Boxing Day sales are no more
More and more retailers in the UK are bringing forward their "Boxing Day sales" and in effect offering massive discounts and announcing massive promotions ahead of Christmas day. While it is common knowledge that the UK retail sector has been struggling for some time, each and every retailer in the UK is now trying to squeeze as much money as possible from consumers. We are seeing companies such as H&M, Gap, Warehouse and Oasis already offering 50% discounts on many of their lines.
While profit margins are obviously impacted by these massive price reductions in the short term, of more importance at the moment for many retailers is simple cash flow. The need to basically have enough liquidity within their operations to fund future stock purchases is proving more vital than short-term profitability. However, there is no doubt that we will see a number of well-known companies biting the dust in early 2010 as the banks continue the process of cleanup their own loan books and balance sheets.
It will be interesting to compare the performances of the larger UK retailers such as Debenhams, BHS and Marks & Spencer against some of the smaller niche market players who must be struggling in the current economic climate.
Share this..
Related stories
Job Vacancy growth at 15-year high
09/12/2013 The rate in which job vacancies are growing has hit the fastest levels in 15 years according to the job vacancies index, which uses data from 400 recruitment firms, whilst the report also shown that salaries for permanent staff were also rising at the highest level of six years. The news further supports growing consumer and business confidence that the UK economy is beginning to...
Read MoreAre Alistair Darlings economic forecasts seriously flawed?
In a move which is unprecedented in political and banking circles the deputy governor of the Bank of England, John Gieve, has criticised the Chancellor's prebudget report, released only two months ago, and the forecasts included within. He believes that the forecasts were overoptimistic (something which the opposition parties suggested on a number of occasions) and as such he was giving the UK pub...
Read MoreDid the government abuse its power in the banking sector?
While the banking sector has certainly fought back against the UK government and the various demands which have been made over the last eight months, some still believe this is payback time for the UK government, which is believed to have forced through the Lloyds bank and HBOS merger. Even though there is no hard evidence to suggest this is the case it is rumoured that Gordon Brown himself became...
Read MoreNicolas Sarkozy to attack the City of London
As many had expected, Gordon Brown was caught in something of pincer movement during the recent flurry of EU high-level appointments which saw the UK government gain top spot in the foreign office while the French authorities have bagged the economic crown. Today sees the first in what many believe will be an ongoing programme of attack on the UK financial sector and in particular the City of Lond...
Read MoreKraft Foods bid for Cadbury in trouble
When Kraft Foods made an unofficial and informal approach to Cadbury some weeks ago with an indicative takeover offer which equated to £7.45 a share there was optimism of a potential bid battle and higher price. However, on deadline day, Kraft Foods has come forward with a formal offer on the exact terms of the initial indication that the fact that Kraft Foods shares have fallen over the last few...
Read More