Retail News, Retail Trends, Retail Statistics, UK Retailers

The Summary

Signature Brands (the supply group that operates the Paul Costelloe, Four Seasons and Dannimac brands), Azuri, Sam Thomas and Shakeaway went into administration since our January Update.

Four retailers are new to UK including Core Spirit, Green Cauldron Coffee, Jacobson Group and Timeout Jeans – see our new retailers section.

Birth and Death of Retailers 10

5

0 Nov- Dec- Jan- Feb- Mar- Apr- May- Jun- Jul- Aug- Sep- Oct- Nov- Dec- Jan09 09 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 11 In Adminis tration

New Retailers

In the news…

A cold month overall with business (Bargain Booze, Bench, Hooch and Jaeger) being put up for sale. It was interesting to note that two of the retailers namely Paul Costelloe, and Shakeaway were shaken with appointment of administrators but were rescued relatively quickly.

Presence of retailers in social networks, launch of Facebook shops seems to be trending recently.

Acquisition of Kiddicare by Morrisons for £70m may be just re-enforces the above trend.

In all this business transformation, royal wedding fever is upbeat as chefs are invited to a cake design competition to celebrate the forthcoming royal wedding also one might even be able to celebrate on Royal Wedding weekend with extended opening hours to restaurants and pubs on Saturday 30 April and Sunday 1 of May. Last but not the least FSP’s retailer of the month award goes to “Waitrose” as it dominated the news as its opens first store in the Channel Islands, huge expansion plans underway, introduction of Little Waitrose, winning annual supermarket satisfaction survey etc…

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Geoff’s View

The Changing Face of UK Retailing Visiting the first Discount UK outlet, the new fascia from Poundworld, prompted some thoughts about the dynamism of UK retailing. The Discount UK proposition is to offer a wide variety of branded, mostly household, products at discounted prices. There is no great depth within each merchandise category but major brands are on offer. The store environment is bright, well laid-out and tidy.

The proposition is not unique – it has been part of the Wilkinson offer for years – but it represents another challenge to specialist retailers. Needing to restock my current preferred everyday writing implement, a Mitsubishi Uni-ball, I discovered it was available from Discount UK, Wilkinson and Ryman. Ryman had it at a price significantly higher than the other two but within a much broader product offer. Within a self-serve environment, no alternative to the Uni-ball caught my eye and I was offered no assistance. Given the high fixed costs of retailing, the loss of turnover on best selling lines has a severe impact on profitability. Added to the current wider economic conditions, new competition cannot be much welcomed by existing players.

If specialist retailers are to survive, they will have to emphasise their specialism, recognising all its implications for the definition of the target customer and how best to meet their requirements. The population required to provide sufficient customers for a stationery specialist, for example, is quite large. Logically therefore, the emerging distinction between relatively few large shopping locations that can support specialist shops, the majority that can support only mass market retailers and locations where retailing is ancillary to its leisure attractions, will be reinforced. This is of course a familiar pattern within the village context. Unless they are a tourist attraction, they already have, at best, just a convenience store, some services such as a hairdresser and a pub - comparison shopping takes place in the neighbouring town. This process of increasing specialisation is now moving further up the retail hierarchy, facilitated by internet shopping. Remaining at the lower levels of the hierarchy will be “convenience” stores, large footprint outlets that generate the necessary volume of business to be profitable with limited merchandise margins, services such as pawn broking, shoe repair and hairdressing, and a leisure offer that will include restaurants and cafes.

While such a development creates challenges for retailers and property owners, the driver is the consumer who benefits. The customer indeed is king.

