Retail Update - May 2015

Posted At: 22 May 2015 13:00 PM
Related Categories: Retail, Retailers

Since our last update, Blott appointed administrators, shut stores and was acquired by Tinc, another quirky stationery retailer who will re-open some stores and trade them under licence for six months from the administrator. 

Interestingly, Manchester became the top shopping destination outside London in the last year as retail spend in the city hit £910m, figures published by The Heart Of Manchester BID (Business Improvement District) just a month after its second anniversary on April 1 showed, demonstrating how useful BIDs can be to towns and cities when operating as they should.

London has been named as the world’s most international shopping destination, with 57.9% of international retailers present in the UK capital according to CBRE research. Last year 12 new international retailers opened in the city including US names American Eagle and Lululemon. London is followed by Dubai, which has 55.7% of international retailers present, and Shanghai, with 53.4%. 

A warmer April and increasing consumer confidence saw more people eating and drinking out. Barclaycard’s Consumer Spending Report revealed that although restaurant spending was up 13% the average transaction value fell by 6.8% year-on-year, as cost-conscious consumers continue to dine out more but spend less each meal.

Consumer confidence was at its highest level since 2002 in April with the headline index remaining at 4 during the month. It will be interesting to see how the index fares over the next few months now that the election is over with. 
 

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