|
March saw three high profile retailers hit the buffers:
-
Agent Provocateur – subsequently bought by Four Marketing through a pre-pack deal
-
Brantano
-
Jones Bootmaker – the majority of its business was subsequently sold to private equity Endless, which acquired 72 stores as part of the deal
According to insolvency firm Begbie Traynor, almost 23,000 retailers reported significant financial stress in the first three months of 2017 as cost pressures continue to mount. Further administrations have been predicted by the firm, which has reported a 4% rise in retailers under financial strain compared to the same period last year.
The ramifications of the business rates reforms, announced last month, have yet to be fully felt in the industry. Mixed with increased price competition, a weak pound, dwindling consumer spending and a rise in minimum wages, analysts expect a 'large number' of retailers to fail in the coming months.
However, it is not all doom and gloom on the high street.
A record number of overseas tourists travelled to Britain during the first two months of 2017, up 6% on the same period last year, according to new figures published by VisitBritain. The 5.2 million visits also resulted in a record spend of £2.7b in January and February, a year-on-year increase of 11%.
London’s luxury market was also boosted by a momentous return of Russian visitors and Americans’ surge in interest for British luxury in the first quarter of the year. International tax free shopping data for London Luxury Quarter, which covers Mayfair, St James’s and Piccadilly, showed growth of 39% in the period. In addition, Russian visitors’ tax free shopping spend rose by 88% in March while American spend grew by 116% year-on-year.
Online continues on its steady upward trajectory, with UK shoppers spending £1bn a week online in March - 19.5% more than they did in the same month last year. That total accounts for 15.5% of all retail spending, excluding fuel, during the month, and contrasts with 13.6% a year ago, according to the Office for National Statistics’ Retail Sales report for March 2017. However, consumers are getting harder to please when it comes to online shopping (see FSP View).
It will be interesting to see what the next few months have in store for retail and consumers, as we head towards a general election. Whatever happens, SnapShop will keep you up to date with the latest news.
|