Latest news with #Perisic
Telegraph
01-04-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
‘The government is destroying independent fashion boutiques like mine. I won't vote Labour again'
Opening the door to Dragana Perisic's eponymous boutique on Redchurch Street in Shoreditch feels like stepping into a former – and many would say better – version of London. The space is small and dimly lit, with just six rails of beautifully tailored, handmade clothes. Perisic herself sits at the till, immaculately stylish with one streak of blue in her brown bob, having hand-sewn all the skirts, dresses and jackets in the studio space at the back of her store. Compare this to the faceless corporations that crowd much of central London, filled with clothes made in China, Vietnam or Turkey that have been designed by people in Los Angeles or Hong Kong (or sometimes even by AI) and pumped out to identikit shops in major cities around the world. And yet it is Perisic's store that is closing down after 19 years, crippled by business rates – the relief for which drops from 75 per cent to 40 per cent on April 1. For Perisic, this translates to an increase in charges from £9,000 a year to £18,000, and along with astronomical rents and rising national insurance for employers, it spells the end of her much-loved boutique. She is not alone. The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has predicted that store closures will rise to around 17,350 in 2025, from 13,479 in 2024, as business rates strangle smaller retailers. The CRR warns that the majority of the shops shutting down this year will be independents or those with fewer than five stores, and that on average business rates will increase from £3,589 to £8,613. For people in the fashion community – many of whom voted Labour in the last election – this feels like a betrayal. 'I first opened here in 2006,' says Perisic, 'back when there were so many independent designers like me in this area. And I weathered so much: the financial crisis, Covid, Brexit. But what I was not expecting was for this government to destroy independent businesses like mine. I have never voted Conservative in my life, but what they have done is worse than the Tories, and I won't vote Labour again.' Another Soho-based store owner – who sells contemporary clothing and jewellery for men and women – is also on the brink of closing down because of the damaging cocktail of higher business rates and national insurance contributions starting this week. He believes it is now almost impossible to be successful in the capital as an independent brand. 'If you're anywhere in central London you need to make a million quid a year just to break even,' he says. 'To rent a halfway decent space in Soho and pay the business rates alone will cost you nearly half a million pounds, which means you need to sell a hell of a lot of clothes just to keep your head above water.' In homogenised Britain, where chain restaurants, identical coffee shops and fast-fashion brands dominate every high street, this should be a problem the government wants to solve. Not only do small stores boost the value of properties nearby (according to a study by Strutt and Parker, independent shops and restaurants are rated, alongside parks, as one of the most desirable local attractions), they also bring in tourists. 'About 60 percent of my customers are here on holiday,' says Perisic, who tells me that clients from expensive American cities like New York and San Francisco regularly complain to her about the lack of designer-owned stores in their cities. Now, London is going the same way. 'Britain makes it almost impossible for small fashion businesses to exist,' says Patrick Grant, an author and journalist and former owner of Savile Row store Norton & Sons, who was forced to shut down his ready-to-wear business E. Tautz & Sons in 2021 because running costs were simply too high. 'These days, only huge companies can afford the astronomical rents and business rates, and as a result London has the exact same clothes on offer as every other city. It's so dull, which is sad because we have an enormous amount of creativity here.' Grant talks about spending a weekend in Bordeaux recently (in France, independent businesses have a reduced corporation rate). 'I couldn't believe how interesting the shops were,' he says. 'There were almost no global brands and thousands of small places selling charming clothes tailored to the local market – it was really fantastic.' For Grant, these impending closures will lead to a dearth of tourists picking London as a fashion destination. 'Choices like [increasing business rates] stifle creativity and economic activity,' he says. 'We're already struggling to encourage people to come here and shop but if there's nothing interesting to buy then why would they bother?' 'The government has to revise its entire business model,' he continues. 'In an era where online shopping already dominates, a business rate tax is not fit for purpose as it punishes brick and mortar instead of encouraging it.' And, yes, from next April the government intends to drop business rates for companies valued at less than £500,000 and increase them for everyone else – but given the price of renting a space in central London even independent designers with very low margins are likely to fall into the second category. Debra McCann is one of them. She is the founder and owner of The Mercantile, an independent store selling quirky, stylish clothes sourced from brands in Britain and around Europe. It is on the edge of Spitalfields Market and on a sunny weekday morning, this treasure trove of affordable, interesting fashion attracts groups of tourists as well as local office workers popping in to browse the rails with a coffee. It feels like a breath of fresh air compared to the foreign-owned chain stores that take up so much local real estate. 