Homewares and fashion retail reports sales of £1,119.6m, with own brands performing well. 

Carpet and flooring specialist reports a 7% sales boost for the year, driven by competitors exiting the UK market and a "trend back to carpet". 

Five further stores closed their doors at the weekend, with four outlets still holding out for a buyer. 

Hanson Building Products has been fined £280,000 after a worker's head was crushed between concrete blocks and a metal platform. 

Garden products supplier Fiskars has announced that it will close its Bridgend operation later this year, integrating operations into its Nottingham-based Sankey site. 

After a review of the company's "distribution routes to the market place" British Ceramic Tile (BCT) has agreed to sell its four Trade Warehouses for an undisclosed sum. 

Electricals giant DSG international has reported an increase in underlying pre-tax profit of 61% to £90.5m in its preliminary audited results statement for the 52 weeks to May 1. 

Kesa Electricals turns in full year results ahead of market expectations, with plans to expand web-based business and refurbish 40 Comet stores this year. 

As country sees its driest start to the year in nearly 50 years, a water company is considering imposing a hosepipe ban in the north-west of England. 

Moben Kitchens, Sharps Bedrooms and Dolphin bathrooms unveil renowned interior designer as their new ambassador. 

Trada Technology has launched Timber Expo, a new exhibition for innovation in wood products across the construction industry and built environment. 

Wild bird care products supplier Gardman has raised £1m to fund the British Trust for Ornithology's (BTO) research and conservation programme, the company announced this month. 

Family-owned retail chain reports continued strong growth in face of the tough economic climate last year. 

High street sales volumes fell again in June, according to the latest CBI Distributive Trades Survey, but the rate of decline was slower than expected. 

Average UK family £6 worse off a week in May than a year earlier - the biggest fall since the start of 2010, as earnings growth remains below pre-recession levels. 

Visitor feedback positive from ninth Exclusively Housewares show, which ran earlier this month at the Business Design Centre in London. 

B&Q is set to expand into city centres with smaller-format stores after successful pilots run by parent company Kingfisher overseas. 

Chancellor George Osbourne pledged to support businesses in his Emergency Budget speech today, but his announcement that VAT will be increased to 20% will prove costly for retailers. 

Online sales increased by 22% in May compared to last year in the highest growth since June 2008, according to results from the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index. 

Argos' new iPhone app has been downloaded 500,000 times in the three weeks since its launch on May 22.