UK retail sales jump 1.6 per cent in January after Tory election victory February 20, 2020 UK retail sales excluding fuel jumped the most in almost two years in January, official figures showed today. Retail sales rose excluding fuel 1.6 per cent compared to the month before as the new year got underway, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. And retail volumes rose 0.9 per cent to recover from falls [...]
UK to officially avoid recession in first half of this year as Bank of England readies twelfth straight interest rate rise May 8, 2023 Britain is set to have officially avoided a recession in the first half of this year in a sharp turnaround in fortunes for the country’s economy, figures out this week are expected to reveal. Gross domestic product (GDP), which measures the amount of goods and services produced in the UK, is anticipated to have risen [...]
Tesco: Bumper Christmas sales will put shares in the spotlight this morning January 12, 2023 TESCO enjoyed a bumper Christmas period, it told markets this morning, with like-for-like sales up nearly 8 per cent despite bruising economic headwinds. The supermarket told markets this morning it had seen customers switching to Tesco across December. The boost meant revenues hit a cool £19.7bn in the UK and Ireland for the quarter to [...]
FTSE 100 close: Glencore and Rio Tinto power London index upwards despite downbeat IMF projections April 11, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 kicked off a shortened trading week in robust fashion today, lifted by miners scaling higher despite the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warning the global economy is on course to suffer a sharp slowdown over the coming decade. The capital’s premier index jumped 0.57 per cent to 7,785.73 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap [...]
Next: Prices to rise in the spring – but boss hopeful inflation will ease in second half January 5, 2023 Next has warned it will lift prices further in the spring as the retailer’s chief said he was optimistic that inflation would let up in the second-half of the year. The fashion firm hiked its full-year profit guidance after seeing better than expected sales over the Christmas shopping period. The high street staple lifted its [...]
UK retail sales unexpectedly fall as economy slows November 14, 2019 The amount of goods sold in UK shops unexpectedly fell in October, official figures have shown, in the latest sign that the economy is slowing. The weak performance will be a concern to retailers as the sector heads towards Christmas, especially given that the period covered Halloween, a traditionally busy time for shops. Read more: [...]
Retailers ‘desperate’ for roadmap out of lockdown as sales continue to fall February 5, 2021 Retailers “desperately” need the government to provide details on a roadmap out of lockdown in order to plan for recovery after the pandemic, experts said as sales continued to fall. The Prime Minister has previously said the government will publish plans to lift lockdown restrictions in the week of 22 February, with easing not expected [...]
From frumpy fashion to TikTok trendsetter: How M&S regained its high street crown November 8, 2023 Marks & Spencer (M&S) has once again found itself back in fashion with investors and shoppers, posting a near £100m in rise in profits in its half year results. Shares in the company rocketed over 10 per cent this morning after the century-old business said its turnaround plan which intends to make the brand look [...]
Tesco profit guidance ‘unchanged’ despite 1.5 per cent fall in sales amid ‘incredibly challenging’ environment June 17, 2022 Tesco said its profit guidance for the coming year remained “unchanged” despite experiencing a 1.5 per cent fall in underlying sales in the first quarter of 2022. Britain’s biggest grocery store recorded its sales for the first 13 weeks up until the end of May, and said its profit and cash outlook will stay the [...]
Pandemic spending habits settle to ‘new normal’ after online shopping boom March 8, 2022 Pandemic spending habits have “settled into a new normal” with people returning to bricks and mortar stores to ‘try before you buy’ last month. Total retail sales were up 4.9 per cent in February, compared to the same month in 2020, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG retail sales monitor. Sales continued [...]