Trading Talk

Reacting to The Portas Review, published today (Tuesday), the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said it had judged the 28 recommendations on whether they support customer choice, support town centres and avoid imposing costs on retailers over which they have no say, commenting:
“We welcome the central thrust of Mary Portas’ recommendations for the high street [...]

According to Verdict’s latest research on retail shopping for this Christmas, a high proportion of UK shoppers are intending to spend the same or more than last year.
With increasing unemployment, low consumer confidence and rising living costs, Christmas 2011 is proving challenging for retailers. This is reflected in the high level of discounting there has [...]

Tomorrow in London’s West End, Christmas carollers, including ladies called Carol, will be warming up their vocal chords with the West End Gospel Choir in preparation for a massive Christmas Carol-A-Thon this weekend, when thousands of Christmas shoppers who will attend the mega West End VIP Weekend – when Oxford and Regent Street go traffic [...]

A Government promise to review the rules on night time deliveries is welcome news which could contribute to improving the viability of some retail locations.
In its high-street rescue plan 21st Century High Streets, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) highlighted accessibility - both for shoppers and retailers needing to get goods to stores - as a [...]

Following the success of last year’s campaign that sold over 11,500 bears, Pudsey and Blush Bear are back and now available at Build-A-Bear Workshop stores nationwide.
Pudsey and Blush fans are able to make their beary own BBC Children in Need mascot at any of 55 Build-A-Bear Workshop® stores across the UK with £5 from the [...]

Pound shops are all the rage on Britain’s high streets as the economic woes continue, but the term has taken on new meaning with reports that some landlords are offering hard-to-let stores out for rents of just £1 a year. This might just stave off the increasing spectre of boarded-up shops appearing in town centres, [...]

New British Retail Consortium (BRC) Chairman, Rob Templeman, will use his first official engagement tonight (Tuesday) to pledge retail’s continuing support for the voluntary and charity sectors. Demands on the retail sector’s charitable work are expected to grow because of cuts to local authority spending and the continuing squeeze on household budgets.
A new BRC study [...]

Skillsmart Retail, the Sector Skills Council for Retail, called on retailers to embrace a new age of customer service at their annual conference held in central London on Tuesday.
At the conference, titled Delivering excellence in retail customer service, some of the UK’s major retail players discussed what outstanding customer service means in today’s multi-channel [...]

The UK’s young visual merchandising talent was shown to be the best in the world after winning gold in the first ever retail competition at WorldSkills 2011.
Having already won a gold medal at the European skills competition, Euroskills, Kirsty Hoadley, 20, a visual merchandising student from Slough, beat off tough competition from Singapore, Netherlands and [...]

Quintessentially Gifts is excited to announce the launch of their new luxury e-commerce website dedicated to hand-picking the world’s finest and most exquisite designer pieces for customers looking for a truly unique offering.
To complement Quintessentially Gifts’ luxury gift and shopping service, the new e-boutique promises limitless luxury, showcasing Quintessentially Gifts’ favourite design houses and bespoke [...]