Economy
The latest news, updates and analysis on the economy and how it is affecting the UK retail industry. Sign up to the Daily Briefing and let Retail Sector’s business journalists keep you in the picture.
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Jan- 2019 -21 January
ONS reports retail growth ‘slowdown’
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has announced a “slowdown” in retail growth for the whole of 2018 which it said increased by 2.7% in the quantity bought, 2% less than the peak of 4.7% experienced in 2016. For the three months to December 2018 estimates in quantity bought declined…
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21 January
Retail job losses to increase by 27,000, analysis suggests
Online retailers are having a “profound effect” on the commercial property market as the value in retail property is set to fall by 15.9% this year, new research has predicted. Furthermore, job losses and store closures have been forecasted to increase by 26,918 and 3,764 respectively compared with 2018 across…
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18 January
Moodys lowers Debenhams and New Look ratings
Financial services firm Moodys has changed the outlook for both New Look and Debenhams from stable to negative amid both retailer’s current financial troubles. Debenhams posted a poor Christmas trading update and is currently holding discussions to refinance its £320m revolving credit facility. The department store reported a 3.4% drop…
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17 January
Smartphone shopping to reach record usage in 2019
In 2019, and for the first time ever, consumers will be as likely to shop on their smartphones as they would a laptop or desktop, according to research by price comparison and switching service, uSwitch.com. Shoppers plan to spend £25bn using their smartphones this year, a £10bn rise on 2018.…
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16 January
Build-A-Bear lowers UK trading expectations due to ‘significant’ Brexit challenges
Build-A-Bear has announced it has lowered its trading expectations for the UK due to “significant” challenges posed by uncertainty around Brexit. The retailer identified the EU’s GDPR laws as some of the factors causing uncertainty in its UK business. A statement by Build-A-Bear said its “sales decline will be largely…
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16 January
Consumer spending drops further in December with 1% decline
Consumer spending continued to fall in the month of December with a 1% decline, according to Visa’s UK Consumer Spending Index. The index compiled by IHS Markit, showed that overall expenditure continued to decline at the end of 2018. The 1% year-on-year reduction seen in December was the fastest seen…
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14 January
Richemont Europe blames French ‘social unrest’ for sales slowdown
Swiss retail group, Richemont Europe, has blamed French “yellow vest” protests for a slowdown in its sales. The group, which owns Cartier, Dunhill and Net-A-Porter, said it had seen a 5% rise in total sales for the quarter ending 31 December. Despite the sales figure being in line with analysts…
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10 January
Worst Christmas for retail in a decade, says the BRC
The retail sector has seen its worst Christmas performance in 10 years, despite a number of businesses reporting positive trading for the period. According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), over the festive period retail sales growth was at 0% for the first time in 28 months as “squeezed customers”…
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9 January
Ted Baker announces 12% Christmas sales rise
Ted Baker has announced a 12.2% retail sales rise for the five weeks leading up to 5 January 2019. The fashion label said it had achieved the positive figures despite “a backdrop of increased promotional activity”. The brand said it had also seen an increase in e-commerce sales of 18.7%…
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8 January
Footasylum issues profit warning after ‘challenging’ Christmas trading conditions
Footwear retailer, Footasylum has issued a profit warning following “challenging trading conditions” during the festive period. Footasylum said it would cut costs after it changed expectations for gross margin in the 2019 financial year, despite revenue still expected to remain as forecast. The retailer blamed “market backdrop, promotional activity and…
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