Peacocks fashion expansion after strong Christmas trade January 10, 2010 Budget fashion chain Peacocks added to signs of a robust Christmas for Britain’s retailers, helped by its tie-up with singer-turned-designer Pearl Lowe, and yesterday said it planned to step up its expansion. The firm, taken private in 2005 by a consortium including US hedge funds Perry Capital and Och-Ziff, said sales at stores open at [...]
Mixed results for retailers as sales rise September 7, 2009 RETAIL figures for August will today reveal a mixture of good and bad news, with total sales up 2.2 per cent on the year before but like-for-like sales down 0.1 per cent. Total sales, which includes revenue from extra retail space added since last August, hint at an increase in consumer and retailer confidence. But [...]
BRC warns on credit insurance July 30, 2009 The British Retail Consortium (BRC) will today warn of a lack of available trade credit insurance. According to the BRC’s Quarterly Credit Conditions, more than half of the firms it surveyed have been hit by the problem. Three quarters of those affected have suffered problems with suppliers who are unable to take out credit insurance [...]
Britons more bullish on jobs and outlook September 8, 2009 BRITISH consumers are more confident about the future economic situation and sentiment about the present has also improved, the Nationwide consumer confidence survey will say today. The survey indicates that all the confidence indices rose during August with the expectations index rising by three points to 94. The present situation index, which has generally been [...]
Britons more bullish on jobs and outlook September 8, 2009 BRITISH consumers are more confident about the future economic situation and sentiment about the present has also improved, the Nationwide consumer confidence survey will say today. The survey indicates that all the confidence indices rose during August with the expectations index rising by three points to 94. The present situation index, which has generally been [...]
London retail sales continue growth despite July washout August 16, 2009 LONDON’S retail sales growth continued to outpace the rest of the UK last month but with the narrowest lead in nine months, figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) will show today. The capital’s like-for-like sales increased by 2.2 per cent in July compared with the same month a year earlier when same-store sales were [...]
Shoplifting rises in recession July 16, 2009 More than 90 per cent of retailers say retail crime has increased over the last 12 months and more than four fifths believe the rise has been caused by the recession, according to figures released yesterday by the British Retail Consortium. The findings were at odds with figures from the British Crime Survey, also published [...]
Retail sales mixed in July August 10, 2009 SPENDING on home improvements and seasonal clothing clearances boosted retail sales in July. According to figures published by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) today, retail sales values rose by 1.8 per cent on a like-for-like basis compared to the previous July. On the three-month weighted average of May to July, like-for-like retail sales values rose [...]
Downturn hits downtown as shops lie empty July 20, 2009 ONE in eight shops are lying empty in the UK according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), which today sets out its rescue strategy for the retail landscape. It says 12 per cent of town centre shops are now vacant, three times as many than last autumn, as retailers have been hit by the slump [...]
Ministers split over timing of VAT increase July 26, 2009 A CABINET rift has opened up over whether VAT should rise to its previous rate at the end of the year. Retail and hospitality executives, who have campaigned for months against the change, were buoyed last week when Harriet Harman said the planned rise from 15 per cent to 17.5 per cent on January 1 [...]