Former Marks & Spencer boss predicts bleak Christmas for retail

The former CEO of Marks & Spencer has voiced his concerns about the future of the UK retail sector over Christmas and into the new year, suggesting that more closures in 2019 look likely following tough trading in 2018.

In an interview with ITV, Lord Stuart Rose said that a combination of “the uncertainty of Brexit”, “up-and-down weather”, and people “generally not knowing what the future is going to look like next year” will culminate in a difficult Christmas period for retail.

“I’ll put my money where my mouth is, I expect that we’ll see some uncomfortable trading statements in the early part of January,” he told ITV. “The day in the life of the department stores is probably coming close to an end. We’ve seen what’s happened with House of Fraser. We’ve seen the difficulties that Debenhams has been in. We’ve seen how difficult it is if you want to manage a big space. We know how expensive it is to own a big space.”

‘The day in the life of the department store is coming close to an end’

Elaborating on his statements, Rose explained that many big retailers should be doing more to address the ever-growing popularity of online shopping. “It tends to be the case that the big-space retailers have been the last ones to espouse properly the online situation, believing that they can attract people into their shops and do well from that, but it’s getting tougher and tougher every single day,” he said.

When asked about the latest developments in Theresa May’s Brexit deal, Rose said he would rather back the prime minister's deal than risk a no-deal situation. “My first choice is Remain, that’s not going to happen. My second choice is the deal that we’ve got on the table,” Rose explained. “I’m endorsing the Prime Minister’s deal because I’m a pragmatic businessman. The deal on the table is the best we can get out of the Europeans - it’s the best deal we can negotiate for ourselves and I don’t like the consequences of not having a deal,” he said.

On Wednesday Theresa May will be facing a no confidence vote from conservative MPs that will decide whether she stays on as prime minister. The voting will go ahead from 6-8pm and the results are set to be announced a few hours later.

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