British Retail Consortium news and archive

Non-essential stores in England set to reopen in April

Non-essential retailers in England will reopen in April as part of the country’s “cautious” plan to exit lockdown, prime minister Boris Johnson announced Monday afternoon. Speaking to MPs at the House of Commons, Johnson set out a four-step plan to ease lockdown restrictions in the coming months. In the first stage, students will return to...

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UK shop vacancies continue to rise amid Covid-19 uncertainty

The UK’s shop vacancy rate rose to 13.2 percent in Q3 from 12.4 percent in Q2 amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, marking the ninth consecutive quarter of increasing rates. That increase was experienced across all locations, with shopping centres hit hardest, increasing to 16.3 percent from 14.3 percent in the previous quarter, according to the...

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UK retailers paid 1.1 billion pounds last year to accept customer payments

Retailers in the UK spent 1.1 billion pounds to accept payments from customers in 2019, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), which is calling on the government to take action. According to the trade body’s latest Payment Survey, card use rose steadily from 54 percent of transactions in 2016 to 61 percent in 2019. This has been...

Retail

BRC urges consumers to start Christmas shopping early this year

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has launched a new national advertising campaign urging consumers to start their Christmas shopping earlier this year to help ease the load on retailers. Since the March lockdown, businesses across the UK have been investing hundreds of millions of pounds in strengthening their supply chains and implementing...

Fashion Featured

UK garment workers 'robbed' of 27 million pounds in wages since July

Garment factory workers in the UK have been “robbed” of over 27 million pounds in wages since July, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). The UK trade body and MP Lisa Cameron, who is chair of the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) for Textiles and Fashion, have penned a letter to home secretary Priti Patel demanding action. Some...

Fashion

UK garment workers 'robbed' of 27 million pounds in wages since July

Retail

BRC launches Shopworkers’ Protection Pledge

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has launched the Shopworkers’ Protection Pledge calling for support for new legislation to protect retail workers from violence, threats and abuse. Eleven cross-party MPs have already signed the pledge. The BRC Crime Survey, released earlier this year, found there were more than 400 incidents of violence and...

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Usdaw calls for new law to protect retail workers from crime

British retail trade union Usdaw has launched a petition calling on the government to support legislation to help protect retail workers from violence, threats and abuse. The union said it has already provided “significant evidence” to the government about the scale of assaults and abuse retail workers face, which data shows was already rising...

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UK Retailers collaborate to combat carbon emissions

Twenty retailers, including Marks and Spencer, Amazon, Missguided and Next have signed the British Retail Consortium’s roadmap to tackle the causes of climate change. While many are concerned with the current coronavirus crisis, the British Retail Consortium is stating that climate change remains as “one of the biggest threats to the planet” and...

People

Naomi Campbell to receive Fashion Icon Award

The British Fashion Council will honour British supermodel Naomi Campbell with the Fashion Icon Award at this year’s The Fashion Awards 2019 for her “incredible contribution to the fashion industry” as well as her philanthropist work, especially in Africa. The Fashion Icon Award is one of the Special Recognition Awards at The Fashion Awards that...

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Does the warmer weather really affect retail sales?

Yes, according to new research from Met Office and the British Retail Consortium, and it is warning that non-food retailers should brace themselves for the cost of an Indian Summer, which could mean they lose up to 80 million pounds per week in sales in September if the warmer weather continues. Based on Met Office analysis of weather data, the...