With kind regards

Geoff Nicholson Managing Director, FSP geoff@fspretail.co.uk

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New Retailers Camper

is to launch an online venture Medwinds selling lifestyle fashion exclusively online

Core Spirit

has launched its first standalone store in Londonâ€&#x;s New Bond Street - with its own in-store catwalk

Green Cauldron Coffee Jacobson Group

has opened in Liverpool, as part of a ÂŁ12.5m investment to break into the UK market

Timeout Jeans

is seeking shops between 1,500sq ft and 2,500sq ft in shopping centres & high streets across the south of England

Kate Spade

is close to securing its first UK store. It is under offer to take Ted Baker's 2,500 sq ft shop at 9-10 Floral Street

has agreed a licence to design, develop and distribute Babycham branded footwear, accessories & apparel in the UK, Europe & North America

Store News Abercrombie & Fitch

and its sister brand Hollister are set to make their Irish debuts

Albemarle and Bond

is rolling out a new fascia across its portfolio as it looks to revamp its image as its retail sales fall in the face of soaring gold prices

Amazon

has launched a lingerie range on its UK site as it seeks to widen its fashion offer

ASDA

has launched a dating website (asdadating.com) to pair up singles looking for love based on their shopping habits

Avon

has launched a social networking site to connect its sales people with new & existing customers

Barratts

has increased its email conversion rates after an overhaul of its e-commerce strategy

Bestseller House

has once again increased its stake in etailer Asos and now owns just over 20% of the company

Browns Restaurant

along with Pesto and the Handmade Burger Company has taken restaurant space at Hammerson's proposed extension to the Birmingham Bullring

Burberry

is to take the store on Regent Street which is currently occupied by Habitat

Cafe Rouge

is trialling a fast-service version of itsbrand outside London's Euston Station

Canterbury Of New Zealand

is to open a store in Bath, its first to offer only its lifestyle ranges

Chinese Buffet

is to take largest restaurant space in the food area of Trinity Walk, Wakefield

Crew Clothing

has launched a new user friendly website as part of a company-wide rebranding programme

Debenhams

has opened a pop-up shop to celebrate the launch of its latest designer collection, Edition

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Domino's Pizza

is planning to add around 55 stores this year to its existing 665 stores portfolio

Domino's Pizza

is to open up to 43 stores at motorway services operated by Moto, as part of plans to almost double its outlets by 2020

Everything Everywhere

is to open its first high street store located in Altrincham followed by openings in Bishops Stortford and Eltham

Fonehouse

is ramping up the roll-out of its new store format as it plans to triple its store count by early next year

Foyles

is to open its first store outside London in 70 years after it signed a deal with Land Securities and Hammerson to take a 5,500 sq ft store at their Cabot Circus shopping centre in Bristol

French Connection

is to follow ASOS & launch a dedicated Facebook store in a move to ramp up its ecommerce services

Fresh & Easy

Tescoâ€&#x;s US business, is considering smaller stores as it seeks out new locations in northern California

Gap

is continuing its international expansion after extending its online shopping to eight more European countries

Go Outdoors

will decide whether to push the button on a float of the business early next year

H&M

is to relaunch its global websites in a bid to make them more consumer friendly

Habitat

has launched a new website for customers in the UK, Germany and France

Haldanes Stores

is to invest in a raft of initiatives to revitalise the hard discounter model when it launches its “Netto plus� chain at the end of April

Henleys

is planning to more than double its number of UK stores by expanding into around 20 new locations as it revamps its brand

John Lewis Partnership

is poised to expand into Europe by bolstering its website to attract international orders from up to 25 European countries also enabling the retailer to gather data on which cities could support physical department stores

Kiddicare

is moving into consumable products such as nappies & food, in a bid to build repeat visits to its website

Masala Zone

has announced plans to expand outside London & is currently looking for sites in the south east and believes it has the potential for up to 50 sites in the UK

Net-a-Porter

is to launch its own digital TV station to air on its website

Ocado

has launched a microsite aiming to take a slice of the pet products sector

Papa John's

plans to open 40 stores in the UK with intention of expanding outside of the M25

Paul Costelloe

is to launch its first ever pop up shop shortly after the designer opens London Fashion Week

Pizza Hut

will focus on expanding its delivery stores over next couple of years across the UK

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Primark

will open a flagship store at Metrocentre, making it the centre‟s third new anchor inside two years, following the Odeon and TK Maxx

Primark

to trade in Queensgate shopping centre for Christmas trading next year

Sushisamba

has signed a lease to operate the restaurant and sky bar at the top of London‟s Heron Tower - spanning a total of 13,423 sq ft has unveiled plans to transform Wolverhampton's Royal Hospital site into a 139,800 sq ft superstore