'The high street is already very homogenous in most towns and cities,' she says. 'And these new government policies are only going to increase its blandness.' The Mercantile has been in the same spot for more than 15 years and while footfall is at a record high, the sheer rate of taxation means she has never been more worried. 'This last national insurance rise was a real disappointment coming from a Labour government,' she says, 'I voted for them and I feel like Rachel Reeves has just shot us one last blow.' McCann sources clothes from around Europe and has seen first hand the power that good government policies can have. She cites both Denmark and Spain as countries where independent designers have been given tax reliefs – and as a result creativity has flourished. 'We get no help at all in this country, just higher and higher taxes,' she says. 'My biggest costs are rent and staffing. I can't do anything about the rent and I also can't let go of staff because theft rates have skyrocketed in the last two years, so I need people with eyes on the customers all the time.' Hence also needing to stay near Spitalfields, which has a security team on hand. Like everyone I speak to for this piece, McCann is in despair about these new policies. 'At this point, I feel like I'm firefighting all the time,' she says. Perisic, at least, can take some time off when her store closes its doors for the last time at the end of the month. She simply doesn't have the capital to invest in the marketing needed to launch an online-only store, so instead she is going travelling. As for the space she has made her own for nearly two decades: a cupcake chain is reportedly taking it over. And in the future, life abroad sounds increasingly appealing. 'For now, Athens sounds like a good place to start looking,' she says, 'I don't think this government cares about creativity – it's too busy trying to make Amazon happy.'
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘The government is destroying independent fashion boutiques like mine. I won't vote Labour again'
Opening the door to Dragana Perisic's eponymous boutique on Redchurch Street in Shoreditch feels like stepping into a former – and many would say better – version of London. The space is small and dimly lit, with just six rails of beautifully tailored, handmade clothes. Perisic herself sits at the till, immaculately stylish with one streak of blue in her brown bob, having hand-sewn all the skirts, dresses and jackets in the studio space at the back of her store. Compare this to the faceless corporations that crowd much of central London, filled with clothes made in China, Vietnam or Turkey that have been designed by people in Los Angeles or Hong Kong (or sometimes even by AI) and pumped out to identikit shops in major cities around the world. And yet it is Perisic's store that is closing down after 19 years, crippled by business rates – the relief for which drops from 75 per cent to 40 per cent on April 1. For Perisic, this translates to an increase in charges from £9,000 a year to £18,000, and along with astronomical rents and rising national insurance for employers, it spells the end of her much-loved boutique. She is not alone. The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has predicted that store closures will rise to around 17,350 in 2025, from 13,479 in 2024, as business rates strangle smaller retailers. The CRR warns that the majority of the shops shutting down this year will be independents or those with fewer than five stores, and that on average business rates will increase from £3,589 to £8,613. For people in the fashion community – many of whom voted Labour in the last election – this feels like a betrayal. 'I first opened here in 2006,' says Perisic, 'back when there were so many independent designers like me in this area. And I weathered so much: the financial crisis, Covid, Brexit. But what I was not expecting was for this government to destroy independent businesses like mine. I have never voted Conservative in my life, but what they have done is worse than the Tories, and I won't vote Labour again.' Another Soho-based store owner – who sells contemporary clothing and jewellery for men and women – is also on the brink of closing down because of the damaging cocktail of higher business rates and national insurance contributions starting this week. He believes it is now almost impossible to be successful in the capital as an independent brand. 'If you're anywhere in central London you need to make a million quid a year just to break even,' he says. 'To rent a halfway decent space in Soho and pay the business rates alone will cost you nearly half a million pounds, which means you need to sell a hell of a lot of clothes just to keep your head above water.' In homogenised Britain, where chain restaurants, identical coffee shops and fast-fashion brands dominate every high street, this should be a problem the government wants to solve. Not only do small stores boost the value of properties nearby (according to a study by Strutt and Parker, independent shops and restaurants are rated, alongside parks, as one of the most desirable local attractions), they also bring in tourists. 'About 60 percent of my customers are here on holiday,' says Perisic, who tells me that clients from expensive American cities like New York and San Francisco regularly complain to her about the lack of designer-owned stores in their cities. Now, London is going the same way. 