from the editor
At a glance...
NEW CATWALK FOR AUTUMN FAIR
Accessories are more popular than ever and, anticipating a booming show, Emap Connect has announced new attrac- tions for this section of Autumn Fair 2010. A new Catwalk Café area in Hall 4 produced by Rah Productions, who were responsible for the Pandora Catwalk Café for The Jewellery Show at Spring Fair, will aim to provide “market- defining new trends for fashion-focused buyers.” The Catwalk will showcase a wide range of fashion accessories and will be surrounded by rel- evant exhibitors.
PRE-EASTER SALES SOAR AT JOHN LEWIS
John Lewis’ statistics for the seven weeks to March 20th show a promising leap in sales with total sales at £51.42m, up 17.4 per cent from £44.40m for the same period last year. For the week ending March 20th, consumers hit the shops in ad- vance of the bank holiday weekend leaving sales up al- most 16 per cent on the same time last year. It was even up on the Easter week from two years ago, suggesting a flicker of hope in the return of con- sumer confidence.
DEBATE OVER WAGE INCREASE
The British Retail Consortium has criticised the 2.2 per cent increase in the adult minimum wage announced on March 24th. It says that the increase is irresponsible and in conflict with the Government’s prom- ises of prudence, as well as being at odds with the nation- al approach to pay, which has seen employers freeze pay to avoid redundancies. The in- crease sees the minimum wage taken from £5.80 per hour to £5.93, which will take effect from October 2010.
M&S SHAKES UP COSMETICS OFFER
M&S has re-launched its cos- metics range, with new brand Perfection replacing the Autograph and Per Una collec- tions. The 44 new products are currently being rolled out across stores in a move that Sir Stuart Rose hopes will improve the retailer’s share of a market worth £1.25bn annually.
Great news at last?
The speculation regarding the state of the economy continues; although recent statistics offer hope for the retail industry, the publishing bodies are refraining from declaring whether they sig- nal its recovery. Deloitte released statistics revealing that retail administrations were down by 65 per cent year on year, equating to 44 retail companies falling into administration over the first quarter, compared with 124 in the same period of 2009. The promising figures rep- resent a four-year low, despite the fact that this year has already seen the fall of high-street names Adams and Ethel Austen.
Lee Manning, Deloitte’s re- organisations service partner said of the figures, “The first quarter of 2009 saw excep-
tionally high levels of retail administrations and so it is not surprising to see a drop this time round. This period can be make-or-break time for struggling retailers so the scale of the decrease sug- gests that many retailers have been successful in taking the meas- ures
necessary to equip their busi- ness for
tougher trad- ing conditions. Indeed, we have seen an in-
creasing acceptance of the use of CVAs, and proactive steps to better manage cash flows. However, whilst these figures appear to suggest an improvement in fortunes for the retail industry, the out- look is far from plain sailing.” Figures released by The British Retail Consortium in- dicate a significant rise in retail sales over March, boosted by Easter shop- ping. Value of sales
increased by 6.6 per cent in March from the same time last year, and like-for-like sales were up 4.4 per cent. However, once Easter trading had been excluded from the statistics, the BRC said that sales were not as strong and that the future was still “uncertain”. The survey for this year incor-
Movers and shakers
Lesley Ballantyne has been ap- pointed as the new director of operational development for John Lewis. She will take re- sponsibility for the brand’s customer service proposition as well as all aspects of opera- tional support to its portfolio of stores. Ballantyne will report to board director Andrew Murphy, who is responsible for retail op- erations. She will take up the
4 Department Store Buyer
position from April 26th, from her existing role as managing director of John Lewis Glasgow. She commented on her new role: “I am thrilled about this new opportunity. Making sure that the customer experience is always enjoyable is something that is very close to my heart, having been on the ground in our shops for 19 years.” M&S has launched a second collection of ‘Living the Dream’ boys’ clothes in connection with Formula 1TM WorldChampions, Jenson Button and Lewis
Hamilton. The range has been designed in partnership with the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 team. Karl Doyle, director of M&S chil- drenswear commented: “The combination of the two back to back World Champion drivers, the heritage of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 team and the design skills of M&S kidswear make this the ul- timate collection for any F1TM fan and aspiring racing driver.” Robin Terrell, has been
appointed to lead House of Fraser’s
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