maplin was very much a victim of the amazon effect. and like toys r us, maplin was laden with debt.tough, when sales started to fall, it exposed their weaknesses, because both toys r us and maplin were fundamentally weak businesses to begin with. injune, poundworld collapsed — another 5000 jobs. others were also feeling the strain. by then, i'd spent months reporting on a host of household names. they didn't go bust, but they were forced to seek legal agreements with their landlords to shut stores, lots of them. i think the uk in 2018 has probably seen the worst year that i can remember. sir ian cheshire used to run b&q and is now the chairman of debenhams. we live and die by our shoppers. so when they change their habits, retail has to adapt. and i think what you're seeing there is a big shift in where consumers are prioritising where they're spending money. and increasingly, it's on experience and lifestyle and non—retail. so, retail‘s a much smaller percentage of the economy in terms of spending than it was 35 years ago. the second thing we're seeing is a massive shift, courtesy

definitely life after maplin. life after retail. absolutely. 2021 women's european championship will be held in england. it'll be played at eight venues across the country, culminating in a final at wembley. and the england men's team have been drawn to play the netherlands in the semi—finals of the new uefa nations‘ league tournament in portugal nextjune. the former us first lady michelle obama says she is "touched and inspired" as she returns to meet girls at a london school she first visited in 2009. speaking this afternoon, mrs obama encouraged female students to "lift each other up" rather than tear each other down as part of a tour for her new book. our community affairs correspondent adina campbell has been talking to some of the girls she met. michelle obama made her first visit to the school back in 2009. this afternoon michelle obama was welcomed back with overwhelming applause from schoolgirls in north london, a place which held special memories for the former first lady. it gives me a level of focus and determination in the work tha

definitely life after maplin. life after retail. absolutely.pondent june kelly is outside newcastle crown court. but we will bring you that later. a man has been shot during a police operation in south—west london. it happened in wimbledon at 810 this morning, during the operation by officers from the met‘s flying squad, assisted by firearms officers. the man was shot by police and taken by ambulance to a london hospital. a second man has been arrested for conspiracy to rob. the independent 0ffice for police conduct has launched an independent investigation. a british woman whose husband was murdered by somali pirates who then kidnapped her — believes the only man convicted in connection with both crimes is innocent. jude tebbutt and her husband david were attacked while on holiday in kenya seven years ago. she was held hostage for six months. mrs tebbutt says the metropolitan police team who flew to kenya to help the local investigation helped to convict an innocent man — and she‘s supporting his appeal. our special correspondent lucy manning

this year we have seen the collapses of toys r us, poundworld, maplin.t of pressures and this is because traditional businesses have high costs. they have to pay business rates, they have to operates stores, and they are facing a lot of competition from online outlets. at the same time, consumer confidence is weak. people are being more careful where they spend their money and there is a lot of discounting going on. so all of this boils down to life on the high street being very hard indeed and we understand that the run—up to christmas has been particularly difficult. on top of that, hmv‘s traditional business was selling music and videos. now, what's been happening there? people aren't coming out and buying these physical products any more. they are buying streaming services online. and although hmv does have an online presence, it also has its stores to cope with and that is an additionalfactor. it's old business model is not as successful as it once was. a surge in migrants risking their lives crossing the english channel has increased calls for the

year for retailers with a number of notable high street names closing — including poundworld and maplindio 2 breakfast show this morning. he said it was a "sad day" as he left after nine years at the helm. evans is off to virgin radio but will be back on the bbc in the next series of strictly come dancing. 0ur arts editor will gompertz listened in to his last show. there's flash photography in his report. singing. ta—ra! and with that, chris evans signed off for the last time as host of britain's most popular radio show. he took it over in 2010 from a broadcaster who was inspiration to him — the late sir terry wogan. he said, because he was such a wise guy, he said there may not ever be right time to go, but there could be a wrong time to stay, so i'm taking the great man's advice. the kind of show we wanted to do today, was we really wanted to leave them laughing, not crying, because there's been a lot of tears throughout the show. hopefully always for the right reasons, but enough now. happy christmas, everyone. and there was plenty of laughter, but also, at times, a very emotional pr

year for retailers, with a number of notable high street names closing, including poundworld and maplinlue of the pound has provided an unexpected christmas boost to retailers in northern ireland, with shoppers from the republic, which uses the euro, crossing the border in droves to grab a bargain. colletta smith has beenjoining them for a bit of last minute shopping and finding out what all the fuss is about. it's the last—minute christmas dash. there's a lot of stuff actually that they've sold out already. this week, stores in northern ireland have seen the biggest increase in shoppers of anywhere in the uk. and there's one big reason for that. much better value with the sterling conversion, yes, and the booze is quite cheap. what's in the bags? wow, you've got kids' stuff. yeah, lots of presents, yep. christmas present shopping. any grocery shopping today? no. a bit of shopping, that's the height of it. where do you come from today? i'm from monaghan, county monaghan. and have you done a big shop today? yes, a big christmas shop, yes. groceries. exactly, yes. irish government statist

big names such as toys "r" us, maplin and poundworld have disappeared, while others have closed shopsis struggling to sell its products. with netflix or spotify, i don't ever buy anything. no, i don't buy any, i download everything. very rarely. i stream, of course. and, quite honestly, they clutter up the house. so, no. this isn't the first time hmv‘s been in trouble. it went into administration back in 2013, before being bought by its current owner, hilco. this time, however, a rescue might be more difficult. i don't think there is a future for this business as a growing concern with the current amount of stores that it holds. another investor could come in, maybe keep that hmv brand with a much smaller store estate and manage to run that for a number of years but i think that's the most optimistic outcome we can expect. whatever happens to hmv itself, the chill economic wind blowing down the high street means it's unlikely to be the last major retailer to feel the cold, in what may well be a bleak new year. theo leggett, bbc news. well theo leggett is with me now. so what are hmv t

