26 HORIZONS
was stalled by headwinds in the fourth quarter (Q4) and was likely to be buffeted backwards in this fi rst quarter (Q1). Richard Lowe, head of Barclays Retail
RETAIL MUST FIGHT TO STAY HEALTHY F
ollowing its fi rst sitting of 2011, KPMG/ Synovate Retail Think Tank (RTT) members concluded that the industry
& Wholesale Sectors, said: “The pressures on consumers began to mount towards the end of the year; with appalling weather making Christmas shopping conditions diffi cult, coupled with rising fuel costs and job uncertainty. The spur of rising VAT in January did little to prod shoppers into spending, even on big-ticket items. At least the state of retail health did not slip backwards in Q4 but it did stop improving.” Nick Bubb, senior Retail Analyst at the
stockbroker Arden Partners, added: “Q4 was indeed worse than expected in non-food and even somewhat depressed in food. However, while the mass market was under pressure, some premium stores such as John Lewis
retailtechnology RETAIL TECHNOLOGY FOR THE MULTICHANNEL AGE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2011
* *
Retail Technology expands its circulation into Europe
COME AND VISIT US AND REGISTER AT:
Euroshop Stand No: 6F65
Retail Business
Technology Expo Stand No: 611
RETAIL TECHNOLOGY JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2011
and Harrods did well. Despite the seasonal weather problems, the setbacks in the quarter were not just a weather-created blip, but also a harbinger of a tough start to 2011. It’s inevitable; therefore, that retail demand will suffer.” Dr Tim Denison, director of knowledge management at Synovate, noted that Q4 costs might have had a damaging effect on strong cost control. “The pressures faced included rising fuel, oil, petrol and diesel costs and rising gas and other utilities prices,” he said. “However, the two largest areas of costs – rents and people – are not negatively
impacting overall health. When sales fall short, as they did for many before Christmas, high costs hurt more. The question is: how much more can retailers take out of their cost base without signifi cantly impacting on product and service quality and the fabric of their stores? We consider retailers will continue their efforts to fi nd more savings and to keep a tight rein on costs in the short term.” Looking forward, Neil Saunders, Verdict Research consulting director, said: “Given the challenging backdrop…the big question mark is whether this is a blip or the start of a sustained downturn in the state of health.”
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40