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.
-
Jan- 2018 -29 January
Planning applications for retail stores falls for ninth consecutive year
Planning applications for new shops have fallen for the ninth year in a row, says platform for peer-to-peer property lending, Lendy. New research by Lendy shows that the number of planning applications for new shops and shopping centres in England are down 55% since the credit crunch to just 6,090…
Read More » -
25 January
Retail property demand at six-year low
Demand for retail property space fell to its lowest level since 2011 according to new figures from property qualifications body Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). According to the Q4 2017 RICS UK Commercial Property Market Survey demand for retail property fell for the third consecutive quarter, down 22%. Retail…
Read More » -
24 January
Pets at Home reports strong Christmas sales, ends Barkers store trail
Pet supplies retailer Pets at Home has revealed positive sales growth for the 12-week period ending on 4 January 2018, compared with the same period last year. The groups reported revenue growth of 9.6% to £223.3m, with merchandise up by 9% to £193.4m and omnichannel up 77% to £13m.…
Read More » -
19 January
December 2017 sees retail sales slump
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed that December 2017 had the weakest retail sales in over four years. The quantity of items bought in December decreased by 1.5% when compared with the stronger sales in November 2017. Although retail sales increased by 1.3% in December compared with the…
Read More » -
19 January
Carpetright shares crash 41.9% amid profit warning
Specialist carpet retailer Carpetright has issued another profit warning prompting shares to fall by 41.9%, at the time of writing. Analysts expected profit figures of £15.6m for the year, but the firm revised its full-year profit guidance to between £2m to £6m. Sales for the post-Christmas period were significantly behind…
Read More » -
18 January
Retail has least business failures, figures show
The retail industry has the lowest number of business failures among all sectors in the UK, new data has revealed. Figures from UK and offshore company agents, Turnerlittle.com, revealed the top 10 industries with highest business “death rates”, and was put together using the Business Demography release, published by ONS…
Read More » -
17 January
Inflation drops for the first time in 6 months
The inflation rate saw a slight dip in December, falling to 3%, according to figures released by the Office of National Statistics (ONS). The level of inflation, according to Consumer Price Index (CPI), was less than November’s rate of 3.1%, which was at its highest for six years. The high…
Read More » -
16 January
Euromonitor: 2018 consumer spending boom expected
Consumer expenditure is expected to grow at its strongest rate since 2011 this year, according to a new report released today. Market research company Euromonitor International revealed its predictions for the future, as well as the top 10 global consumer trends for 2018. According to the report, ‘Top 10 Global…
Read More » -
15 January
Kering offloads 70% stake in Puma
Luxury goods group Kering has announced plans to sell a 70% stake in sportswear brand Puma amongst its shareholders. Post transaction, Kering would retain approximately 16% of Puma shares outstanding. Artémis, which holds 40.9% of Kering’s shares, would become a long term strategic shareholder of Puma with an ownership of…
Read More » -
15 January
High street sees sharpest footfall decline in four years
New figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Springboard show footfall in the month of December suffered its sharpest decline since March 2013. Total UK retail footfall fell by 3.5% compared with December 2016, while the high street saw a sharper drop, down by 4.6%. Shopping centres suffered a…
Read More »
