LEADER Clare Turner
At the heart of retail Also by Lema Publishing
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avigating our way through this pandemic continues to bring its own set of challenges. As Gary Grant, founder and executive chairman of The Entertainer put it so succinctly in last month’s issue: “We’re not out of the woods yet. It’s sort of one step forward and half a step back.” A case in point is the so-called Freedom Day on Monday 19 July, when England moved to Step 4 of the roadmap. Retail data provider Springboard forecast that UK footfall would rise by 19.7% in the week following the day that most restrictions on social contact were removed in England. But in fact, following an above average start, the growth in footfall in UK retail destinations slowed considerably from Tuesday onwards. Springboard marketing and insights director Diane Wehrle said this was likely to have been driven by a combination of the extreme heat, the start of the school summer break, and an increased nervousness amongst shoppers in visiting potentially crowded areas created by the growing ‘pingdemic’ which could force them to self-isolate. For businesses, the ‘pingdemic’ has impacted shops and distribution centres but at the time of writing, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said retailers were working closely with Government to identify hundreds of key distribution sites that would benefit from the new daily contact testing scheme. On a more positive note, BRC has reported that the second quarter saw exceptional sales growth as the gradual unlocking of the UK economy encouraged a release of pent-up demand built up over previous lockdowns. According to its latest data, while growth in food sales slowed in June, non-food sales were bolstered by growing consumer confidence and the
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continued unleashing of consumer demand. BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson says that with many people taking staycations or cheaper UK-based holidays, many have found they have a little extra to spend at the shops. Her opinion is reflected in the stories shared by independent toy retailers in our Talking Retail feature, and reinforced by the words of this issue’s MD Interview subject Yogi Parmar of buying group Toymaster. “There has always been a place for independent bricks-and-mortar toy shops and I believe there always will be,” he says, “as they have shown they are able to adapt and evolve over the years and survive in an ever-changing retail world”. As for online trading, KPMG head of retail Paul Martin notes that while the high street saw sales up 10% in June, online sales fell back by 7% compared with June 2020. However, penetration rates for online sales remain much higher than their prepandemic levels, he says, suggesting the shift to online is here to stay. The view of this issue’s Retail Interview subject Nicole Sweeney, toys category manager at The Very Group, supports this. “More people than ever have shopped online due to Covid and we believe this shift will be permanent,” she says. Nonetheless, in the words of Helen Dickinson, UK retail is still facing strong headwinds, with many retailers still making up for ground lost during the previous lockdowns. She says consumer comfort with this next stage of the roadmap will be key to the ongoing success of retail, adding: “Many customers are looking forward to a return to a more normal shopping experience, while others may be discouraged by the change in face covering rules. The Government will need to reassure the public on safety, while pushing forward with its hugely successful vaccination programme.” So, what’s been your trading experience, as a toy retailer or supplier? I’d love you to get in touch and share your story. You can connect with me via LinkedIn or email me at clare@lemapublishing.co.uk. I look forward to hearing from you!
Consumer comfort with this next stage of the roadmap will be key to the ongoing success of retail
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