Shops on the UK high street are facing a slump as bad as any in the last 25 years, according to the CBI, yet some retail entrepreneurs are thriving despite of shoppers’ malaise.

The facts

The CBI’s distributive trades survey shows a balance of 36 per cent of companies experienced weakening demand since this time last year. The score is the worst recorded in the survey’s quarter-of-a-century history.

In a sign of the housing market’s continued weakeness, every furntiure business responding to the survey recorded sales falling. Grocers (including supermarkets) and footwear retailers were the only sectors to report year-on-year sales growth.

The stats compound those offered by the government recently, showing the fastest ever month-on-month drop in retail sales in June.

They said:

"It is turning out to be a very grim summer for many retailers,” said Andy Clarke, retail director of Asda. “Pressure from higher fuel and food prices is prompting many people to rein in their spending.

"The faltering housing market has really depressed sales of home furnishings and white goods this month and the high street is still struggling.

"The retail sector will have to focus more than ever on providing good value to customers if they want to keep the sun shining this summer."

We say:

The retail sector is down but not out. Don’t forget that online retail sales are still forging ahead, and there are opportunities for small owner-managed shops and shop chains operating in niche markets.

Clothing shop chain White Stuff just announced a 46 per cent increase in sales compared with this time last year, with like-for-like sales (not including new shop openings) up 15 per cent.

Chief executive Sally Bailey said the performance was partly due to her customer base (mainly well-off young mothers) and her strategy of ‘staying local’.

"We're not in city centres and we're not in shopping centres," she said. "We position ourselves as a local shop so we are not being hit by higher petrol prices."

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By LaunchLab.co.uk  on   Jul 30,2008

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Keywords

small business    retail    shops    CBI    government    White Stuff   

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