SNIPPETS FROM RETAILSECTOR.CO.UK
RETAIL SALES
UK sales
predicted to grow
4% in December
New research predicts that December’s
retail sales will reach £47.7bn, growing
4% when compared with last year
when sales hit £45.8bn.
According to global market research
firm Mintel, sales through non-food
retailers are expected to reach £23.5bn
(including £4bn from online sales
generated by physical stores), while
food retailers could see sales of £18.6bn.
Additionally, with online sales
generated by physical non-food and
food stores estimated to hit £5.4bn,
combined with the £5.6bn generated by
internet pure players, the group expects
total online sales this December to be
worth £11bn.
Richard Perks, director of retail
research at Mintel, said: “We think that
retailers can look forward to a reasonably
good Christmas—not outstanding, but it
won’t be bad either. While there are some
reasons to be cautious, such as falling
consumer confidence, there is no real
sign of an underlying slowdown in retail
sales growth.
“Retail sales have held up well
this year and we expect the recent
momentum is likely to be maintained,
with retail sales growing at about 4%
both in the final quarter of 2018 and in
December itself.”
He added: “While there’s been much
talk of how the High Street is being
undermined by online retailing, it still
only represents a relatively small part of
overall retail sales, with most shopping
still taking place in physical stores.”
BLACK FRIDAY
Black Friday
‘little benefit to
struggling high
street
This year’s Black Friday has done “little
to help the struggling bricks-and-mortar
stores throughout the UK”, according to
data from Springboard.
The group, which provides insights on
retail performance, said overall footfall
declined by 5.4% from Black Friday 2017,
with declines of similar magnitudes
throughout the weekend from last year
(-5.6% on Saturday and -4.3% on Sunday).
Shopping centres were the “worst hit”,
with a drop in footfall of 8.3% on Friday,
and drops of similar proportions over
the weekend. The firm said this is likely
to be partially due to the fact that they
are dominated by major chains which
have a strong online presence and free
delivery offering, so there is less need to
visit their stores.
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Talking Point
Email Lewis or Alessandro to find out our latest hot topic:
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What is your biggest source of inspiration when it comes to your designs?
KIRSTY WHYTE ELIE BERNHEIM ANGEL WU
creative director of Freedom to Exist CEO of Raymond Weil founder of ADEXE
I find inspiration all around me all the time.
I’m always unintentionally on the lookout
for material, colour and design inspiration.
I’m constantly taking photos, documenting
ideas; which could come from the colour
of a plant leaf to an article in a magazine. I
really focus on texture and details. Since my grandfather first founded Raymond
Weil in 1976, the arts and music have always
been a great source of inspiration. As in watch
making, precision is key in music and so the
correlation between the two remains important
to Raymond Weil’s creation of Swiss luxury
timepieces to this day. There are few essential principles I keep in mind when I
design an ADEXE watch. Firstly, I always look at what is
happening around the world because it inspires me to
portray a message through the watch. Secondly, it is not
always an easy task to capture people’s attention with a
watch, mainly because it is a rather small accessory, so I
like to play with colours and detailed shapes.
16 JEWELLERY FOCUS
December 2018 | jewelleryfocus.co.uk