Economy

Record 900 million orders for e-tailers, says IMRG

UK retailers are on course to dispatch a record 900 million orders or 930 million parcels in 2014, with 120 million projected for December alone.  This is according to the latest August IMRG MetaPack Delivery Index which has predicted a record year for e-tailers. As predicted, online retail sales fell…

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CBI: ‘Solid’ high street growth continues, pace of growth eases

Retail sales volumes continued to grow solidly in the year to September, albeit at a slightly slower pace than in the previous month, according to the latest figures from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). Its latest monthly Distributive Trades Survey of 123 respondents also showed that the volume of orders…

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Global diamond demand reaches record levels, says De Beers

Global demand for diamond jewellery reached a record high of $79bn (£48bn) in 2013, according to the inaugural Diamond Insight Report published today by De Beers.  However the report claims that “substantial investment will be required in diamond production, technology, and branding, marketing and retail standards” if the industry is…

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F Hinds joins 100 firms demanding rates overhaul

Britain’s largest independent family jeweller, F Hinds has joined more than 100 of Britain’s biggest companies calling for business rates to be overhauled. The signatories of the open letter, published in The Daily Telegraph on Tuesday, call the conversional tax a “critical problem”, saying that business rates “are no longer…

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Shop vacancy rates improving but north vs south divide persists

Shop vacancy rates have seen an improvement in the first half of the year but a strong north/south divide remains, according to new research.  A new report published by the Local Data Company (LDC) said H1 shop vacancy rates have shown marked improvement towards the end of the year from…

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Footfall in August was down 1.1% compared to the same month last year despite the best sales growth since January, according to new figures.  The British Retail Consortium (BRC) Springboard Footfall Monitor said the high street was the worst performing area with footfall down 2.8% on the previous year –…

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BRC: August retail sales growth ‘best since January’

Retail sales in August grew 1.3% compared with August 2013 on a like-for-like basis, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC).  In the best performance since January, the BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor showed total sales were up 2.7%, with growth largely driven by sales of clothing and footwear, which reported…

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Britain’s shop vacancy rate falls to its lowest level since June 2010

Britain’s shop vacancy rate fell to 13.3% in August, down from 13.4% in July, its lowest level since June 2010.  New research from the Local Data Company shows that the overall retail and leisure vacancy rate also decreased from 11.9% to 11.8%. Matthew Hopkinson, director at the Local Data Company,…

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Economic recovery solid, but growth ‘will even out’: CBI

The UK economic recovery is on solid ground but growth will even out in the second half of 2014 and into next year, the CBI said in its latest economic forecast. The UK’s leading business group forecasts 3.0% growth in 2014 and 2.7% in 2015, unchanged from May. Between the…

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Signet Jewelers report 17.1% UK sales increase in second quarter

Signet Jewelers, the parent company of Ernest Jones and H.Samuel, has reported a total increase of 17.1% in UK sales in its second quarter financial results.  Same-store sales increased by 4.4% in the same period, while total sales reached $162.9m (£98.2m) in the UK. Online sales in the UK increased…

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