Tesco plc

Thomas Sabo

is to open a store at Capital Shopping Centre's Lakeside scheme in Essex

Waitrose

will open five stores in the Channel Islands, its first outside the UK and is to take a 12,969sq ft store on the corner of Acorn Road and Osborne Road site in Jesmond, Newcastle

Waitrose

is trialling a new fascia for its convenience stores, Little Waitrose with first one on London's Old Brompton Road

Wilkinsons

has taken a 19,000sq ft anchor unit at the Gates Shopping Centre in Durham on a 15-year lease at £200,000 a year

Wolf & Badger

has launched a transactional website which has attracted 1,000 visitors a day since its launch

Woolworths(.co.uk)

has branched into arts and crafts, launching a dedicated offer on its website

Zizzi

part of Gondola Holdings, is to open in Uxbridge at a former Auberge site

Financial Restructuring Alexon Group

whose brands include Ann Harvey, is looking to exit or re-gear 20 shops across the UK

ASOS

launched a Facebook shop allowing its 390,000 fans to buy its clothes without leaving the Facebook site

Bargain Booze

has been put up for sale with a price tag of £90m

Bench

and sister label Hooch have been put up for sale for about £250m

Blacks Leisure Group

hopes of takeover bid are fading after several interested parties walked away from discussions with the outdoor leisure retailer

Champion Sports

has been bought by JD Sports Fashion which has agreed to advance £14.7m by way of a secured loan to allow Champion‟s outstanding debts, excluding finance lease commitments totalling £2.2m, to be settled

Clas Ohlson

is planning to expand its chain of 11 hardware stores with up to six new outlets a year

Comet

will shut 14 of its service centres and has begun consultations with 411 affected staff as it seeks to make redundancies

Co-operative Group

is to create 1,700 new management jobs in its food stores over the next few months

Hamleys

has been put up for sale by Icelandic bank Landsbanki which it has a 65% stake

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House of Fraser

stakeholder Landsbanki that holds a 35% stake, denied that its holding in the department store was up for sale

J Sainsbury PLC

plans to open more than 1,000 Fresh Kitchen sandwich shops that could rival Pret A Manger

Jaeger

has reportedly been put up for sale by owner Harold Tillman. Banking Group Rothschild have been appointed to consider strategic options for the business

Jewel Nation

and HPJ Jewellers have been bought out of administration by Gordon Brothers saving 329 jobs

Jimmy Choo

owners are likely to put the firm up for sale, according to people familiar with the situation

JJB Sports

was heading for a battle with its landlords and other retailers after confirming its CVA is to include the renegotiation of two-fifths of its rent payments

Jones Bootmakers

one of the high street's oldest shoe shop chains has been snapped up by a Dutch retail giant, Macintosh, after a five-month sale process, landing its owners a £40m payday. It is to run as separate chain from Macintosh's other footwear chain Brantano

Joules

has hired Rothschild to advise on its growth and the potential sale of a minority stake

Morrisons

has bought online baby products retailer Kiddicare for £70m

Nokia

is said to be looking to expand its global chain of 40 mobile phone stores to 200 over the next two years, with the focus on existing markets such as the UK

Novus Leisure

is understood to be in exclusive negotiations to buy Balls Brothers, the London wine bar business currently in administration

Shakeaway

has been rescued by corporate recovery specialists Begbies Traynor

Signature Brands

the supply group that operates the Paul Costelloe womenswear collection and the Four Seasons and Dannimac brands, went into administration in late January of which Paul Costelloe has been rescued from administration by Portuguese supply group Calvelex

Suits You

former owners, Peter Lucas and Arafa Holding have acquired 12 of its 66 stores through Baird Group & relaunched them under the Suitdirect fascia

Vergo Retail Ltd

administrators have appointed specialists to sell off the brand assets of the group

VF Corporation

has signed a deal to buy premium denim brand Rock & Republic for $57m (£36.8m), deal to be finalised by April 2011

WH Smith plc

has brought 22 stores from British Bookshops and Stationers for just over £1m

Internal Restructuring Aldi

has launched a new ad campaign highlighting „brand-like quality‟ of its products

Arcadia Group

is considering returning its manufacturing from overseas to the UK

ASDA

is selling cheapest e-readers for £52 which is less than half the amount Amazon charges for

