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Although there have been no recorded administrations on SnapShop again this month, all is not necessarily well on the high street. Quiksilver and American Apparel, who both filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US, have secured new financing packages enabling them to exit bankruptcy and restructure their operations ; and, Sports Direct and Direct Golf are currently locked in a legal battle of ownership for the golf brand.
Concern is also rising over the proposed changes to Sunday trading laws, with a number of MPs opposing the relaxation of hours, and new figures from Bira have revealed that traditional independent retailers have closed more stores than opened them in UK town centres in the first half of 2015. There was a net loss of 144 independent stores (0.14%) across all sectors in the first six months of this year, compared with a net increase of 289 stores (0.28%) for the same period in 2014.
But it is not all doom and glooms. The latest set of figures from the Office for National Statistics reveal that retail sales rose by 6.5% in September year-on-year despite average store prices falling by 3.6%, and supermarket price wars have left the average household better off by £58 a year, according to Kantar Worldpanel.
Figures released by the British Retail Consortium and Springboard in their monthly footfall monitor show that retail footfall in September was 0.2% lower than the same month a year ago. The figures show that high streets and shopping centres experienced declines of 1.4% and 1.3% respectively. Despite the fall, this was best performance recorded by high streets for seven months.
Interestingly, the eating-out sector is booming, with the managed pub and restaurant groups recording steady growth throughout 2015, boosted by new openings.
The latest Barclaycard Consumer Spending Report found that consumer spending in pubs had risen by 11.6%, and restaurants by 12.6% between 23 August to 26 September, marking the sector's 26th month of consecutive double-digit growth.
Black Friday looms again next month, with shoppers expected to spend at least 30% more on Black Friday and Cyber Monday this year, compared to 2014. It will be interesting to see if this is realised and if retailers have learnt from their mistakes last year.
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