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Is the UK turning a corner in its recovery? |
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Posted At: 26 July 2013 10:51 AM
Related Categories: Retail, Retailers |
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If the positive news in the press this week is anything to go by, then yes! Whether driven by the belated arrival of sunshine and warm weather or the equally anticipated royal birth, early signs of a recovery are emerging. The SnapShop Blog now shuns the negative outlook that has been so widely reported and strikes a blow for positivity with a summary of the good news for the retail sector and the UK economy.
• British Land, one of the UK’s largest property companies, has reported that the number of retail units in administration in its portfolio has almost halved, from 0.9% to 0.5%, as a proportion of the group’s total rent. It also said demand levels for space at its schemes were encouraging.
• The BRC-Bond Dickinson Retail Employment Monitor has revealed that retail employment levels grew 3.7% in the second quarter of 2013 against the same period in 2012, delivering the best result in job creation terms since 2009, and representing the sixth quarter of job growth.
• The UK remains Europe’s largest retail investment market with a 32% market share. According to Cushman & Wakefield, volumes have risen 14% since Q1, but by a staggering 94% over the first six months of 2013 in comparison with 2012
• Official ONS figures show that the economic recovery gained traction over Q2 to the end of June with GDP growth of 0.6% - twice that seen in Q1 – leading to hopes of a sustained revival in the UK economy.
Additionally, the good weather in the second quarter of 2013 has led to a number of retailers reporting positive sales growth these include:
• Kingfisher reporting a 2.5% jump in quarterly sales to July 13, with B&Q reporting sales of seasonal and outdoor products up by a fifth – that’s nearly 40% of sales!
• Wickes has also benefited from better weather in its second half, reporting a 7.3% jump in profits. The last eight weeks of the period alone accounted for an 8.6% surge in sales.
• Fat Face is trading strongly in the start of its new financial year, helped by the summer sun boosting demand for dresses, shorts and t-shirts.
• Wetherspoon’s has benefited from the warmer weather driving people into its pubs, posting a 6.2% rise in sales for the 11 weeks to 14 July.
Whatever the reasons are behind the positivity being reported this week, it’s nice to see some optimism finally appearing. You can keep up-to-date with all the news – hopefully more positive than negative – here on SnapShop.
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Retail Update - July 2013 |
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Posted At: 18 July 2013 11:15 AM
Related Categories: Administrations, Retail, Retailers, Store Closures |
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Research by Deloitte shows that the number of retail administrations fell by 30% in the first half of 2013, with a reported 87 collapses compared to 124 in the same period last year. Since our update last month, this list now includes:
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Dwell appointed Duff & Phelps as administrators at the end of June, but was saved by its founder Aamir Ahmad who bought five stores and its online operations at the beginning of July
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Miss Sixty and Energie stores in the UK are to close after liquidators were appointed to the UK business. The nine closures include Westfield Stratford, Bluewater Shopping Centre and on Covent Garden’s Neal Street
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Ark fell into administration after June’s rent quarter day but was rescued by JD Sports almost immediately
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Modelzone appointed Deloitte as administrators. Having received no offers for the business, store closures and further redundancies are being proposed
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Nicole Farhi appointed Zolfo Cooper as administrators, who have received a large number of expressions of interest for the business
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Internacionale underwent a pre-pack administration by its former management team and resulted in the immediate closure of 18 stores
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Homebase has placed its Irish arm into examinership following poor trading in the country, and is proposing to close three of its 15 stores to put the business back on a sustainable footing. KPMG has been appointed as interim examiner which will provide protection for Homebase Ireland
In regeneration news, the third and last significant shopping centre and leisure development scheduled to open this year, has opened its doors. The 473,000sq ft New Square development in West Bromwich finally opened last weekend, after the opening was postponed from spring 2012 to July this year following delays in finalising third-party agreements with the adjacent Queen’s Square development. Primark and Tesco Extra anchor the scheme, other tenants include JD, Next, Arcadia and Bank. Figures show that nearly 100,000 shoppers flocked to the scheme during its first four days of opening.
In other news, the Commons Select Committee has announced that Mary Portas is to face questions by the Communities and Local Government Committee on her recent review into the future of high streets, Portas Pilots, Town Team Partners, and Bill Grimsey’s alternative review of high streets. The Committee also stated that the session with Portas “may inform a wider inquiry into the future of town centres later in the session”.
Following Portas’s review and the continuing demise of the UK’s high streets, alternative options for its future are being offered up. These include not only more engagement between LEPs and councils with their local retailers, but the revamping of historic buildings and more emphasis on the heritage of the local area are pointed out as key drivers of footfall and in attracting retailers. English Heritage points to Rotherham in Yorkshire which has seen a 6% increase in footfall since public funds were used to repair historic buildings. Some leading experts are calling for town centres to be shrunk, with the Government now proposing to turn retail units into housing as they intend to consult on the relaxation of planning regulations which would allow “communities to consolidate high streets”. With the ever increasing number of discount retailers and betting shops opening on our high streets, something – be it one of these proposals or a completely different idea - needs to be done to stop its demise.
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Is There Anything Tesco Can’t/ Won’t Do? |
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Posted At: 16 July 2013 15:21 PM
Related Categories: Retailers, Social Commentary |
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This month Tesco signed a deal to rent out the upstairs of its Stockton store to budget gym operator, Xercise4less, as part of its plans to downsize its larger stores.
The Yorkshire-based budget gym chain agreed a partnership with Tesco which will see large-scale gyms created within Tesco stores around the country.
With this latest venture, is there anything Tesco doesn’t or rather, won’t, do?
A quick look on the Tesco website shows that Tesco offers not only groceries and some of the more obvious goods, but also:
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Electricals appliances/ accessories (washing machines, cookers, cameras, tablets etc…)
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Home and garden furniture and equipment
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DIY and car accessories/ equipment
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Sports and Leisure equipment
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Banking
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Mobile phones and contracts
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Insurance
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Travel
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Opticians
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Photography (Posters, mugs etc… can be created)
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Floristry (with Interflora)
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Tesco compare – their own price comparison site
The list feels endless, and with a “cash for unwanted gold” service, there is undoubtedly no end yet in sight.
According to Retail Week, the grocer is already planning to open its restaurant Giraffe into some larger stores, as well as its coffee chain Harris & Hoole.
Tesco is also in talks with Sports Direct with a view to sharing mezzanine space at three of its hypermarkets, forming part of a new strategy to reduce floor space at its bigger stores as demand for many non-food items moves online.
Tesco offers everything you could possible need, as well as much you don’t, all in one place, in store or online, but what are the alternatives if your customers don’t want to be suffocated by the omnipresent supermarket, and what can be a limited choice due to their ever-increasing offering?
A quick look at SnapShop reveals:
Sign up to SnapShop to find the retail life beyond Tesco
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