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its Kindle B&Q

has signed up with TV property experts Kirsty Allsopp & George Clarke as part of its campaign to make home improvement easier

Clarks

will launch its first international advertising campaign for its Clarks Originals collection next month when it will also open a pop-up store for the sub-brand at its store in London‟s Regent Street

Co-op Retail

has introduced a new product range (Taste the Seasons) to reflect the British seasons aiming to cash in on the growing desire for seasonal foods

D&D London

is slashing the prices of its fine wines across its 20 restaurants in the capital

Dixons Retail

is testing Office Depot shop-in-shops in its stores

Game

has struck a deal with Microsoft to sell downloadable games in its stores

Habitat

is closing its Regent Street store in Central London because it "no longer fits" with the retailer‟s strategy

Harrods

has started to accept UnionPay, the Chinese debit and credit card, in an attempt to pull in the spend of Chinese tourists

Hed Kandi

has shut its two stores at Bluewater and Liverpool One, less than a year after opening

HMV

has started the first phase of its store closure programme

Hobbs

is to feature in a BBC series about teaching young people about the world of work

Homebase

is partnering with celebrity chef Jamie Oliver & has launched a range of grow-your-own fruit, vegetables & herbs

House of Fraser

is planning to roll out the Biba brand in more of its 63 stores after last year‟s successful relaunch of the iconic 1960s fashion label

Lions Rampant

is to be renamed Rampant Sporting & will unveil its new-look logo at trade show Pure London

McDonalds

is making its first foray into shared meals in the UK with the countrywide launch of a 20piece Chicken McNuggets ShareBox

Moss Bros

is ready to roll out a bespoke tailoring service in about 50 of its UK stores, funded by sale of its 15 Hugo Boss franchise stores

Net-a-Porter

will be launching a website which will feature meanswear and style advice

O2

to offer free public internet hotspots across the UK, even to non-customers through partnerships with restaurants, shops, and high-street retailers across the UK

Orchid Group

has teamed up with Express Newspapers to become the first pub operator to sell newspapers & magazines directly to customers

Peacocks

has partnered with Daisy Lowe to launch a range of retro-inspired swimwear designed by the model

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People Tree

has unveiled its spring 11 collaboration with actress Emma Watson

Poundworld

is to roll out its multi-price format, Discount UK, as it opens its second store in Stevenage

Sainsbury's Supermarkets

in partnership with British Gas have introduced in-store energy centres (Sainsbury's Energy)

Tesco plc

clothing arm F&F has teamed up with Mark Fast to sponsor his autumn 11 catwalk show at London Fashion Week

Waterstone's

to close 11 stores as part of parent HMVâ€&#x;s plan to shed 60 stores across the group this year

Zara

has created a kidswear collection for its Zara Home Kid range in collaboration with Liberty print fabrics - collection is available at zarahome.com

General UK Property Market

grew in value by 8.9% in 2010, almost double that of its nearest European competitor, according to the latest research by CB Richard Ellis

ASDA

has been told by the Advertising Standards Authority to make its marketing of its Price Guarantee offer clearer to consumers & highlight that it does not cover non-grocery products

Clothing Spend

25% of young people plan to spend less on clothing in the start of 2011, with working women aged 20-24 most likely to cut back, according to research by Mintel. However, purchases by young people in the UK has helped the 16-24s clothing market grow by 17% over the last five years, according to a different study by Mintel

Collect+

a new parcel delivery service based from 3,500 corner shops, in direct competition with the Post Office

Co-operative Group

is set to improve its product availability as it rolls out a stock management system it inherited from Somerfield

Empty Properties

Government plans to scrap rate relief on empty commercial properties could force landlords to consider "constructive vandalism" and "ways to get round the legislation"

Empty Shops

level across the UK has risen to an all-time high, according to figures from The Local Data Company

Esprit

has vowed to stop using the controversial sandblasting technique in its global production chain with immediate effect

Food Prices

will soar 50% over the next 40 years because of supply shortages, according to scientists

H&M

is to launch a sustainable fashion range in April, made from eco materials such as organic cotton and recycled fabrics

