Tough year ahead for retailers, BRC says
2010 will be a difficult year for retailers, but no worse than 2009, according to a survey of its members by the British Retail Consortium.
Four out of five retailers surveyed said they expected sales in 2010 to be the same, but none thought they would be worse and a fifth thought they would be better. 19 multiple retailers took part.
The retailers surveyed cited weak consumer demand, rising unemployment, increases in personal taxes and weakness in the economy as their biggest concerns for the year ahead. A third of them said they expect to reduce the number of people they employ in 2010 compared to 2009.
BRC director general Stephen Robertson (pictured) said it was vital the government didn’t hamper the recovery in consumer confidence by hiking personal taxation. “Politicians must recognise it’s business that’ll take us out of recession with retail leading the way. They must bring the public finances under control while avoiding excessive tax rises that would undermine demand, jobs and consumer confidence.”
Have your say
You must sign in to make a comment.
From store level to board room, Retail Week Knowledge Bank analyses company strategy, predicts intentions and details vital financial records across every retail sector
Share
Readers' comments (3)
Anonymous | 28-Dec-2009 2:17 pm
Well....
lets see these stores drop their prices...
£ 3 gstar t shirt for example....selling for over £40
lets just say...
hell slap it into the greedy so and so's
Unsuitable or offensive?
theretaildatabase.com | 30-Dec-2009 10:02 pm
2010 will certainly be a tough time for retailers, particularly given rising VAT, wage freezes, public sector cuts and continued weakness of consumer spending. The availability of credit will also remain a problem.
Nevertheless, it is unlikely to be as bad as 2009. Following some initial administrations in the early part of the year, the number is likely to slow as the year progresses. The retailers left have put themselves in a much stronger position and will enjoy a larger share of the market.
Unsuitable or offensive?
john corcoran | 2-Jan-2010 10:13 pm
Upward only rent reviews should have been banned when slavery was abolished
Unsuitable or offensive?