Pie & mash a staple diet for marathon runners? New Balance believes so and the US sportswear giant last week took over the famed M Manze Pie & Mash shop on London’s Tower Bridge Road to celebrate the launch of its new 1080v15 footwear alongside the official 2026 TCS London Marathon Training Range.
New Balance
Some 1.3 million may have applied to take part in the 2026 TCS London Marathon on 26 April, but New Balance has designed and launched the new performance range for the 15,000-20,000 balloted participants.
So the just-released 2026 TCS London Marathon Training Range, becomes the first drop in this year’s official marathon collection.
The collection aims to provide runners with products that “celebrate the marathon journey, from first training miles to the finish line”.
It said the release is built for the “training blocks leading to 26.2 miles” and will then be followed by the ‘Race Range’, launching 1 March.
The training range therefore offers “essential performance styles” suited to regular weekly mileage, “giving runners reliable options to use throughout their training plan, and across changeable winter-to-spring conditions”, it said.
Key pieces include the London Edition Marathon Jacket (£135), inspired by the original 1978 ‘Windcheater’ and the Athletics Heat Grid Half Zip LDN (£80) with heat technology “helping maintain warmth in cooler temperatures”.
These sit alongside lightweight tops: the London Edition Athletics Long Sleeve (£50), London Edition Athletics T-Shirt (£45), and London Edition Race Day Ultra-Light Singlet (£75), “offering different fits and weights for a variety of runs”.
Bottoms include the London Edition NB Sleek Pocket Tight for men (£85), the London Edition NB Sleek High-Rise Legging 25″ for women, and two short styles – the London Edition RC Ultra-Light Short 3” (£45), and London Edition RC Essential Short 5” (£45).
The collection also features a bold colour palette, with all styles featuring co-branded designs and reflective details for visibility in low light, it said, with the range now available online and selected stores.
Meanwhile, the launch of the 1080v15 becomes New Balance’s “flagship neutral running shoe…positioned as the ultimate everyday trainer for marathon training and beyond”.
And finally that pie & mash connection. New Balance partnered with ‘Run The Boroughs’ (pictured above) to host a community run through the surrounding streets of Tower Bridge to mark the collection launches.
Bringing runners together from across the capital, the route “celebrated the boroughs that make up the marathon course, reinforcing New Balance’s deep connection to grassroots running culture and the communities that power it”, it said.
Landsec’s prime shopping destinations had a shining Golden Quarter in terms of both sales and footfall with health & beauty (+13%) and clothing (+5%) sales becoming “the strongest-performing categories” across its major retail destinations.
Bluewater
The key quarter, which includes Christmas trading, “maintained healthy consumer demand, exceeding last year’s impressive figures and pulling further ahead of market averages”, the commercial property giant said in a trading statement Monday (19 January).
With Liverpool One and Bluewater in Kent among its portfolio of key shopping/entertainment destinations, total Golden Quarter sales rose 4.9% year-on-year, “significantly outperforming the national retail benchmark”, which it notes fell by 0.2%. And during the three peak Christmas shopping weeks, sales were up 6.5% year-on-year, it added.
Footfall across Landsec’s major shopping centres and outlets also rose by 0.7% over the quarter, compared with the national benchmark of -0.3% across the wider market, “supported by strong seasonal momentum”.
Since FY22, its retail destinations have also seen cumulative sales growth of 20%, outperforming the UK national average by 17ppt, it also noted.
Performance-wise, health & beauty’s particularly strong showing was helped by four out of the six new Sephora stores opened in the UK over the past 12 months having been at Landsec destinations, it added.
And let’s not forget the rising importance of leisure and hospitality, with both also playing key roles in consumer engagement, seeing a 6.2% growth in sales.
“This category also played a key role in increasing dwell times across Landsec’s centres, reinforcing the importance of [our] experience-led strategy in supporting retail spend and repeat visits”, it noted.
Bruce Findlay, managing director of Retail at Landsec, added: “Consumers continue to seek out destinations which combine a wide selection of the best brands with best in class experiences. This was certainly true during the Golden Quarter with sales and footfall for prime retail once again ahead of the wider market.
“With a reach of one in four UK consumers, we offer brands more footfall than any other retail platform. By combining this reach with the powerful data insights available to us, we’re creating a self-reinforcing growth engine that delivers higher sales and attracts the world’s best brands.”
He added: “Alongside a strong leisure and hospitality offer, we provide compelling, experience-led retail environments, positioning us well for continued success as we look ahead to 2026.”
UK retail giant Frasers Group has announced the integration of Sports Direct Membership into its ‘Frasers Plus’ loyalty scheme “to create one unified, rewards platform” from February.
Frasers Group
Aiming to widen its customer loyalty offer, Frasers Plus is the group’s credit payment account “that rewards customers every time they shop across the Frasers Group portfolio and partner retailers”.
With this integration, users “will gain access to even greater rewards with more exclusive benefits and personalised offers” the group said.
Frasers said the move marks a new chapter in its digital elevation as it unifies Sports Direct Membership’s loyalty and rewards offerings under Frasers Plus.
The integration “simplifies the customer shopping experience” across the group’s portfolio (Sports Direct, Flannels, and Frasers) and 16 partner retailers (including LookFantastic, Myprotein, Marks Electrical), “providing a single destination for rewards, personalised offers, and flexible payment options” in the Frasers Plus app.
David Twigg, MD of Frasers Group Financial Services, said: “This is an exciting step forward for Frasers Plus. By integrating Frasers Group’s existing loyalty offerings under Frasers Plus, we’re building on important learnings from the past year about how our customers like to shop and streamlining the customer experience to deliver a more powerful, personalised, and cohesive rewards proposition across the full Frasers Group portfolio and partner retailers.”
Liberty London has promoted Lydia King to managing director of retail, effective immediately. She replaces Sarah Coonan who stepped down from the lead role in November, following 15-years with the high-end department store.
Lydia King
King, previously group buying and merchandising director responsible for shaping buying strategy across fashion, beauty and lifestyle divisions, will now take on the store’s wider remit.
Liberty said the appointment reflects its “focus on strengthening retail leadership while continuing to evolve its offer for a modern, international customer, without remaining rooted in its heritage of creativity, curation and cultural relevance”.
King joined Liberty from Harrods where she was fashion director overseeing womenswear, accessories, shoes and childrenswear. She also spent 13 years at Selfridges, across womenswear buying and as merchandising director.
She said of her promotion: “My focus will be on continuing to evolve Liberty’s retail experience, championing exceptional product and ensuring our flagship store remains one of the most inspiring places to shop in the world.
“Having worked closely with the teams over recent years, I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved together and excited to step into this role at such an important moment for the brand.”