sluggish sales, and online competition just some of the factors blamed for the demise of names such as maplinequences for those working in the sector are severe. research carried out by the bbc reveals that 20,000 jobs have already been lost since the beginning of the year with another 20,000 under threat. our business correspondent, theo leggett has more. john brailsford has worked in retail all his life. he's been made redundant five times. watch that rug. most recently earlier this year by carpet right, which has closed a swathe of its stores. he's since found anotherjob and he says others should be encouraged by his example. if you are made redundant, don't panic, just take a step back. find the company you want to work for, there's plenty ofjobs out there. if you have to take a lower position, take one. if i can do it, anybody can do it. john is one of thousands of retail workers who've been affected by a chill wind blowing down the high street. household names like toys ‘r' us and bhs have disappeared. while other chains such as debenhams and house of fraser say they will close stores.

big names such as toys "r" us, maplin and poundworld have disappeared, while others have closed shopshmv is struggling to sell its products. with netflix or spotify, i don't ever buy anything. no, i don't buy any, i download everything. very rarely. i stream, of course. and, quite honestly, they clutter up the house. so, no. this isn't the first time hmv‘s been in trouble. it went into administration back in 2013, before being bought by its current owner, hilco. this time, however, a rescue might be more difficult. the big problem for hmv is that it's stuck in a market for physical cds and dvds that is declining much faster than they had expected it to, as people migrate to streaming services such as spotify and netflix. whatever happens to hmv itself, the chill economic wind blowing down the high street means it's unlikely to be the last major retailer to feel the cold, in what may well be a bleak new year. theo leggett, bbc news. well theo leggett is with me now. where exactly are we with this? the pa rent where exactly are we with this? the parent company of hm the witches hilco ha

sales, and online competition are just some of the factors blamed for the demise of names such as mapline. he's been made redundant five times. watch that rug. most recently earlier this year by carpet right, which has closed a swathe of its stores. he's since found anotherjob and he says others should be encouraged by his example. if you are made redundant, don't panic, just take a step back. find the company you want to work for, there's plenty ofjobs out there. if you have to take a lower position, take one. if i can do it, anybody can do it. john is one of thousands of retail workers who've been affected by a chill wind blowing down the high street. household names like toys ‘r' us and bhs have disappeared. while other chains such as debenhams and house of fraser say they will close stores. the retail sector is a major employer in this country. it still accounts for 2.8 millionjobs. but the industry is changing. last month, 18% of all transactions are carried out online. ten years ago, it was just 5%. the growing popularity of online shopping is undoubtedly one reason why traditional

this year we have seen the high—profile demise of big names such as maplin, toys r us and poundworlds & spencer, carphone warehouse and new look. retail is still the private sector's single largest employer — there are 2.8 million jobs, across all roles. consisting of1 million sales and retail assistants and 200,000 cashiers working in the uk. more than you expected perhaps? 18% of all shopping was carried out online in october. a decade ago, that figure was 5%. joining us now is kate mccarthy—booth. have you noticed that those looking for retailjobs are finding a tougher time of it? it think it fluctuate, there is probably a feeling rather than a full reality. i think that people are concerned, ifi i think that people are concerned, if i stay in retail will thatjob still exist? but for me, retailjobs are still there, just in different places, maybe just not on the shop floor. when retailers face hard times and on the high street especially, they may be tempted to cut their costs by cutting jobs, is there a danger though that becomes a vicious circle where if you have fewer people in

sluggish sales, and online competition just some of the factors blamed for the demise of names such as maplinund anotherjob and he says others should be encouraged by his example. if you are made redundant, don‘t panic, just take a step back. find the company you want to work for, there‘s plenty ofjobs out there. if you have to take a lower position, take one. if i can do it, anybody can do it. john is one of thousands of retail workers who‘ve been affected by a chill wind blowing down the high street. household names like toys ‘r‘ us and bhs have disappeared. while other chains such as debenhams and house of fraser say they will close stores. the retail sector is a major employer in this country. it still accounts for 2.8 millionjobs. but the industry is changing. last month, 18% of all transactions are carried out online. ten years ago, it was just 5%. the growing popularity of online shopping is undoubtedly one reason why traditional stores are struggling. bbc research suggests 20,000 retail jobs have gone so far this year and another 20,000 could be at risk. we have been calling for some

it is a bad end to a bad year which saw toys"r"us, maplin and poundworld all go under.icture. it was about the wider picture. it was about black friday, disappointing super saturday, about boxing day. you are sounding all doom and gloom. what has been interesting is for the first time online retailers, asos, the big fashion retailers, are reporting a struggle. so it isn‘t just the high street. no, it isn't just the high street. no, it isn't just the high street, they have definitely suffered from some of the internet purchasing which has gone up internet purchasing which has gone up to 20% of all online purchases are online —— retail purchases are online. what happens with things like asos is a little worrying, because if it is all happening online, then what about them? one thing is where people are spending their disposable income, and if you are concerned about that, i am not sure what the future looks like, and brexit is a massive part of that, if you are not sure what that future looks like, maybe you will hold onto that money and the discretionary spend you have f