Fashion Business Intelligence

Find on the FashionUnited business intelligence site, all the business data and statistics to provide fashion professionals with a better overview of the fashion industry.

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Retail

Fashion sales take ‘biggest hit’ in October despite increases elsewhere

For the four weeks spanning September 29 to October 27, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) reported a “disappointing” retail sales growth of just 0.6 percent year-on-year, against a growth of 2.6 percent in October 2023. This was below the three-month average growth of 1.3 percent and the 12-month average growth of 1 percent, and came despite a...

Retail

October footfall marginally drops due to inclement weather

Retail footfall across the UK took a slight dip over the month of October as inclement weather conditions and a shift in school half term holidays kept shoppers at home. According to MRI Software, from September 29 to October 26, footfall fell -0.6 percent across all retail destinations compared to the month prior. The same decline was also...

BusinessFeatured

‘Tale of two halves’: Industry reacts to ‘damaging’ Autumn Budget

The Autumn Budget, the first to have been issued by Labour in 13 years, has received mixed reactions from industry insiders and experts alike, with a 40 billion pound uptick in taxes being at the centre of discussion. On Wednesday, Chancellor Rachel Reeves unveiled the budget via a lengthy speech in which she noted that she did “not take this...

Business

Shop prices fall in October, fashion sales ‘turning a corner’

New figures have shown a drop in shop prices for the beginning of October, with deflation sitting at 0.8 percent, down from deflation of 0.6 percent in the previous month. According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), which tracked its data from October 1 to 7, this latest figure also came below the three-month average rate of -0.6 percent,...

Retail

Back-to-school shopping helps boost UK retail sales

Retail sales in the UK saw a welcomed boost for the five weeks to September 28, as back-to-school shopping and autumn clothing demand helped bump figures up. For the month, total sales rose 2 percent year-on-year, against a growth of 2.7 percent in the same period last year. This was above the three month average growth of 1.2 percent the...

Business

Over 70 retail bosses urge chancellor to cut UK business rates

More than 70 UK retailers have called on chancellor Rachel Reeves to cut business rates by 20 percent as part of a push to introduce a ‘Retail Rates Corrector’ in order to help “level the playing field”. The bosses of the companies, including those of Marks & Spencer, Primark and Tesco, co-signed an open letter coordinated by the British Retail...

Retail

UK footfall up in September as weather improves

Footfall in the UK rose for the first time in over a year in September, increasing 3.3 percent year-over-year and up from -0.4 percent in the month prior. Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium (BRC), which published the data with Sensormatic, credited the uptick to “mild temperatures” that she said had left retailers...

Retail

Five retail leaders respond to ONS August sales data

UK retail sales showed unexpected strength in August, driven by warmer weather and end-of-season discounts, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics. The data revealed a 2.4 percent increase in sales by value and a 2.3 percent rise by volume, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), surpassing economists'...

Retail

August retail sales marginally up, clothing stores lead

New figures published by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) have shown that in August retail sales were marginally up on the month prior. Volumes rose by 1 percent during the month, which followed a more subtle rise of 0.7 percent in July. The uptick was accredited to warmer weather and end-of-season sales, according to reports from...

Business

Bank of England maintains interest rate at 5 percent

The Bank of England has placed the UK’s interest rate on hold at 5 percent after it was reported that inflation rates stayed at 2.2 percent in August, above the bank’s 2 percent target. The widely-expected decision was made following a meeting by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), who voted by a majority of eight to one to maintain the current...

Retail

Retailers urged to improve workplace wellbeing as cases of poor mental health rise

A new report by retail industry charity the Retail Trust has brought to light concerns over mental health issues among UK retail and call centre staff. To collate its data, the organisation surveyed over 1,300 retail workers, 17 percent of which said they had missed at least one day of work this year due to poor mental health. Among the...

Business

Overtaxed retail sector presents ‘golden opportunity’ to deliver government policies

New research by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has found that the UK’s retail sector has been “overtaxed” compared to others, presenting a potential opportunity for the government to fix such discrepancies and help deliver on policies. This is according to BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson, who said that this latest research proved “what...