News Tag: retail
March 15, 2010
Metro Bank, which was recently granted a banking licence by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), has told Sky News that it plans to make banking a "fun retail experience".
The bank, which is set to become Britain’s first new high street lender for more than a century, is set to open two branches in central London by early ...
Metro Bank pledges to return to “core banking values”
by Kay Murchie
January 12, 2010
Supermarket giant, Tesco, has announced a sharp rise in Christmas sales and follows strong sales from other major retailers, boosting hopes that the economy has finally emerged from recession.
Tesco, which is the UK's largest retailer, said it experienced its best Christmas in the UK for three years with total UK sales in the six weeks to January 9 growing by ...
Tesco experiences ’strongest Christmas for three years’
by Kay Murchie
January 5, 2010
The John Lewis Partnership, which is seen as a barometer of British retailing, said like-for-like sales were up 12.7% in the five weeks to 2 January 2010 compared with a year ago.
The figures will boost hopes that the economy is making a recovery as consumers begin to spend again.
Furthermore, the renowned employee-owned department store and owner of the Waitrose supermarket chain, ...
John Lewis reports bumper Christmas sales
by Kay Murchie
December 29, 2009
Shoppers were out looking for bargains on Boxing Day after millions flooded the High Street.
Shoppers were queuing from 4am at the Bullring shopping centre in Birmingham, while shoppers queued at Lakeside shopping centre in Essex as early as 5am.
Retail analysts said around 12 million people hit the High Street on Saturday - with shoppers up by 20% compared to ...
Shoppers flood the High Street on Boxing Day
by Kay Murchie
December 17, 2009
As little as 6% of the cover price of charity Christmas cards sold by high street retailers is passed on to the charity they allege to support, an investigation has uncovered.
Charities earn an estimated £50 million per year from Christmas card sales, with charity cards sold by mainstream retailers making a significant contribution to this total.
However, research by Which? found ...
Scrooge retailers pocket charity Christmas card profits
by David Masters
December 16, 2009
Britain's urban dwellers are shunning the high street in favour of the internet to buy Christmas presents, PayPal has revealed.
Over 40% of the people living in the UK's major cities have increased the amount of shopping they do online in the past 12 months, a study by the online payments service found.
Manchester and Glasgow showed the biggest increases, with over ...
Internet trumps high street for Christmas gifts
by David Masters
October 16, 2009
There are signs of recovery within the US manufacturing sector after the Federal Reserve reported a rise in industrial production for the month of September.
The US central bank said output at the nation's factories, mines and utilities grew 0.7% during the month - higher than the 0.2% rise expected by analysts and follows the rise of 1.2% in August.
However, ...
US industrial production sees third straight monthly gain
by Kay Murchie
October 7, 2009
Figures show that US consumers continue to seek out bargains amid the downturn as US discount retailer, Family Dollar, posted a 13% rise in fourth quarter profits.
The store said it continues to attract budget-conscious shoppers who are looking to buy its discounted name-brand consumables. The store stocks items for under $10 and has been rearranging store space to ...
US consumers continue to hunt for bargains amid downturn
by Kay Murchie
August 13, 2009
The US economy has surprised analysts again, this time by announcing a dip in retail sales for the month of July.
The fall of 0.1% for July follows two months of gains, according to the Commerce Department.
Analysts described the figures as disappointing as they had been expecting a rise of 0.7% in overall sales last month.
Petrol stations, department stores, electronics outlets ...
US retail sales dip in July
by Kay Murchie
August 11, 2009
There are further suggestions of a recovery today after the British Retail Consortium (BRC) reported a rise in retail sales for the month of July.
According to the BRC, UK-wide like-for-like sales (which excludes new store openings) grew by 1.8% during the month compared with July 2008.
The wetter weather in the second half of the month lifted demand for furniture ...
July retail sales rise 1.8% on year
by Kay Murchie
July 14, 2009
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG’s retail sales monitor has revealed a rise in UK retail sales in June, primarily due to the good weather during the month.
Like-for-like sales rose 1.4% last month compared with June 2008 with non-food sales over the three months to June experiencing their best performance since October last year.
However, big-ticket items such as homewares ...
UK retail sales benefit from heatwave
by Kay Murchie
July 3, 2009
There was more bad news for the struggling euro zone today with the news of a fall in retail sales in May.
According to Eurostat, retail sales in the euro zone fell 0.4% month-on-month - analysts had expected a fall of 0.1%.
Meanwhile, on an annual basis, the fall was 3.3% - again worse than the 2.7% fall analysts had expected.
The latest ...
Euro zone retail sales down in May
by Kay Murchie
June 25, 2009
Online shopping could give the UK's economy the boost it needs to climb out of recession, according to a new report.
PayPal UK's Online Retail Report estimates that the amount Brits spend online is set to double by the end of 2011, from £8.9 billion per year to £21.3 billion.
During 2011, consumers will spend an average of £430 each buying goods ...
Online retail to offset high street woes
by David Masters
June 18, 2009
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed a slight fall in UK retail sales in May.
Retail sales fell 0.6% in May compared with the previous month and 1.6% down on the same month last year, said the ONS.
The fall in retail sales volumes were fuelled by falls in clothing and footwear where stores experienced a decline of 1.9% over ...
UK retail sales experience slide in May
by Kay Murchie
May 21, 2009
Consumer spending increased in April after retail sales were up 0.9% during the month compared with March, beating analysts expectations who had forecast a rise of just 0.5%.
However, on an annual basis, sales were up 2.6% compared with April last year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Analysts believe record low interest rates are tempting shoppers back to the ...
UK retail sales up in April
by Kay Murchie
May 14, 2009
The Commerce Department revealed that US retail sales fell 0.4% in April and follows a fall of 1.3% in March.
April’s figure was worse than analysts had expected and show no evidence of an actual recovery, according to Paul Dales, US economist at Capital Economics.
Consumer spending makes up for nearly 70% US GDP and retail sales are, therefore, a barometer for ...
US April retail sales worse than expected
by Kay Murchie
May 12, 2009
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has announced today that the British High Street saw a flurry of shoppers in April, as a result of the sunshine.
The BRC said like-for-like sales, which excludes sales from new shops, rose by 4.6% in April, compared with the same month last year.
However, the BRC cautions that a surge is traditionally experienced at Easter and ...
Good weather brings consumers back to shops
by Kay Murchie
May 6, 2009
Figures released from Eurostat have revealed that retail sales in the euro zone fell by a record 4.2% year-on-year in March.
The fall in retail sales shows continued weakness in consumer demand with analysts not expecting an improvement in the medium-term.
According to Juergen Michels of Citigroup, the figures are disappointing and suggest that rising unemployment are having an impact on sales.
The latest figures ...
Euro zone retail sales plummet
by Kay Murchie
April 20, 2009
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has hit out at the suggestion that business rates could rise as Chancellor, Alistair Darling, intended to increase rates by 5 percent but has since reduced it to 2 percent, with the rest of the increase being implemented over the next two years.
The Centre of Economic Research has revealed that the implications ...
Business rates rise could mean loss of 20,000 retail jobs
by Peter Charalambous
April 7, 2009
As the recession has kicked in, small retailers to well established chains have struggled with cashflow problems, which has caused many to go bust, and as a result has caused huge difficulties for retail landlords.
However a positive step has now been made by some landlords to be more accommodating, as the British Property Federation has announced that some members have agreed ...
Retail landlords agree cost saving scheme
by Peter Charalambous