HM Revenue and Customs

is increasingly rejecting company voluntary arrangements (CVAs), according to a turnaround specialist from K2 Business Rescue

J Sainsbury PLC

is to source all of its Fairtrade cotton from a co-operative supplier in Gujarat, India

Jack Wills

is to expand further internationally, with the US, Europe and the Far East in its sights

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Jaeger

is to enter the Russian market with two Jaeger London stores

Jimmy Choo

is set to take control of its Japanese retail business & open a string of stores in the country

Leading Retailers

face higher staff costs due to this year‟s extra bank holiday for the Royal Wedding

Location Marketing

deals are offered by retailers including Argos & Debenhams who have teamed up with Facebook

London's West End

stores have seen strong growth in sales in January, despite the rise in VAT and sluggish wage growth

Market Share

of the fast-food sector in the UK grew by 55% to reach a market value of £8bn in the decade to 2009, data from Mintel shows

Marks & Spencer

plans to open a new store on the Champs-Elysees in Paris

New Look

private equity backer slashed the value of its holding in the fashion chain by nearly 50%

Prices

of everyday goods and services are rising about twice as rapidly as average wages, inflation figures confirmed, which means that the standard of living of many Britons is already falling

Ralph Lauren

is laying out a long-term strategy to open its own stores in Chinese retail market

Retailers & Wholesalers

falling into administration continued to decline in the final quarter of 2010, as per new figures by the Insolvency Service

Rising Costs

of sourcing in Far East and heritage trend trigger huge increase in orders for British factories

Royal Wedding

will see the government granting extended opening hours to restaurants and pubs, allowing venues in England & Wales to serve food & alcohol until 1am on the festive weekend

Shopping Experience

London, Glasgow, and Manchester offer the best town centre shopping experience according to research conducted on more than 700 town centres

The Dune Group

has stepped up its overseas expansion plans to target 250 Dune stores outside of the UK by 2015

Topshop

to feature new capsule collection by David Koma

Key Staff Changes

took place in Robert Dyas, Republic, Best Buy, Morrisons, Comet, Brand Alley and Gucci

Property Allied London Properties Limited

is joined by IM Properties to buy all the retail & leisure property in Manchester's Spinningfields from Delancey & the Royal Bank of Scotland in a deal that values the assets at £45m

ASOS

has appointed Knight Frank to review its office strategy in London

British Land

has confirmed that it has exchanged contracts in a £30m deal to buy the leasehold interest in Green Lanes Shopping Centre in Barnstaple, Devon has made its first property purchase since 2007, buying Waterside Shopping Centre in

Capital & Regional

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Properties plc

Lincoln for £24.8m

Capital Shopping Centres

is to complete the £1.6bn purchase of Manchester's Trafford Centre, the largest singleasset deal in UK property history

CB Richard Ellis

has completed its acquisition of most of ING REIM for $940m

Crown Estate

is in talks to buy the 170,000sq ft Ocean retail park, in Portsmouth, Hampshire, for around £58m

Grosvenor Developments Limited

has agreed lettings to four new brands, occupying a total of 14,495 sq ft, at Liverpool One

Helical Bar

has exchanged contracts to buy the 140,000sq ft Sutton in Ashfield shopping centre in Leicestershire from LaSalle Investment Management for £16.1m, an 8.5% yield.

J Sainsbury PLC

has abandoned plans to move its head office to King‟s Cross after a lack of buyers for its current Holborn location but will anchor part of Land Securities redevelopment of Corby town centre

La Salle Investment Management

will extend the main anchor unit at the High Chelmer Shopping Centre in Chelmsford, Essex, ready for Primark

PruPIM

is in advanced talks to buy a 12.5% stake in the Fort shopping park in Birmingham for around £26m - a yield of around 5.5%

Somerfield

supermarket in Thetford has been sold to Breckland district council for £3.5m - a 6.75% net initial yield

Tesco plc

has completed a £685m-plus sale and leaseback deal of 21 stores to release value from its UK property portfolio

UK Commercial Property Trust

has confirmed its purchase of St George's retail park in Leicester from a fund managed by JP Morgan Asset Management for £49.9m

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Retailer Results

Total Sales Changes M and M Direct (6 wks to 02/01)

