No sooner had the UK embraced Black Friday than the American holiday shopping tradition looks to be on its way out.

The likely private equity takeover of Alliance Boots will probably lead to “opportunistic financial rape”, a retail expert has said.

Swedish group Hennes & Mauritz is set to topple struggling Marks & Spencer as Europe’s biggest clothing retailer, experts predicted today.

Marks & Spencer remains Europe’s number one clothing retailer thanks to the resilience of British consumers, a new report showed today.