April weather dents sales of fashion, says BRC

UK clothing and footwear sales suffered in April, as the weather prevents consumers from buying into spring looks.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG said overall retail sales were tepid with total sales flat year-on-year and comps down 0.9 percent. Performance across different categories showed marked differences with foods providing a boost while clothing and footwear suffered.

David McCorquodale, head of retail at KPMG, said: “Overall, retail sales slowed during April with temperatures well below the average for the time of year. “Looking at the three months to April, non-food like-for-like growth was particularly weak, especially for fashion and footwear, as the cooler weather dampened the launch of spring/summer ranges.

“With warm spring-like conditions now prevailing, fashion retailers will be hoping this will motivate the summer wardrobe refresh."

Sales of clothing and footwear suffered

So what sold and what didn’t sell last month? BRC-KMPG said “clothing and footwear had a dire month” due to wet weather and difficult comparisons. The same trends as March continued as outerwear, knitted leggings and essentials like socks and underwear continued to do well while dresses, shorts and T-shirts “showed significant declines”.

Smart and “festive wear” proved stronger and retailers said separates (matched jackets and bottoms) were in demand. Responding to the low footfall and conversion rates, many retailers had promotional activity or brought forward their midseason sales to attract shoppers.

Kidswear was the worst performing segment, “as parents didn’t want to renew a summer wardrobe they could grow out of,” BRC-KPMG said.

Meanwhile, footwear had the toughest month of all categories, again due to wet weather. That meant shoppers didn’t buy the many sandals and canvas shoes in-store, but they continued to buy boots.

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