‘Is UK retail’s £2.8bn excess stock timebomb set to be the sector’s next big crisis?’

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UK retail is facing a perfect storm of rising costs and plummeting consumer confidence. Could an excess of stock be the final nail in the coffin for many in the squeezed mid-market?

The prevailing wisdom heading into Christmas was to stock up in bulk – at once ensuring good stock levels over the crucial holiday period and limiting the drip-feed of lofty shipping costs from spreading across multiple financial periods. 

At the time this made sense and seemed to lay out a blueprint for dealing with a post-Covid world where costs were already set to rise. 

But fast forward six months or so and the picture looks very different.

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