Footfall drops but shoppers keep spending October 17, 2016 Spending on the high street rose last month despite a decline in footfall, the latest data has shown. Retail spending grew in September by 1.3 per cent, while at the same time both footfall and shop prices have dropped year-on-year, according to figures released today by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and retail analysts Springboard. Total [...]
Business groups write to communities secretary Sajid Javid to campaign against changes to business rates September 25, 2016 Groups representing retailers and small businesses have come together to write to communities secretary Sajid Javid to urge him to pull back on changes to business rates. Business rates are being re-evaluated, and changes proposed for the way business rates are valued could "sink individual businesses into hardship", the lobby groups warned. Read more: West End gets [...]
Retail sales defied expectations amid Brexit fears in October as prices fell everywhere except petrol stations November 17, 2016 UK retail sales grew at their highest rate since April 2002, amid fears that spending could be hampered by uncertainty around Brexit. The volume of retail sales increased by 7.3 per cent in October, compared to the same month in 2015, while the amount spend rose 6.6 per cent on an annual basis, according to [...]
Summer sun and price cuts drive best quarter for food sales since 2013 October 11, 2016 The food sector has had its best quarter of sales in two years, according to new figures. Like-for-like sales across all retail categories increased 0.4 per cent year-on-year in September, according to data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG. Read more: Rosé wine, gin and ice cream sales gave Waitrose a summer boost last [...]
London Remainers drag down consumer confidence in the capital October 17, 2016 London consumers are feeling less confident than the rest of the UK, data out today shows. Confidence fell in London during the third quarter despite climbing to a five-year high across the rest of the country, according to the latest survey from accountancy giant Deloitte. Consumer sentiment in the capital fell by three percentage points over [...]
Second chance for BHS? An open letter to David Anderson, managing director of the newly online-only retailer September 27, 2016 Dear David Anderson, Whether it’s BHS or Woolworths, we all love a good phoenix from the ashes story, especially when it involves a great British brand. News that BHS is to be reincarnated online has been met with a cautious welcome. Cautious because the challenges ahead are considerable: in addition to the reputational damage the [...]
Online sales grew in July as store sales fell – despite desperate discount offers from retailers August 9, 2016 Online sales performed well in the past three months, but store sales declined as retailers struggled to lure shoppers onto the high street with discount deals. In the three months to July, the online sales of non-food products grew 11.1 per cent as compared to the same period last year, according to research by the British [...]
Autumn Statement 2016: Here’s how business groups have reacted to today’s announcement November 23, 2016 Today's Autumn Statement may be the last after chancellor Philip Hammond announced he would scrap the annual November mini-Budget, but there's still an awful lot for the business world to sink its teeth into this time around. Here's how some of the UK's biggest business groups have reacted to today's announcements, which include big infrastructure [...]
Retail sales sunk back in August in a “U-turn” of fortunes for the sector September 6, 2016 Retail sales slowed in August, representing a "U-turn in retail fortunes" compared to figures from July. Overall sales fell by 0.3 per cent – the biggest month-on-month decline since September 2014, according to data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG. Like-for-like sales were down 0.9 per cent as compared to August last year; on [...]
Shares, stocks and corporate news: What you need to know before the open August 8, 2016 The FTSE is expected to begin the week cautiously as the markets continue to absorb a dramatic week in the UK and a pair of surprises from overseas. The FTSE 100 is expected to open trading up 3 points at 6,796, while the German DAX is predicted 14 points higher at 10,381, and the French [...]