Britain's High Street is in crisis and retailers are tanking
John Lewis, the bellwether UK department store, had a tough August - and so did the rest of the High Street.
The retailer, which is a stalwart of British High Streets, on Friday released sales figures for the final week of August and they show that across the month sales fell 3% compared to last year.
The numbers coincide with figures out today from BDO - which excludes online sales - showing sales fell 4.8% in August compared to last year, their worst performance since 2008 during the financial crisis according to the Telegraph. Fashion is the biggest loser, with sales of clothes tanking 5.5% in August.
Accendo Markets head of research Mike van Dulken says in an emailed statement:
Blame is being pinned on consumers staying at home due to wetter and colder than average summer weather as well as a stronger GBP (notably versus the EUR) seeing the recent austerity-driven preference for staycations revert to traditional demand for foreign holidays, something the budget airlines EZJ and RYA can attest to given their strong passenger numbers published this week.
That might be one explanation for August, but there's a wider slump going on right now. High Street sales have fallen every month since May for the first time since 2009.
Nick Bubb, an independent retail analyst, told Business Insider over email: "There is a timing issue, with the Bank Holiday a week later, but the underlying trend is that consumers are still feeling cautious and don't see any rush to buy new stuff in a deflationary era."
Bubb also points out that when you factor in online sales many retailers look like they're doing better, although John Lewis' numbers do include them.
Investec's retail analyst Kate Calvert told Business Insider: "There were tough comparatives in the early part of the period vs. last year with the weather last year being almost perfect for clothing retailers. August being wet has not helped.
"Whilst consumer confidence is good, this hasn't been broad-based and consumers are still having to prioritise spending in my view. So there are areas of strength, for example car sales, holidays, housing related stuff."
High Street retailers are tanking on the back of these numbers: Next is the biggest faller on the FTSE 100, down 3.1%; Carphone Dixons is down 2.9%; Debenhams is down 1%; JD Sports is down 0.9%; and Sports Direct is down 1.1%.
Investing.com
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