H&M (4 wks to 31/01) Sports Direct Int (Retail) (13 wks to 23/01)

Sports Direct Int Plc (13 wks to 23/01) Levi's Europe (12 wks to 28/11)

Kingfisher Grp (13 wks to 29/01) John Lewis (Online) (26 wks to 26/01)

Albemarle (broking) (26 wks to 31/12) Woolworths Grp (Retail) (26 wks to 31/12)

Thorntons (28 wks to 08/01) WH Smith plc (21 wks to 22/01)

Cash Converters (52 wks to 30/06) Prada Grp (52 wks to 31/01)

Sally (52 wks to 30/09) Annoushka (Pascal) (52 wks to 31/07)

H&M (52 wks to 30/11) Hotel Chocolat (52 wks to 30/06) Waitrose (52 wks to 31/01) Waitrose (52 wks to 31/01) Caffe Nero (52 wks to 31/05)

Carluccio's (52 wks to 30/09) MKM Building Supplies (52 wks to 30/09)

Jollyes (52 wks to 31/05) Select Service Partners (52 wks to 30/09)

Pumpkin Patch (52 wks to 31/07) Heal's (52 wks to 14/09)

Marston's (52 wks to 30/09) WH Smith Travel Retail (52 wks to 31/08)

Botterills Conv Stores (52 wks to 31/05) Spacemaker (52 wks to 31/08)

Tog 24 (52 wks to 03/07) Wolseley UK (52 wks to 31/07)

WH Smith Retail (52 wks to 31/08) Coppernob (52 wks to 30/05)

Delice de France (52 wks to 31/07) -20

-10

0

10

20

30

40

50

% NB- SuperGroup has reported an increase of 92% in Retail sales for 12 weeks to 31/01/11 while wholesale sales increased by 73% which are not shown on our graph due to the relative impact they would have on other figures shown.

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UK Overview ONS Retail Sales

The value of retail sales in January at current prices not seasonally adjusted increased 6.4% YoY with the 3 month moving average at 3.5%. Value of sales through food stores in January increase by 1.8% YoY, while the value of sales through non-food stores was up 9.5% YoY. Once again, non-store retailing made the biggest gains –an increase of 21.3% in January 2011.

*Please note that ONS made several changes to its Retail Sales reporting in January 2010. For more information, see http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/rs0210.pdf Please see the Retail & Economic Statistics page on SnapShop for more historical detail

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Internet Retail Sales

Based on ONS experimental Internet sales, the non-seasonally adjusted average weekly value of Internet retail sales in January 2011 was ÂŁ523 million, which was approximately 10.0 per cent of total retail sales (excluding automotive fuel). According to BRC, non-food non-store (internet, mail-order and phone) sales were 12.3% higher than a year ago. %

Internet Sales

30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Dec- Jan- Feb- Mar- Apr- May- Jun- Jul- Aug- Sep- Oct- Nov- Dec- Jan09 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 11 ONS Internet as % of Total

BRC YoY % Change

*ONS are trialling an experimental measure of Internet retail sales. For more details see http://www.statistics.gov.uk/articles/nojournal/Internet_information_paper_February_2010.pdf.

BRC Retail Sales

UK retail sales values were up 2.3% on a like-for-like basis from January 2010, when sales had fallen 0.7%.

On a total basis, sales were 4.2% higher, against a 1.2% increase in January 2010.

Please see the Retail & Economic Statistics page on SnapShop for more historical detail

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Pedestrian Flows

%

Pedestrian Flows - Year-on-Year Change

3 2 1 0 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 -7 Dec- Jan- Feb- Mar- Apr- May- Jun- Jul- Aug- Sep- Oct- Nov- Dec- Jan09 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 11 Synovate (YoY) FootFall (YoY)

NB: At the time of publishing Synovateâ€&#x;s Retail Traffic Index for January were not available.

