ago
- Business
- The Sun
Major fashion brand with over 200 stores to close city centre branch in just HOURS
A CITY centre branch of a major fashion outlet is set to close its doors in a matter of hours. The branch of Cos at St Ann's Square in Manchester will close as of June 8. No statement has been issued by the retailer regarding its closure. However, a sign on the shop reads: "This store is closing on June 8. "For more information, ask a member of our team or visit Cos, which is part of the H&M group, had sat among other brands like OMEGA, Christopher James, and Mappin & Webb on St Ann's Square. The branch's staff are expected to be moved to other stores, the Manchester Evening News has reported. Another H&M brand Monki also saw a store close in Manchester's Arndale recently. Cos had taken its spot on St Ann's Square where GAP had previously been in 2018. The brand, which launched in 2007, currently boasts more than 200 stores. It comes as other high street retailers struggle across the country. The owners of River Island are understood to be drawing up a radical rescue plan, according to Sky News. Final sales begin as popular clothing brand closes all stores leaving 'devastated' shoppers scrambling for alternative The chain is being forced to restructure as a result of tough trading conditions. The firm's latest accounts at Companies House warned of growing financial and operational risks. "The market for retailing of fashion clothing is fast changing with customer preferences for more diverse, convenient and speedier shopping journeys and with increasing competition especially in the digital space," it said. Why are retailers closing stores? RETAILERS have been feeling the squeeze since the pandemic, while shoppers are cutting back on spending due to the soaring cost of living crisis. High energy costs and a move to shopping online after the pandemic are also taking a toll, and many high street shops have struggled to keep going. However, additional costs have added further pain to an already struggling sector. The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs from April will cost the retail sector £2.3billion. At the same time, the minimum wage will rise to £12.21 an hour from April, and the minimum wage for people aged 18-20 will rise to £10 an hour, an increase of £1.40. The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year. It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year. Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: "The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025." It comes after almost 170,000 retail workers lost their jobs in 2024. End-of-year figures compiled by the Centre for Retail Research showed the number of job losses spiked amid the collapse of major chains such as Homebase and Ted Baker. It said its latest analysis showed that a total of 169,395 retail jobs were lost in the 2024 calendar year to date. This was up 49,990 – an increase of 41.9% – compared with 2023. It is the highest annual reading since more than 200,000 jobs were lost in 2020 in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced retailers to shut their stores during lockdowns. The centre said 38 major retailers went into administration in 2024, including household names such as Lloyds Pharmacy, Homebase, The Body Shop, Carpetright and Ted Baker. Around a third of all retail job losses in 2024, 33% or 55,914 in total, resulted from administrations. Experts have said small high street shops could face a particularly challenging 2025 because of Budget tax and wage changes. Professor Bamfield has warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector. "By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer's household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020." 2
Times
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Inside a fashion influencer's calming Hackney home
After honing her trademark cool-girl style for more than a decade as the fashion blogger behind the (now retired) Shot from the Street account, Lizzy Hadfield, 32, has become an influencer who has worked with labels ranging from Cos to Dior. And thanks to her stellar taste in clothes she now has a fanbase of more than half a million on Instagram. 'Fashion-wise, I always try to lean into something that feels quite effortless and undone, even though a huge amount of effort has gone into it,' she says. Hadfield grew up in West Yorkshire, studying in Leeds and working in Manchester before relocating to Notting Hill, west London, eight years ago. In 2021 she bought a Victorian terrace in Hackney with great light and
The Guardian
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Portrait of a lady: what to wear to an art or music fair
Blazer, £99.99, Mango. Dress, £115, Cos. Necklace, £120, Jigsaw. Thomas Lélu notebook, £75, Smythson. Shoes, £46, Next. Pen, £4, Choosing Keeping. Bag, £110, Matt and Nat Tee, £12.99, H&M. Glasses, £395, Cutler and Gross. Earrings, £90, Daphine. Bracelet, £249, the Diamond Store. Skirt, £160, Essentiel Antwerp. Shoes, £110, Dr Martens. Bag, £27, Arket Shirt, £75, Levis. Necklace, £80, Laura Vann. Cap, £15.99, Bershka. Trousers, £210, Essentiel Antwerp. Ring, £160, Monica Vinader. Sandals, £200, Birkenstock. Bag, £365, Kaai
The Sun
04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Vinted seller leaves people ‘baffled' trying to flog ‘rare' rock from beach where Gavin & Stacey was filmed
