When rows of stores just aren’t enough. Retail areas are increasingly having to incentivise consumers to visit with bolt-on experiences and attractions.

Giorgio Armani, the proud owner of several major yachts, is to design a new Admiral superyacht for a mystery client, working with the Italian Sea Group to build the motor craft, which will be 72 meters long.

A number of funding initiatives have been unveiled by government and business groups to help push retail back into a healthier position than it would otherwise be post-Covid.

There are 34 days (and counting) to go until non-essential retail reopens in England and optimism mounts. And London's Covent Garden surely isn't alone in its enthusiasm to return to business.

After a “turbulent” trading year, it certainly wasn’t all bad news for Coats Group despite delivering mostly negative numbers in its 12-month trading statement to 31 December on Thursday.

​Selfridges had already flagged the fact that its sales rose and its net profits fell in the year to February 2020, but it has now officially filed its annual results and the full extent of that performance can be seen.

Some property experts have dismissed the Westminster City Council plans for the revitalisation post-pandemic of Oxford Street and the surrounding areas.

​Sales at Kering's leading brand, Gucci, suffered a bigger-than-expected drop in Q4 as Covid continued to dent luxury shopping and crimp tourist spending in particular.

It took the pandemic to shift all sales operations online. So clothing, lifestyle and accessories retailer Skinnydip London introduced automated merchandising and A/B testing technology to boost its digital operations.

A distinct lack of tourists in London to celebrate this year’s Chinese Lunar New Year hasn’t stopped Shaftesbury from forging ahead with a related promotion.

Although Central London has been “profoundly” impacted by Covid, the capital’s Mayor Sadiq Khan has said a “rapid recovery is possible” in his report on future challenges and opportunities.

Stores closed, no tourists. That pandemic-induced combination has meant one of London’s leading retail attractions, Covent Garden, continues to suffer more than most.

​Selfridges weathered the 2020 storm, despite enduring the toughest retail year in decades. That’s according to company chief Anne Pitcher who admitted that it was the “most difficult” period in its 113 years.

​Richemont’s third quarter — the all-important three months to the end of December — saw sales rising only 1%, although currency-neutral, they were up a healthier 5%, despite the “continuously volatile environment”.

​Burberry saw another round of retail sales falls in Q3, with Europe and the Americas still being hit hard. But it said China, Korea, leathergoods, outerwear and full-price sales all headed in the right direction.

Kering is sponsoring a key element of the renovation of the famed Michelozzo courtyard of Florence’s Palazzo Vecchio, the city hall of the Renaissance capital.