Food suppliers squeezed as supermarkets play hardball in Brexit price talks January 10, 2017 Food suppliers are being squeezed as supermarkets play hardball in talks over which side should shoulder the burden for the devaluation of the pound, new figures suggest. Research from insolvency firm Begbies Traynor shows 6,000 food suppliers were showing signs of financial distress in the final quarter of 2016, an increase of 13 per cent [...]
Manufacturing giant Premier Foods to increase prices due to Brexit vote January 10, 2017 Premier Foods, the supplier of iconic brands such as Mr Kipling cakes and Bisto gravy, is in talks with its major retail customers about lifting prices due to a double whammy of weaker sterling and higher commodity costs. City A.M. can reveal that the listed food manufacturer last month opened discussions with the likes of [...]
Christmas spending splurge fails to push high street sales into positive territory January 6, 2017 High street shops ended a disappointing year with a dismal performance during the festive season, failing to land positive sales despite bumper spending in the week before Christmas. Christmas fell on a Sunday this year, meaning shoppers had an extra day to spend, but like-for-like sales growth on the high street still came in at [...]
Boost for ECB as Eurozone inflation reaches highest point since 2013 January 4, 2017 Eurozone inflation rose to its highest point since 2013 as higher oil prices fed through to the big increase, in welcome news for efforts by the European Central Bank (ECB) to boost Europe's economy. The annual rate of inflation rose to 1.1 per cent in December, according to flash estimates from the European Commission, almost [...]
Shop prices continued to fall over Christmas – but inflationary pressures are pushing up clothing prices January 4, 2017 The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has called the start of a likely rise in inflation as it reported overall shop prices fell by 1.4 per cent in December, a deceleration from the 1.7 per cent fall in the previous two months. The sharp fall in the value of the pound since the Brexit vote has not [...]
Germany’s inflation soars to highest since 2013 while France posts steady increase January 3, 2017 Inflation in Germany more than doubled in December 2016 while France also posted an increase, in a sign of further economic recovery in the Eurozone which will be welcomed by the European Central Bank (ECB). German consumer prices soared by 0.7 per cent compared to November, bringing the annual rate of increase to 1.7 per [...]
Retailers will need to brave fierce headwinds in 2017 January 2, 2017 The high street's cold snap over Christmas and the New Year is not just seasonal. Several chills running through the sector could finally be felt with their full force in 2017. Rising inflation, falling wage growth, escalating costs and sterling's depreciation are all expected to weigh on retailers in the coming months. If inflation takes [...]
Disposable incomes grew in November but households will feel the pinch as inflation begins to bite, say experts December 29, 2016 Household disposable incomes have swelled by 4.5 per cent over the last year despite price inflation being at a two-year high. Including bonuses, the average cash families have to splash out on discretionary items stood at £202, up over £9 on the previous year, according to data prepared by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) and [...]
Retail sales continue on upwards trend ahead of Christmas shopping season December 15, 2016 The amount Britons spent in November increased 5.9 per cent year-on-year, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). At £34.2bn for the four-week period, retail sales in November were up 0.5 per cent as compared to October. This equated to an average weekly spend of £8.5bn. The ONS said retailers selling household goods had boosted their [...]
Inflation rises to its highest in two years as weak sterling takes its toll December 13, 2016 The UK's inflation rate rose to 1.2 per cent in the year to November, up from 0.9 per cent in October – and beating expectations of 1.1 per cent. That puts it at the highest rate since October 2014, when it was 1.3 per cent. The rise was driven by hikes in clothing prices, motor [...]