logo
UK retail sales slow after January bounce, BRC data shows

UK retail sales slow after January bounce, BRC data shows

Yahoo11-03-2025

By David Milliken
LONDON (Reuters) - British consumer spending lost momentum last month after a bounce at the start of the year, despite households' rising confidence in their personal finances and the broader economy, surveys of retailers and consumers showed on Tuesday.
The British Retail Consortium said sales at its member stores - mostly large retail chains - rose by 1.1% year-on-year in February, slowing from January's robust 2.6% growth which had been helped by post-Christmas discounts.
BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said the weaker growth reflected low demand for spring fashions as February's weather remained wintry and repeated complaints about higher employer social security and packaging taxes that take effect next month.
"The industry is already doing all it can to absorb existing costs, but they will be left with little choice but to increase prices or reduce investment in jobs and shops, or both," she said.
Upcoming government plans to make it harder to dismiss new employees risked discouraging typical retailers from taking on entry-level staff and should focus instead on existing bad practice by unscrupulous employers, she added.
Separate data from Barclays showed that consumer spending - which covers a wider range of goods and services than retail sales - rose by 1.0% in February, slowing from January's 1.9%.
However, Barclays' survey measure of households' confidence in their own finances rose to its highest since records began in 2015 at 75% - though this partly reflected efforts to save.
Confidence in the wider economy also rose but remained much lower at 25%.
Barclays spending data was based on debit and credit card spending between January 25 and February 21, while the consumer sentiment data was based on a survey of 2,000 people conducted from February 21-26.
The BRC data covered sales made between February 2 and March 1.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Space and defense tech firm Voyager raises $382.8 million in US IPO
Space and defense tech firm Voyager raises $382.8 million in US IPO

Yahoo

time31 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Space and defense tech firm Voyager raises $382.8 million in US IPO

(Reuters) -Voyager Technologies raised $382.8 million in its U.S. initial public offering, the space and defense tech company said on Tuesday, amid a global rush to amp up military spending. The company, which provides mission-critical space and defense technology solutions, along with some investors sold roughly 12.35 million shares at $31 per share, above its marketed range of $26 to $29. The offering is the latest in recent weeks as the U.S. IPO market regained its footing after being restricted by tariff-driven volatility. The Denver, Colorado–based company's IPO comes as President Donald Trump's administration looks to sharply increase spending on defense and space projects. Trump last month selected a design for his $175 billion Golden Dome project, a next-generation U.S. missile defense shield. The stock will trade on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday under the symbol "VOYG". Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan are the lead underwriters on the listing.

Boss of London ad champion quits after losing crown to French rival
Boss of London ad champion quits after losing crown to French rival

Yahoo

time32 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Boss of London ad champion quits after losing crown to French rival

The boss of WPP is to step down months after the British advertising behemoth lost its crown to a French rival. Mark Read will leave after more than three decades at WPP, including seven years as chief executive. He will continue in the role until the end of the year while the board searches for his successor. Mr Read's departure, though long-expected in the industry, comes at a turbulent time for WPP. The London-based group, which employs around 110,000 people worldwide, last year lost its title as the world's largest ad company by revenues to French rival Publicis. Meanwhile, its two other largest rivals – Omnicom and Interpublic – have agreed to merge in a $30bn (£22bn) deal that will further erode WPP's dominance. The British company is also grappling with industry-wide turmoil sparked by the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), which threatens to upend the work of ad agencies. This has compounded the challenge posed by tech giant such as Google and Meta, which have grown their share of the advertising market in a direct threat to traditional holding groups. Mr Read's tenure has been dominated by efforts to simplify WPP, which had ballooned into a sprawling network of companies under his predecessor Sir Martin Sorrell, who left the company he founded following allegations of misconduct, which he has always denied. As chief executive, Mr Read oversaw the merging of a number of agencies while selling off some non-core businesses, including the £2.5bn sale of a 60pc stake in market research group Kantar. More recently, the ad boss has also vowed to invest heavily in AI, pumping £300m into the technology this year and investing in generative AI startup Stability AI. However, WPP's growth has ground to a halt in recent years and the company's share price has more than halved during Mr Read's tenure, pushing its market value below £6bn. Shares fell a further 2pc after his departure was announced. Alex DeGroote, a media analyst, said: 'The company is much simpler today than it was when he came on board as chief executive.' But he added: 'There's just a feeling of the company having lost a lot of ground to the likes of Publicis, so I can't honestly say that he will be remembered as having delivered immense shareholder value.' Mr Read's future has been in doubt since Philip Jansen, the former BT boss, was appointed as WPP chairman at the beginning of the year. Mr Jansen said Mr Read had 'played a central role in transforming the company into a world leader in modern marketing services'. Mr Read said: 'After seven years in the role, and with the foundations in place for WPP's continued success, I feel it is the right time to hand over the leadership of this amazing company. 'I am excited to explore the next chapter in my life and can only thank all the brilliant people I have been lucky enough to work with over the last 30 years, and who have made possible the enormous progress we have achieved together.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

Mexico eases trade ban on Brazilian chicken
Mexico eases trade ban on Brazilian chicken

Yahoo

time35 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Mexico eases trade ban on Brazilian chicken

SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Mexico eased a ban on chicken shipments from Brazil, setting the restriction now only to products coming from the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, instead of a previous countrywide ban, Brazil's Agriculture Ministry said on Tuesday. On the other hand, the ministry said in a statement that Mauritania announced a countrywide ban on imports of Brazilian chicken, while Oman suspended chicken imports coming from Rio Grande do Sul state. Brazil last month identified a case of bird flu on a commercial farm in Rio Grande do Sul, triggering trade restrictions from dozens of countries.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store