CITY VIEWS: WHAT DO YOU THINK CHRISTMAS HAS BEEN LIKE FOR THE HIGH STREET THIS YEAR?
ANDY STEWART | FIDESSA
“It didn’t seem that busy, personally. Possibly slightly better than the shops might have anticipated earlier in the year. Hopefully the redundancies are coming to an end and it will have a knock-on effect.”
CHARLOTTE HAZLETON | ICAP
“I shopped the week before Christmas and did go to John Lewis – it was very busy. I went to Jo Malone and they were queueing outside. (But) I felt people had left it all to the last minute. It’s too soon to say whether retailers are out of the woods.”
RAKESH SODHA | SCHRODERS
“I think it was more that Christmas festive rituals were the boost, rather than the economy itself. I think it was a seasonal peak in general, but in terms of the economy going up, I don’t think it was that great. The future is very uncertain.”
ROB HEPWORTH | STRUTT &?PARKER
“We are coming out of recession so hopefully things are going to look up. I was more cautious than in previous years, but you still tend to spend more than in any other month.
I think it will have been a good Christmas for the high street.”