'Britain makes it almost impossible for small fashion businesses to exist,' says Patrick Grant, an author and journalist and former owner of Savile Row store Norton & Sons, who was forced to shut down his ready-to-wear business E. Tautz & Sons in 2021 because running costs were simply too high. 'These days, only huge companies can afford the astronomical rents and business rates, and as a result London has the exact same clothes on offer as every other city. It's so dull, which is sad because we have an enormous amount of creativity here.' Grant talks about spending a weekend in Bordeaux recently (in France, independent businesses have a reduced corporation rate). 'I couldn't believe how interesting the shops were,' he says. 'There were almost no global brands and thousands of small places selling charming clothes tailored to the local market – it was really fantastic.' For Grant, these impending closures will lead to a dearth of tourists picking London as a fashion destination. 'Choices like [increasing business rates] stifle creativity and economic activity,' he says. 'We're already struggling to encourage people to come here and shop but if there's nothing interesting to buy then why would they bother?' 'The government has to revise its entire business model,' he continues. 'In an era where online shopping already dominates, a business rate tax is not fit for purpose as it punishes brick and mortar instead of encouraging it.' And, yes, from next April the government intends to drop business rates for companies valued at less than £500,000 and increase them for everyone else – but given the price of renting a space in central London even independent designers with very low margins are likely to fall into the second category. Debra McCann is one of them. She is the founder and owner of The Mercantile, an independent store selling quirky, stylish clothes sourced from brands in Britain and around Europe. It is on the edge of Spitalfields Market and on a sunny weekday morning, this treasure trove of affordable, interesting fashion attracts groups of tourists as well as local office workers popping in to browse the rails with a coffee. It feels like a breath of fresh air compared to the foreign-owned chain stores that take up so much local real estate. 'The high street is already very homogenous in most towns and cities,' she says. 'And these new government policies are only going to increase its blandness.' The Mercantile has been in the same spot for more than 15 years and while footfall is at a record high, the sheer rate of taxation means she has never been more worried. 'This last national insurance rise was a real disappointment coming from a Labour government,' she says, 'I voted for them and I feel like Rachel Reeves has just shot us one last blow.' McCann sources clothes from around Europe and has seen first hand the power that good government policies can have. She cites both Denmark and Spain as countries where independent designers have been given tax reliefs – and as a result creativity has flourished. 'We get no help at all in this country, just higher and higher taxes,' she says. 'My biggest costs are rent and staffing. I can't do anything about the rent and I also can't let go of staff because theft rates have skyrocketed in the last two years, so I need people with eyes on the customers all the time.' Hence also needing to stay near Spitalfields, which has a security team on hand. Like everyone I speak to for this piece, McCann is in despair about these new policies. 'At this point, I feel like I'm firefighting all the time,' she says. Perisic, at least, can take some time off when her store closes its doors for the last time at the end of the month. She simply doesn't have the capital to invest in the marketing needed to launch an online-only store, so instead she is going travelling. As for the space she has made her own for nearly two decades: a cupcake chain is reportedly taking it over. And in the future, life abroad sounds increasingly appealing. 'For now, Athens sounds like a good place to start looking,' she says, 'I don't think this government cares about creativity – it's too busy trying to make Amazon happy.' 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.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Perisic stars as Croatia stun France in Nations League
Ivan Perisic scored one goal and made another as Croatia beat France 2-0 on Thursday to seize the upper hand in the first leg of their UEFA Nations League quarter-final tie. Perisic crossed for Ante Budimir to head in the opener at the Stadion Poljud in Split after the home side had squandered an early penalty. With France out of sorts, Perisic made it 2-0 before the break and a Croatia side captained by Luka Modric saw out the victory to take to Paris for the return match on Sunday. It was not a good night for France as captain Kylian Mbappe made his comeback having not featured in either of the last two international windows, in October and November. Mbappe did have chances, notably seeing a deflected second-half shot from Ousmane Dembele's cutback kept out by a fine Dominik Livakovic save. The Real Madrid superstar has now failed to find the net in his last six appearances for his country, since scoring a penalty in a 1-1 draw with Poland at Euro 2024. Les Bleus will now have to find a way of overturning the deficit at the Stade de France on Sunday, otherwise Croatia will be heading to the final four of the Nations League. The