ONE of the great things about Vinted is that you can pretty much find everything on there. From clothes, shoes, household items and old nostalgic toys from your childhood. 2 But people have been left utterly baffled by one Vinted users listing. Taking to social media, a woman named Li Li shared her discovery with others. She wrote: "Genuinely baffled here." Li Li then showed the Vinted listing she had stumbled across, which showed a rock from the beach selling for £2.19. According to the seller it was a super rare, beautiful rock.' Why? The listing said it was picked up from a beach near where Gavin and Stacey was filmed in Wales. It read: "Super rare beautiful dimension, £2.19 rock from Welsh waters near Gavin and Stacey. "Rare piece of art, absolutely extraordinary." Clearly, the seller thought it would be a hit with superfans of the classic TV show. While the tiny beige rock had been viewed 91 times, so far, it had no takers. 'It's rancid' woman gags after buying 'very good' pair of tracksuit bottoms from Vinted only to make shocking discovery Li Li shared the post in the Facebook group I found it on Vinted, which boasts 58k members. People were left just as stunned as she was by the listing. One person wrote: "Why is it rare?" Another commented: 'I'm sure this is what people think of me when I tell them I collect crystals." Why I hate Vinted, a real-life view Fabulous Associate Editor Sarah Barns opens up on why she hates Vinted: It's the king of second-hand fashion but I hate Vinted. There I said it. Yes, it stops items going into landfill. Yes, it helps create additional side-hustle income for many. And yes, you can get things at bargain prices. But it is just not my (shopping) bag. From personal experience, I've bought 'cheap' bundles of children's clothes only for them to arrive dirty and misshapen. Plus, with postage and buyer protection they didn't feel like such a great deal. I much prefer going to my local charity shop or supermarket for kids' stuff. I've also bought more premium high-street items - a dress from Arket and a skirt from Cos - only to find they didn't fit properly and the colours were faded. I attempted a bout of selling stuff but gave up after my £110 Veja trainers got lost in the post and I spent two hours on the phone to Royal Mail. A major gripe with it is that it still encourages you to spend, spend, spend. I'm not sure I needed the items I did purchase, I just didn't want to miss out. Also, the reselling of fast-fashion items - a £5 Shein top on Vinted for £17.50 - makes me feel a bit queasy. Clothes shopping has become a daily hobby for a lot of people when really it should be something that's done once or twice a year as a necessity. But the 18 million Vinted app users clearly disagree with me. "Is it rare because someone stuck a price sticker on it?!" penned a third. Someone else added: 'If it's super rare, then why put £2.19? "I would rather go to the beach and get a one of kind pebble."
NZ Herald
03-05-2025
- General
- NZ Herald
Kem Ormond's vegetable garden: Lettuce soup - don't knock it until you try it
I am quite sure there will be a few screwed up noses, but if you have never tried it, be brave and give it a go, you may get a real surprise. Lettuce soup is part of French and Chinese cuisine. Of course, while it may be called lettuce soup, it often has the addition of such vegetables as onions, garlic, coriander, and potato, although the main ingredient is lettuce leaves. Croutons are also a terrific addition, adding a touch of crunch, as is a splash of olive oil and a dollop of sour cream. It can be served cool in summer, but oh so nice in winter, steaming hot! While I don't have my own recipe, there are plenty of tasty ones you will find online, and I have often used them when I have had an overabundance of lettuce. A lot of you have probably already planted your winter vegetable crops such as broad beans, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, garlic, kale, silver beet, and spinach. I have just planted some more spring onion seedlings, and I have even planted a few lettuces. Now, a lot of people think of lettuce as a summer crop, but some do fine being grown in winter. Some of the hardy winter lettuce varieties are Cos, Tom Thumb, Little Gem, Lamb's Ear lettuce, and Corn Salad. Then there are the loose-leaf varieties such as oak leaf green and red, mesclun winter greens, and there is a great hearting variety called Imperial Triumph that is cold tolerant, great for down south. And please don't forget Miner's lettuce. This is an absolute treasure come winter, and as the leaves are, what I call, a little bit more meaty than other lettuces, perfect for lettuce soup. Winter is when the ground gets cold, and the slugs and snails are after something rather tasty to eat, so keep an eye out for these cheeky critters and remember if it is particularly cold where you live, your lettuces will enjoy being covered by a cloche or a cold frame. They also enjoy being snuggled up with a bit of pea straw or any dried plant material left over from summer. So, while we all think of winter as the time for casseroles and comfort food, soup can be an economical change on a Sunday night with lovely homemade bread. So, why not give the humble lettuce a shot in the pot?
