Blog

Yesterday marked the first of this years Retail Trading Updates from BDO & we at The Ragtrader had the pleasure of being invited.

Here is a very brief summary of what was covered & what lies ahead...................

It seems there is a light, albeit a very small one, at the end of the tunnel.
Growth was stronger than expected with both manufacturing and services rebounding into positive territory.

Unemployment is considerable lower than expected compared to the recessions of the 80's & 90's.

Consumer confidence remains fragile & still very much in the negative.

Despite the snow, majority of retailers still posted positive LFLs.
Snow knocked LFLs by c2 -3%

Some of the Christmas retail winners (like for like sales growth) were
Superdry, ASOS, John Lewis & M&S.

And those that didn't do so well......
Next, Mothercare & Debenhams to name a few.

Now the good news for 2011.

• Low Interest Rates
• Private Sector Investment
• Pay & Earnings growth

And the bad.......

• Inflation
• Public sector spending cuts
• Higher Taxes

Key trends for 2011

• Margin Pressure
• Online Proliferation
• Growing Corporate Activity (Mergers & Acquisitions)

So it seems we're in for a slowdown but no meltdown.

The key point to take away:
Give customers a reason to shop your store (other than price).... Exciting visual displays, fantastic customer service, an innovative online presence etc, etc. Stores that are dull are dying.

On the panel were Richard Barwell - UK Economist RBS, Geoff Quinn - Managing Director TM Lewin, David Kenningham - Executive Director Retail CBRE.