Is the recession over on the high street?
Today's news that UK retailer Next has increased its own internal profit forecast for the current year, after announcing interim figures which were ahead of analyst expectations, would appear to suggest that the UK recession is ending on the high street. When you consider that Next is at the higher end of the food chain which is the UK retail sector, this is definitely a good sign for the future and some think which investors will no doubt ponder.
Better-than-expected growth in the company's underlying business took many analysts by surprise after experiencing one of the most destructive recessions of recent times. It will be interesting to see how other retailers on the high street respond and whether in fact their figures are moving in the same direction as Next. However, it has to be said that Next is one of the most proactive and business savvy retailers on the high street and has been very quick to reposition itself in different economic environments in the past.
Whether the forthcoming increase in VAT will impact upon short to medium term sales remains to be seen because ultimately the UK government had reduced VAT to help the high street in the depths of the recession.
Share this..
Related stories
Global economy 'continues to worsen'
Japan and France are facing continued deterioration in their economies, new official statistics showed today.First, official stats agency Insee said that French GDP would fall by 0.8 per cent between October and December 2008 - worse than initially forecast.This makes it almost certain that an officially-declared recession will follow early next year.Meanwhile, in Japan, the government said that t...
Read MoreLord Alan Sugar learns political speak
Lord Alan Sugar may well be king of the small business arena but he has had to learn a short sharp lesson in political speak after criticising small business owners earlier this week for complaining about a lack of liquidity in the market place. He has issued a statement suggesting that his original comments were taken out of context and he is there to support and help build the small business sec...
Read MorePensioners flat used to print £20 notes
While the last few months have brought about financial distress for many in the UK the situation has also led to a number of frauds and attempted scams. The latest scam to be uncovered by police involved an 83-year-old who allowed his living room to be used by a gang of criminals who were intent on printing money with a face value of £8.5 million. Using a £12,000 industrial toner machine the gan...
Read MoreTesco looks to the East
Tesco has announced what could be the first in a series of joint ventures to increase the company's exposure to the Chinese market, a market which is showing significant growth even in these difficult times. The company will be involved in the building of three shopping malls in northern China which will each be anchored by a Tesco store. The idea is to build 18 so called "hypermarkets" in total w...
Read MoreUK economy 'accelerates'
The British economy grew slightly during the last month, an economic thinktank has said.According to the monthly GDP estimate from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr) the output of the country's economy was 0.7 per cent higher in the three months ending April compared to the previous quarter.The last official GDP figures available from the Office for National Statistics...
Read More