Kevin Hawkins
Kevin Hawkins
believing came change cuts energy fooled further growth heavy improvement interest july margins position property relative rising slight squeezed underlying unless unlikely until weak
No one should be fooled into believing that the slight improvement relative to July indicates a change in trend. Any growth came from heavy discounting, which is not sustainable - especially as retailers' margins are already being squeezed by rising labour, property and energy costs. The underlying position is still weak and unlikely to improve unless and until there are further cuts in interest rates.
badly consumer continues cut economy industry interest message needs reality retail sector spending squeeze
After the pre-Christmas upturn, we are now back to the reality of a tough, discount-driven retail market. The message from every sector of our industry is the same. The squeeze on consumer spending continues unabated. The economy badly needs a cut in interest rates.
downward half improvement sales slight trend
Another slight improvement in like-for like sales is very welcome, especially considering the downward trend in the first half of this year.
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I was in same situation last April at Clarks Hill. I was winning by 10 pounds on Saturday and had already won a boat. Then, instead of doing what the odds said to do, I went back and tried to catch another big fish and bombed out and lost the tournament. We tried very hard not to make the same mistake at Lake Murray.
drop figure impressive july last news october retailers sales seen severe worrying
This is an impressive like-for-like figure and encouraging news for retailers in the capital, especially considering the severe and very worrying drop in sales seen in July through to October last year.
bringing china consumers defending eu european greatest handful high hope remains rights trust value word
As China remains the greatest hope for bringing unbeatable value to our high streets, we trust the EU will keep its word on defending the rights of consumers and not just a handful of uncompetitive European producers.
agency example political sails
This is another example of an independent agency trimming its sails to the political climate.
best central customer events generate helped increase july last london ongoing recovery reflects retailers turn useful
A very useful increase in customer footfall in Central London has helped to generate this exceptional rate of growth. This in turn reflects the ongoing recovery from the events of last July which retailers will be doing their best to sustain.
adjusting sales timing trend underlying
The probability is that, after adjusting for the timing of Easter, the underlying trend in like-for-like sales is, at best, flat.
although bank both change christmas clearly expect further helpful industry interest rates reduction retailers today
We did not expect any change in interest rates today from the Bank of England, although clearly a further reduction in the run-up to Christmas would have been helpful to both retailers and industry in general.