Non-food, hardware/DIY and electricals are the fastest growing sectors. Both grew by 41% during 1995-2000.

Why are the clothing and footwear sectors one of the slowest growing markets?

The retail industry had annual sales of around £208 billion in 2000 - will the market continue to grow in the future?

In 2001, Mintel's annual review of retailing and major retail businesses has a revised emphasis from previous years. A turnover threshold of £100 million has been introduced to sharpen focus on major businesses. However, fast-growing companies below that threshold are noted.

Penetration trends over a five-year period have been retained, but detailed financial information at company level is shown only for the last three trading years, where available. It is often said that a retailer is only as good as its last two trading years, and this information is presented on all companies and reporting entities covered by the turnover threshold.

Retail Review provides a single-source overview of retail sales performance and trading performance by all the UK's leading retailers. More detailed financial and marketing profiles are available in specific sector reports.

Exclusive consumer research commissioned for the report considers economic confidence, shopping habits and attitudes towards shopping, and use of home shopping channels. This research complements the profile sections by looking at the impact of changing consumer behaviour on the structure of the retail industry.