Footfall rises but high street is still losing out February 17, 2014 HIGH-STREET shops have failed to make any gains from improved footfall in January’s sales, continuing to slip behind other platforms for bricks and mortar retailers. A boost to sales following Christmas didn’t translate into more traffic for high streets, according to new figures released today by Springboard and the British Retail Consortium (BRC) – but [...]
Billionaires battle it out to build London’s super-sewer August 31, 2014 Tycoons from across the world are bidding to build a £4.2bn “super-sewer” that will travel under the heart of London. The Thames Tideway tunnel, which will be 12.5 miles long and wide enough to accommodate three double-decker buses, is considered to be one of the UK's biggest infrastructure projects. The project will funded [...]
Theft spree left retailers £511m short last year January 20, 2014 UK RETAILERS faced a rising tide of crime last year as the number of thefts hit its highest level in nine years. Meanwhile the average value of loss soared 62 per cent to £177 for each incident. The British Retail Consortium, which conducts an annual retail crime survey, said retailers now invest an average of [...]
This week’s 4 must-see charts March 7, 2014 The Fed’s use of the word “weather”, vulnerable high street profits, gold’s revival, and the economic effects of the Ukraine crisis. We bring you some of our favourite analysts’ picks of the most important graphs this week. David Lebovitz, global market strategist at JP Morgan Asset Management: There has been a lot of discussion of [...]
Here’s why this analyst thinks Royal Mail shares could go higher still January 13, 2014 Royal Mail's announcement of a management team reshuffle has already been met with glee by one analyst. Robin Speakman of Shore Capital says that the changes "reflect transformation progress", and Speakman is convinced that the delivery company still has "strong potential … for profitable growth and development". Shore Capital are maintaing a "buy" rating on [...]
Shop prices still dropping with fastest fall on record reported February 4, 2014 JANUARY was the ninth straight month of shop price deflation in the UK, with prices falling at the fastest rate ever recorded by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Nielsen. Shop prices dipped by one per cent in the year to January, driven by a 2.7 per cent fall in non-food prices. The drop in [...]
Late dash for online gifts over Christmas gives UK Mail a boost January 15, 2014 LAST-MINUTE online shopping over Christmas helped boost revenues at delivery company UK Mail, the firm said yesterday. Parcel volumes were up 15 per cent in the final three months of the year, and mail volumes also rose from last year’s levels. “It is clear from weekly volume patterns that shoppers were, more than ever before, [...]
Deflation grips shops through Christmas sales January 7, 2014 SHOP prices dropped at the fastest pace for at least seven years this Christmas, as retailers struggled to capitalise on 2013’s increasing consumer confidence. According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Nielsen, shop prices slipped by 0.8 per cent during December, driven by a 2.3 per cent drop in non-food prices. Retailers have now [...]
Christmas fails to avert footfall slump for retail January 13, 2014 THE RECENT upturn for the British economy did not extend to high streets last year, as the full extent of the drop in footfall to bricks-and-mortar retailers during 2013 is revealed. The full figures for 2013 footfall released by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Springboard show that Christmas sales failed to spur growth for [...]
One year on and Europe is still finding horsemeat where it shouldn’t be January 14, 2014 It is exactly a year since horsemeat was first discovered in processed beef product sold by a several of Britain’s leading supermarkets, throwing the spotlight on the food industry’s supply chain in UK and in Europe. Overall in the UK less than 0.3 per cent of products tested positive for horsemeat above the UK Food [...]