Not so many years ago, John Lewis was unstoppable while M&S was in an endless turnaround phase. Today, the situation has reversed and John Lewis is even reportedly thinking of changing its prized ownership structure.

​When a results release starts with a message to the staff talking about “another very tough year”, you know it’s not going to be good and so it was with John Lewis Partnership on Thursday.

UK hairdressing salons were high up the list of small independent business closures last year, hit the hardest by rising energy bills and falling consumer spending, according to a report by the Local Data Company.  

​It’s a big news week for John Lewis with its results due Thursday and a new concept store layout unveiled Tuesday. And Wednesday? Just the small matter of a new CEO.

The Brazilian beauty giant that owns The Body Shop, Aesop and Avon, talked of “a resilient performance” in Q4 with sales growth in constant currency. But sales still fell on a reported basis and it made a net loss.

Germany's Henkel said on Tuesday that it expects slower industrial and consumer demand to curtail sales growth this year after price increases helped organic sales to jump 8.8% in 2022.

​With Sephora due to open its debut UK store on Wednesday, an analyst on Tuesday said the French beauty giant poses a threat to established market leaders, but must be seen as offering value in order to succeed.

LVMH on Monday named Stephane Rinderknech as chairman and CEO of its beauty division, rounding out a series of broader management changes at the owner of Guerlain and Parfums Christian Dior.

​The West End of London is recovering fast at present, updated figures from the New West End Company (NWEC) showed on Wednesday, as high-spending tourists cancel out slower footfall. 

The move is a continuation of Barrymore’s longstanding relationship with the cosmetics company.

​Sephora is preparing for a major assault on the UK market from next week as it prepares to open its first British store since it returned to the country via its webstore last autumn.

French power giant EDF said on Tuesday it signed two new electricity contracts with L'Oreal to help the France-based cosmetics maker achieve carbon neutrality for all its sites by 2025.

Lush has a new ‘Lead Retailer’ for its UK & Ireland operations to oversee store performance. Long-time employee Kasey Swithenbank has been promoted to the post having joined the beauty brand in 2010 as a sales associate.

Unilever announced on Tuesday the sale of its beauty and personal care brand Suave in North America to Yellow Wood Partners LLC. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

​British luxury menswear brand SS Daley and grooming products maker Braun have teamed up for a London Fashion Week collab. The “innovative” partnership explores the relationship between grooming, fashion and culture.

​Unilever reported full-year 2022 results on Thursday with the consumer products giant saying it “carefully balanced price growth, volume and competitiveness to navigate through the high cost inflation environment”.