World Cup loss on high street

THE hot weather and World Cup fever hit town centre stores hard in July.

Sales slumped a further 1.1% year on year, according to accountants BDO’s high street sales tracker. It was the sixth month in a row that takings fell at traditional retailers. And that was despite stores pulling in bargain-hungry shoppers at the beginning of July with a range of heavy discounting. Sales went up 1% in the first week, then the heatwave and England’s unexpected progress in the World Cup grabbed shoppers’ attention. BDO’s Sophie Michael warned it will continue to be a tough summer on the high street. “Temperatures may have been rising, but retailers are being frozen out,” she said. “Concerns over personal finances and the general economic outlook also have had a downward drag on consumer confidence.”

The homewares’ sector was hit the hardest last month, dropping 11.8% year on year and enduring the poorest in-store July for six years. But fashion sales showed slight growth, rising 1.3%. Earlier this week, Next reported positive figures as shoppers flocked to buy new summer gear in July because of the warm weather. Retailers have been reacting to falling sales by closing stores or shutting down altogether. The latest to face closure, with the loss of 17,000 jobs, is House of Fraser. It could join the likes of Poundworld, Maplin and Toys ‘R’ Us which have all disappeared this year. Meanwhile, retailers such as M&S, Waitrose, Monthercare, New Look and Carphone Warehouse have all announced store closures this year.