Inflation
Inflation has significant implications for the UK jewellery trade, affecting everything from raw material costs to consumer spending habits. For jewellers, suppliers, and manufacturers, understanding how inflation influences pricing, margins, and operational decisions is critical to staying resilient in a shifting economic climate. Jewellery Focus provides expert coverage on inflation trends, market analysis, and insights into strategies trade professionals are adopting to mitigate its impact across the supply chain and retail sector.
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Jan- 2015 -12 JanuaryEconomy
‘Promising’ year ahead for shop vacancy rates
Britain’s shop vacancy rate dropped to 13.2% in December while the overall retail and leisure vacancy rate remained at 11.8%, according to the latest figures. Analysis of vacancy rates by occupation type by the Local Data Company showed that leisure vacancy in December was 7.8%, and all (Retail and Leisure)…
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Oct- 2014 -27 OctoberEconomy
High street sales growth ‘remains robust’
Retail sales volumes continued to grow in the year to October, with another strong rise expected in the month ahead, according to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). The body’s latest monthly Distributive Trades Survey of 124 firms showed a third successive month of firmly above-average sales growth. But sales growth…
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21 OctoberEconomy
Consumer confidence hits three year high
Consumer confidence in Quarter 3 has reached its highest level in three years according to the latest Deloitte Consumer Tracker. According to the research Consumers’ confidence regarding their disposable income, level of debts and job progression has all increased. Overall consumer confidence is three percentage points higher than the same…
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8 OctoberEconomy
Shop prices remains deflationary for 17th month: BRC
Overall shop prices reported deflation for the seventeenth consecutive month, accelerating to 1.8% in September from 1.6% in August. This is according to the BRC-Nielsen Shop Price Index in which non-food industries (including clothing and footwear) reported acceleration in deflation of 3.2% in September from 2.9% in August. Helen Dickinson,…
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Sep- 2014 -22 SeptemberTrade Organisations
BRC responds to Miliband’s proposals on business rates
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has today responded to proposals on business rates from the Labour party leader, Ed Miliband. Miliband has announced a 1% cut in business rates if labour is in power after the 2015 election. The move would involve reversing the inflation-linked increase scheduled for April 2015…
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17 SeptemberEconomy
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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4 SeptemberEconomy
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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Jul- 2014 -11 JulyOpinion
COMMENT: Rising hallmarking figures are great news but the party may be short-lived
By Scott Thompson, founder and CEO of Carat* There is growing evidence that many parts of the UK are coming out of the great recession. I am pleased that many of my colleagues and friends in the jewellery industry are sounding more upbeat. However there is a risk that the…
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9 JulyEconomy
Shop price inflation hits record low, says BRC
Shop price inflation fell for the 14th consecutive month in June, according to the latest figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC). The BRC-Nielsen Shop Price Index 2014 discovered that overall shop price deflation accelerated to 1.8% in June, the deepest level of deflation since the report began in December…
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May- 2014 -21 MayRetailers
Retail sales jump by 6.9% in April, says ONS
The quantity bought in the retail industry in April this year increased by 6.9 per cent compared with the same period last year, and by 1.3 per cent compared with March, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This was the highest year-on-year growth in…
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