British Retail Consortium
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) plays a key role in supporting the UK retail sector, including jewellers, through advocacy, policy development, and industry standards. For jewellery trade professionals, understanding BRC initiatives helps navigate regulatory changes, consumer trends, and challenges facing the wider retail landscape. Jewellery Focus provides coverage on BRC updates, reports, campaigns, and insights into how its work impacts jewellers, suppliers, and stakeholders across the industry.
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Jan- 2015 -23 JanuaryEconomy
Retail employment grows marginally in December
December showed the strongest month-on-month growth in retail employment since February 2014, up 0.9% year-on-year, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). The BRC-Bond Dickinson Retail Employment Monitor which found that growth in December was supported entirely by the non-food sector while the grocery sector continued to to cut back…
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20 JanuaryCrime
Shop thefts top £600m in 2014
The value of thefts affecting British retailers has reached its highest level in a decade, despite the overall volume of incidents falling, according to this year’s BRC Retail Crime Survey, released today. There were an estimated three million offences against UK retailers in 2013 to 2014, a decline of 4%,…
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16 JanuaryEconomy
December footfall rises but still down on 2013
Retail footfall in December showed the best performance since January 2014, but was still down on the same month in 2013, according to the latest BRC/Springboard Footfall Monitor. Total retail footfall in the UK was up 2.4% on the fall in November, but down 0.7% year-for-year and below the three-month…
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13 JanuaryEconomy
‘Cyberweek’ and clearance sales drive online retail in December
‘Cyberweek’ and clearance sales helped to drive online retail sales in December with non-food products growing 7% compared to the same time last year. This is according to the BRC-KPMG Online Retail Sales Monitor which found that in December online sales represented 17% of total non-food sales, compared to 16%…
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7 JanuaryEconomy
Shop prices report deflation for twentieth consecutive month
Overall shop prices have reported year-on-year deflation for the twentieth consecutive month, decelerating to 1.7% in December after reporting deflation of 1.9% in November. This is according to the BRC-Nielsen Shop Price Index which found that non-food deflation slowed marginally in December to 2.8% from 2.9% in November. On a 12-month…
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Dec- 2014 -11 DecemberEconomy
Changing shopping habits continue to drive down footfall, says BRC
Footfall in November was down 2.4% on the same time last year, down on the 0.8% fall in October and below the three-month average of a 1.4% decline. This is according to the latest BRC Springboard Footfall Monitor, in which footfall on high streets was down 4% compared to last…
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9 DecemberE-Commerce
Black Friday helps online sales hit new record
Online sales of non-food products grew by 12% in November compared to a year earlier, according to the BRC-KPMG Online Retail Sales Monitor. In November online sales represented 21% of total non-food sales in the monitor, against 19.6% in November 2013. This is the highest penetration rate since the monitor…
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3 DecemberEconomy
Business rates set to undergo structural review
Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, has said in his Autumn Statement that business rates will undergo a full “structural review” alongside the extension of the 2% cap on business rate increases for next year. Further help on business rates announced in the speech included the extension of small business…
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3 DecemberCurrent Affairs
Osborne to reveal business rates review in Autumn Statement
According to reports from BBC News the Chancellor, George Osborne, is expected to reveal an overhaul of business rates to help high street retailers compete with internet retailers in his autumn statement. The 400 year-old taxation system has long been under criticism from businesses and it has often been blamed…
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Nov- 2014 -17 NovemberEconomy
Shop vacancies rise for first time since Q1 2013
The average shop vacancy rate in town centres in the UK was 10.3% in October, up from July’s rate of 10.1%, and the first time the figure has risen since the first quarter of 2013. The British Retail Consortium’s (BRC) Footfall and Vacancies Monitor for October found footfall was 0.8%…
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