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UK Retail Briefing - May 2017

ANALYST COMMENT
 VACANCY RATES HIT NEW LOWS
Headline figures don’t tell the whole story
High streets switch from retail to services
High street fashion closures
Retail parks
But are these short term trends going to hold true in the longer term?
A complex business
RETAIL SALES
Key points
Retail sales
Figure 1: Retail sales trends, 2016/17
Figure 2: UK retail sales y/y growth, BRC vs ONS, Jan 2015-April 2017
John Lewis
Figure 3: John Lewis: Year-on-year growth, March 2016-May 2017
Inflation and wages
Figure 4: Real wages growth: Wages growth vs inflation, 2012-17
Rising inflation
Figure 5: Annual percentage change in the consumer price index for selected product groups, 2016-17
 LOOKING FORWARD
SECTOR FOCUS
Market returns to growth
Figure 6: Total DIY/hardware specialist sector size (including VAT), 2012-16
Seasonally affected sales
Figure 7: Annual % change in the value of all DIY specialist sales, non-seasonally adjusted, Jan 2016- Apr 2017
Property transactions
Figure 8: Annual number of property transactions with a value of £40,000 or above (non-seasonally adjusted), 2006-16
Figure 9: Monthly number of property transactions valued at over £40,000 (non-seasonally adjusted), January 2016-March 2017
Falling number of people buying houses on a mortgage
Figure 10: Housing tenure in England, 2005-16
Quality the biggest concern for shoppers
Figure 11: Factors important when shopping for DIY products, March 2017
What we think
HEADLINES FOR THE MONTH
Grocers
Clothing retailing
Footwear retailing
Department stores
Multi-sector retailing
Home shopping
Health & beauty retailing
Garden centres
Opticians
Economy
NEWS ANALYSIS – FOOD AND DRINK
 CONVENIENCE STORES
UK: Simply Fresh launches new city formats
 GROCERS
UK: Asda reinstates Farm Stores brand to replace Smart Price
UK: Morrisons
…cuts the price of 1,000 items
…like-for-like sales rise 3.4%
UK: Sainsbury's
…adds Asian buns and gluten-free options in food-to-go
…full-year profits slip 1%
…introduces branded apparel with Russell Athletic
…plots further growth for Argos and Habitat
UK: Tesco
…launches healthier living campaign
…sells opticians business to Vision Express
…like-for-like sales rise 0.9%
UK: The Co-op Welsh store expansion
UK: Waitrose trialling recipe box subscription
NEWS ANALYSIS - NON-FOOD
 CLOTHING RETAILING
UK: Ann Summers turnover declines 3%
UK: Arcadia set to launch Outfit fascia on the high-street
UK: Boden to open John Lewis concessions
UK: Bombinate: New men's fashion marketplace set for launch
UK: Bonmarché sees improvement in Q4
UK: Burberry
…announces staff relocation
…retail revenues up 3% led by the UK
UK: Coast, Oasis and Warehouse receive bidder interest
UK: Honey Birdette plots UK retail roll-out
UK: Jaeger
…announces 200 job cuts amid store closures
…collapses into administration
UK: Kit and Ace closes shop in the UK, US and Australia
UK: Monsoon reports decline in profits
UK: Next total sales down 2.5%
UK: Primark
…owner seeks new chairman
…performs well in the UK and Europe
UK: Store Twenty One facing potential collapse
 FOOTWEAR RETAILING
UK: Clarks axes HQ roles
UK: Jimmy Choo business up for sale
UK: LK Bennett's founder to return as adviser
UK: Rylko prepares for UK launch
UK: Soletrader revenues broadly flat on the year
 MULTI-SECTOR RETAILING
UK: Halfords' CEO Jill McDonald to head up M&S clothing
UK: M&S aligns clothing and food in 'Spend it Well' campaign
UK: Marks & Spencer to open 36 stores in six months
UK: Marks & Spencer to trial online food offering
UK: Pep&Co suffers loss in first trading period
UK: Woolworths may make a return to UK high street
 DEPARTMENT STORES
UK: Debenhams
…to reveal store overhaul plans
…unveils new strategy amid declining profits
UK: Fenwick to close Windsor department store
UK: House of Fraser
…former chief executive joins The Range
…like-for-like sales grow 0.9%
 CARPET RETAILING
UK: Carpetright like-for-likes rise 1.4%
 DIY RETAILING
UK: Bunnings reports rise in UK sales
UK: Travis Perkins like-for-likes up 2.7%
 FURNITURE RETAILING
UK: Bathstore experiments with alternative reality in-store
UK: Dunelm struggles to grow sales
 HOME SHOPPING
UK: Amazon
…launches own fashion label Find
…lures subscribers with exclusive live music events
…unveils weather-personalised shopping feature
UK: Boden to open John Lewis concessions
UK: Boohoo reports surge in sales and profits
UK: Gear4Music delivers profitable growth
UK: Eve Sleep readies first London Stock Exchange float
UK: JoJo Maman Bébé hires Jaeger trading director
UK: Lavitta closes all stores after a year in operation
UK: Missguided
…considering sale or flotation
…sales surge yet profits undisclosed
UK: N Brown profits fall amid investment
UK: The Hut sales soar 50%
UK: Watchshop.com launches sunglasses boutique
 HEALTH & BEAUTY RETAILING
UK: Superdrug extends vegan cosmetics range
 BOOK AND STATIONERY RETAILING
UK: WH Smith revenues rise 2%
 SPORTS AND LEISURE GOODS RETAILING
UK: JD Sports grows 31% as fashion division outperforms
 GARDEN CENTRES
UK: Dobbies teams up with Ocado online
 LUXURY GOODS RETAILING
International: Kering unveils outstanding revenue growth in Q1
International: LVMH
…records 15% turnover rise in Q1
…to buy Christian Dior Couture
International: Coach agrees to buy Kate Spade
 OPTICIANS
UK: Tesco sells opticians business to Vision Express
 SHOPPING LOCATIONS
UK: Hammerson and Appear Here partner on pop-up initiative
UK: Oxford Street transformation project due to begin in 2018
 ECONOMY
UK: Deflation in non-food prices begins to ease
UK: Easter sees healthy rise in footfall
UK: Grocery market grows 3.7% over Easter
UK: March retail sales decline 1.0%
UK: Retail sales grow 3.3% in March
UK: Retail sales grow 5.6% in April
UK: Retailers see growth in online searches
UK: Springboard forecasts 5.4% Easter footfall boost
UK: Vacancy rate on retail parks falls to new low
UK: Visa reports slowing consumer spending

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