Economy
Economy explores the wider economic forces influencing the UK retail industry. This section covers inflation, consumer spending, interest rates, labour market conditions, and policy developments affecting retail performance and profitability. Retail Sectorโs Economy coverage provides expert analysis, data-driven insight, and commentary to help retail leaders, financial planners, and operational managers understand how macroeconomic trends are shaping demand, costs, and investment decisions across the sector.
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Aug- 2022 -9 August
Sharon White: Gov needs to get over 50s back into work to curb inflation
The boss of John Lewis has said the large number of over 50s who left the workforce during the pandemic is helping to fuel the current high levels of inflation across the UK. Speaking to the BBC, Dame Sharon White said that the government must โthink really hardโ about how…
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8 August
Womenโs Euro and summer heatwave reduce online retail sales decline
Online retail sales growth dipped -2.3% year-on-year (YoY) in July 2022 as the Womenโs Euro final and the summer heatwave helped reduce the decline, according to the latest IMRG Capgemini Online Retail Index. While this is a continuation of the negative growth that has been consistent across 2022, it was…
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5 August
Tax cuts wonโt solve economic crisis, says Next CEO
Simon Wolfson, the chief executive of fashion retailer Next, has claimed that inflationary pressures can only be tackled by increasing the supply of goods and workers as tax cuts will not solve the challenges facing the British economy, according to The Telegraph.ย ย The Telegraph reported that Wolfson also predicted that…
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4 August
BoE hikes rates to 1.75%, warns UK to enter recession until 2024
The Bank of England (BoE) has raised interest rates from 1.25% to 1.75%, marking the biggest rise in rates since 1995. In its latest announcement, the BOE also projected that the UK would fall into a recession in the fourth quarter of the year, which is expected to last for…
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4 August
Footfall declines in July as north-south divide grows
Footfall weakened in July to -14.2% below 2019 from -12.3% in June 2022 with the month’s performance also highlighting the growing divide between the north and south of the country, according to the latest data from Springboard. July saw a -17% decline compared with 2019 in high streets, a -18.6%…
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4 August
Zalando to return to growth in H2 despite Q2 profit fall
Zalando, the online fashion retailer, has revealed it expects to return to growth in H2 despite seeing a 58% drop in its Q2 operating profits to โฌ77.4m (ยฃ64.7m), down from โฌ184.1m (ยฃ153.3m) in the same period last year. However, the Q2 performance marks a rebound from a Q1 loss of…
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4 August
ScS ups FY guidance as orders rise by 3.9%
ScS has upped its full-year guidance after its like-for-like order growth rose by 3.9% in the 52-week period ended 30 July, 2022. In its latest training update, the board said it was โpleasedโ with its positive trading, strong margin, and effective cost management during the year and therefore expects its…
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3 August
Hugo Boss hails strongest Q2 in its history
Hugo Boss has reported an operating profit of โฌ100m (ยฃ83.4m) for Q2, over double the โฌ42m (ยฃ35m) it recordedย in Q2 2021. The three month period also saw group sales surge 34% compared with the prior-year period and its revenues increased 40%, totaling โฌ878m (ยฃ728.9m), marking its โstrongest second quarter…
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2 August
Womenโs Euros final win boosts footfall post-match
High street footfall across the UK on Sunday was up by 4.4% against the previous week during shopping hours, as footfall was boosted by those visiting cities and large towns to watch the Womenโs Euros final this year. According to Springboard, between the hours when the match was taking place,…
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Jul- 2022 -28 July
Virgin Wines revenue up 63% on pre-Covid levels
Online wine retailer, Virgin Wines, has revealed that the companyโs revenue is up 63% on a three-year, pre-Covid basis, compared to the FY19 result of ยฃ42.4m, highlighting that the business has retained much of the substantial growth achieved during the pandemic.ย However, it is reported that the company has a…
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