FTSE 100 news / Companies and sectors / Retail / 1 October 2026
Retail: sector news on Thursday 1 October 2026
Average tone +4.7 (positive) across 7 companies with relevant coverage, from 87 stories.
Company by company
| Company | Tone | Stories | What the coverage was about |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marks & Spencer | +7.5 | 34 | Coverage was dominated by the announcement that Sephora will open beauty concessions in 100 M&S stores, seen as a significant boost to its beauty offer. |
| Sainsbury's | −1.0 | 23 | Coverage was mostly routine promotions, store openings and Argos deals, plus a positive analyst preview of half-year results. |
| Tesco | +1.3 | 15 | Coverage was mostly positive on Christmas delivery capacity, new product listings and community support. |
| JD Sports | +8.3 | 6 | Coverage focused on huge queues at JD stores for the exclusive Liverpool Nike Air Max 95 launch. |
| Burberry Group | +5.5 | 5 | Coverage was mostly favourable brand news, including the V&A trench exhibition marking 170 years, a trademark win in Russia and a new employee-led campaign. |
| Kingfisher | +8.0 | 3 | Coverage focused on Kingfisher's share price rising, helped by a stronger profit outlook. |
| Next | +3.0 | 1 | Coverage was thin, with the only relevant item noting a small after-hours rise in Next's share price of 1.27 percent. |
Strongest stories in the sector
- +10.0 How Did FTSE 100 Retailer Kingfisher (LSE:KGF) Rally This Week On A Stronger Profit Outlook?
Shares rallied on a stronger profit outlook. - +10.0 JD Sports Fashion (LON:JD) Stock Rating Reaffirmed as "Buy" by Berenberg Bank
Berenberg reaffirmed Buy rating. - +9.2 Huge queues at Liverpool ONE JD live as new £180 110s go on sale
Big crowds at JD Liverpool ONE for sneaker sale. - +9.2 M&S adds Sephora to 100 UK stores in beauty push
Sephora in 100 stores, beauty push - +9.2 M&S partners with Sephora to launch beauty concessions in 100 UK stores
Sephora concessions in 100 UK stores - +9.2 M&S brings Sephora to 100 stores
Sephora coming to 100 M&S stores - +9.2 M&S partners with Sephora for beauty counter rollout
Sephora beauty counter rollout partnership - +9.2 M&S and Sephora team up in major beauty shake-up at 100 UK stores
Major beauty shake-up with Sephora in 100 stores - +9.2 Beauty giant Sephora set to launch inside 100 M&S stores
Sephora launching inside 100 M&S stores - +8.3 Massive queues in Liverpool One today as new 110 shoes go on sale at JD. Some people even camped out overnight
Huge queues at JD store for exclusive launch. - +8.3 JD Sports Launches Nike Air Max 95 ‘Liverpool’ Edition for 1.10 Day
JD launching sought-after exclusive Nike edition. - +8.3 Inside Sephora’s Marks & Spencer and U.K. Strategy
Analysis of Sephora and M&S UK strategy