semi-finals and final will take place in June and will be hosted by either Italy or Germany, depending on which of those sides emerges victorious from their last-eight encounter. France won the Nations League in 2021 but suffered a first ever defeat against Croatia in the group stage of the following year's edition. This latest repeat of the 2018 World Cup final, won 4-2 by the French in Moscow, saw Croatia win a spot-kick just five minutes in. Liverpool centre-back Ibrahima Konate was penalised for a blatant handball inside the area, but Mike Maignan saved Andrej Kramaric's penalty after a long delay due to the goalkeeper having a laser pen shone in his eyes. However, Croatia did get the breakthrough on 26 minutes as Budimir, who has 15 goals in La Liga this season for Osasuna, got in front of William Saliba to connect with a Perisic cross from the left. Budimir'e header was blocked by Maignan, but the ball still spun into the net in cruel fashion for the goalkeeper. It was 2-0 in first-half stoppage time as Saliba blocked a shot by Martin Baturina, only for the ball to fall for PSV Eindhoven veteran Perisic to fire in. France made changes, sending on Dayot Upamecano for Konate at the restart and later bringing on Bradley Barcola for Randal Kolo Muani and Michael Olise for Dembele. The latter spent more time on the right flank after the break having previously been deployed more centrally. However, they could not get a goal back and now face a daunting task in trying to recover the tie. as/dj
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Jurrien Timber explains how Arsenal change the narrative against PSV
With the Premier League title race slipping away, the European campaign now represents their best opportunity for silverware. Having fallen 13 points behind Liverpool with only 11 games remaining, Arsenal arrive in Eindhoven under pressure to deliver a statement performance without many of their statement players. Timber, who previously played in the Eredivisie before his €40m move to north London, believes this fixture provides the perfect opportunity to shift momentum. 'Tomorrow is a beautiful game to change the narrative and to win,' Timber said. 'We change the narrative by winning games, it's as easy as that. We have to score tomorrow, we have to win games, and I think in the Champions League you only have two games. 'We have so much quality in our group. But I think it is a beautiful challenge for us as a team to put our front players, or anyone, in the best position to score goals. Hopefully, we are going to show that tomorrow.' While Arsenal seek to prove themselves on the biggest stage, PSV winger Ivan Perisic has questioned their ability to do so. Perisic, who had a brief spell at Tottenham Hotspur, believes his side can exploit Arsenal's recent struggles and build on their own strong home form. 'Arsenal often lacked that one bit to win something last year,' said Perisic. 'We have to be fully prepared, then we have a good chance to beat them. 'It will be a tough game against a young team with a strong coach. But I believe in our team and we have to play at our best. When you hear the Champions League anthem, it gives something special.' The pressure is mounting for Mikel Arteta's side, but as Timber insists, they have the chance to flip the script, and a strong result in Eindhoven will set the tone for the remainder of their European journey.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Arsenal: Ex-Tottenham star Ivan Perisic reveals what Gunners have 'lacked' to end trophy drought
Ivan Perisic says Arsenal's recent trophy drought can be attributed to lacking 'that little bit' as he plots to deny Mikel Arteta's side their only realistic hope of winning silverware this season. Perisic, formerly of Tottenham, has helped PSV Eindhoven reach the Champions League round of 16 stage this season and they have been paired with Arsenal after seeing off Juventus. The Champions League takes on added importance for the Gunners after they crashed out of both domestic competitions in the space of a month and now trail Premier League leaders Liverpool by 13 points. Although Arsenal have a game in hand over the Reds, Arne Slot's side remain heavy favourites to be crowned champions of England come May. As a result, European football's biggest prize in club football - a competition the north London outfit have never won - has become their most feasible chance of ending their five-year wait for a major trophy. Speaking ahead of Tuesday night's first-leg clash in Eindhoven, Perisic believes PSV have what it takes to knock Arsenal out at the round of 16 stage. "It will be a tough match against a young team with a strong coach. Arsenal often missed just that little bit to win something last year. We have to be fully ready, then we have a good chance to beat them. 'I believe in our team and we have to play at our peak. When you hear the Champions League anthem, it still gives something special." PSV head into the tie in poor form themselves. Their only win in their last six games across all competition was against Juventus in the Champions League playoff round. Furthermore, they lost a KNVB Cup semi-final to Go Ahead Eagles last week and Saturday's loss to the same opposition has left them eight points behind Ajax at the top of the Eredivisie table. Arsenal and PSV are no strangers to meeting on the European stage in recent years. In fact, this will be their third meeting in as many seasons with the Gunners losing at the Philips Stadion in the Europa League group phase during the 2023/24 campaign before drawing 1-1 in the same venue last season.