Interest Rates

The Bank of Englandâ€&#x;s Monetary Policy Committee voted to maintain the official Bank Rate paid on commercial bank reserves at 0.5%. This rate has been maintained since March 2009. %

Bank of England - Base Rate

3

2

1

0 Nov-08

Mar-09

Jul-09

Nov-09

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Mar-10

Jul-10

Nov-10

Inflation

CPI annual inflation stands at 4.0 per cent, up from 3.7 per cent in December. RPI stands at 5.1 per cent in January, up from 4.8 per cent in December. %

UK Inflation (CPI v RPI)

6

5 4 3 2 1

0

Dec- Jan- Feb- Mar- Apr- May- Jun- Jul- Aug- Sep- Oct- Nov- Dec- Jan09 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 11 CPI

House Prices

RPI

.

According to the Nationwide index, the price of a typical house decreased by 0.1 % MoM in January and decreased 1.1% YoY. The average price of a typical UK property in November was ÂŁ161,602.

NB: YoY figures refer to left hand scale, MoM statistics refer to right hand scale. September YoY was flat.

Please see the Retail & Economic Statistics page on SnapShop for more historical detail

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Consumer Confidence

According to GfK NOP, the overall index score January has dropped eight points to -29, twelve points lower than this time last year. Commenting on fall Nick Moon, MD of GfK NOP Social Research, said "Januaryâ€&#x;s eight point drop represents an astonishing collapse in consumer confidence. In the 35 years since the Index began, confidence has only slumped this much in a single month on six occasions, the last being November to December 1994‌"

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Ireland Overview CSO Retail Sales

The volume of retail sales decreased by 3.1% in December 2010 on a YoY basis and there was a monthly decrease of 1.1%. The value of retail sales decreased by 4.1% in December 2010 on YoY basis and there was a MoM change of -0.9%. %

Irish Retail Sales Growth - All Retail (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

4 2 0 -2 -4 -6 -8 -10 -12 -14 Oct- Nov- Dec- Jan- Feb- Mar- Apr- May- Jun- Jul- Aug- Sep- Oct- Nov- Dec09 09 09 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 Volume

%

Value

Inflation

3 mma

Irish Retail Sales Growth - Food Retail (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

4 2 0 -2 -4 -6 -8

-10 Oct- Nov- Dec- Jan- Feb- Mar- Apr- May- Jun- Jul- Aug- Sep- Oct- Nov- Dec09 09 09 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 Volume

%

Value

Inflation

3 mma

Irish Retail Sales Growth - Non-Food Retail (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

4 2 0 -2 -4 -6 -8 -10 -12 -14 -16 -18 Oct- Nov- Dec- Jan- Feb- Mar- Apr- May- Jun- Jul- Aug- Sep- Oct- Nov- Dec09 09 09 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 Volume

Value

Inflation

Please see the Retail & Economic Statistics page on SnapShop for more historical detail

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3 mma

Inflation in Ireland

In Ireland, CPI, decreased by 0.2% in January. This compares to a decrease of 0.6% recorded in January of last year. HICP decreased by 0.3% in the month, compared to a decrease of 0.7% recorded in January of last year.

% 2

Irish Inflation (HICP v CPI)

1 0

-1 -2 -3 -4 Feb- Mar- Apr- May- Jun- Jul-10 Aug- Sep- Oct- Nov- Dec- Jan10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 11

HICP

CPI

Please see the Retail & Economic Statistics page on SnapShop for more historical detail.

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And Finally…

Turn your iphone into 80’s brick!

With a new gadget launched by a British company you can now turn your iPhone (sleekest of gadgets available in the market) into an old-style 'brick' mobile phone beloved by executives of the 1980s.

It is a simple case, into which the iPhone slots, turns the slimline smart phone into a huge gadget, which will not fit into a glove compartment, let alone a trouser pocket.

The case, which costs £12.99, has been developed by Thumbs Up, hoping to take advantage of 1980s nostalgia.

A company spokesman said: "By today's standards, you'd be forgiven for mistaking a 1980s mobile phone for, well, a house brick, but back in the day these chunky must-haves were the ultimate status symbol.

"Simply slot your iPhone into the custom-made holder and capture the look and feel of the 1980s 'house brick' without losing any of your 21st-century specs!"

The case will be available from April and fits an iPhone 3, 3GS and 4.

www.fspretail.co.uk 18/02/11 FSP has gone to its best efforts to ensure this data is correct but the author reserves the right not to be responsible for the accuracy of information provided.

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