All U.K. articles
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U.K. retail sales hit by weak consumer confidence in December
In December, total retail sales in the U.K. rose by 1.7 percent compared with 6.9 percent growth in the same period of 2022 and below the three-month average increase of 2.3 percent and the 12-month average rise of 3.6 percent, according to the latest survey released by the British Retail ...
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U.K. store footfall declined in December
Retail store visits for the five weeks ended Dec. 30 fell by 5.0 percent year-over-year in the U.K. due to poor weather and weak consumer confidence, according to the British Retail Consortium and Sensormatic Solutions IQ’s Footfall Monitor report. The footfall was down by 0.7 percent year-over-year in November after ...
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U.K. completes talks to join CPTPP
The British government said that it has “substantially” concluded negotiations on the U.K.’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a free trade agreement including 11 members: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. The U.K. applied to join CPTPP ...
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Consumer confidence improves in Germany, U.K.
Consumer confidence improved in Germany and the U.K. but slipped slightly in France. Confidence levels remain low in all three countries. Consumer confidence in Germany is expected to rise to -30.5 points in March, up 3.3 points from a revised -33.8 points in February, according a preliminary reading by the ...
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U.K. online footwear sales rise 4.7%
Footwear posted a 4.7 percent year-on-year rise in online sales in the U.K. in January, the only subcategory in clothing to enjoy an annual increase during the month, according to the IMRG Online Retail Index. Total online sales in clothing were down by 4.5 percent year-over-year in January. Overall ...
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U.K. competition regulator to probe Farfetch purchase of YNAP stake
The U.K.’s competition regulator is probing Farfetch’s deal to buy a stake in the online retail business Yoox Net-a-Porter (YNAP) from the luxury goods giant Richemont. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is now examining whether the deal to sell a 47.5 percent stake in YNAP to the online retailer ...
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U.K. retail sales unexpectedly fell in December
In December, retail sales in the U.K. fell by 1.0 percent month-on-month in volume after dropping by 0.5 percent in November, revised from an earlier reading of a 0.4 percent decline, according to data released by the Office for National Statistics that noted that sales volumes were 1.7 percent lower ...
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U.K. faces a year-long recession
The U.K.’s gross domestic product is likely to contract by 0.4 percent in 2023. The country is estimated to have entered into an economic recession in the third quarter of 2022 that will last until the end of next year, according to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). The CBI ...
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Amazon faces class action for allegedly favoring some products
Amazon faces a class action in the U.K. for allegedly favouring some products on its platform. According to estimates, the lawsuit, if successful, could result in damages of £900 million (€1,034m) for the U.S. online retailer. The legal action, which is expected to be filed in the Competition Appeal Tribunal ...
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ArticleConsumer and business sentiment sinks in Europe
Consumer confidence continues to decline significantly in Europe due to rising inflation, an erosion in purchasing power and concern about the future due to a worsening of the macroeconomic environment and rising geopolitical tension following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. In October, German consumer sentiment is expected to ...
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U.K. to introduce VAT-free shopping for foreigners
During the presentation of new budgetary measures, Kwasi Kwarteng, the U.K.’s newly appointed finance minister, officially referred to as the chancellor of the exchequer, said that the government has decided to introduce VAT-free shopping for overseas visitors. “We will replace the old paper-based system with a modern, digital one. And ...
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U.K. consumer confidence at record low - GfK
In September, consumer confidence in the U.K. fell to -49, the worst overall index score since records began in 1974, and down from -44 in August and -13 a year ago, according to the latest survey released by market research firm GfK. The component on personal finances in the coming ...
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U.K. retail sales drop in June
In June, U.K. retail sales fell by 1.0 percent from a year earlier and were 1.3 percent lower on a like-for-like basis, a rate of contraction not seen since the depths of the pandemic, as inflation continues to bite, and households cut back spending, according to the latest Retail Sales ...
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German consumer confidence falls to record low - GfK
After the U.K., German consumer confidence is estimated to have dropped to record low due to the war in Ukraine and rising inflation. Consumer confidence in Germany in July is expected to decline to a record low of -27.4 from -26.2 points in June, revised from a preliminary estimate of ...
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U.K. consumer confidence at record low
Consumer confidence in the U.K. in June hit a new record low of -41, down from -40 in May and -9 in June 2021, according to data released by market research group GfK. “With prices rising faster than wages, and the prospect of strikes and spiralling inflation causing a summer ...
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ArticleU.K. clothing sales above pre-Covid levels
In November, for the first time, sales of clothing stores in the U.K. surpassed their pre-Covid levels, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Clothing stores reported an increase of 2.9 percent month-over-month in sales volumes, which were 3.2 percent above levels in February 2020, the last month not ...
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ArticleEurope, U.S. reach a deal defusing their trade dispute
The U.K., France, Italy, Spain, Austria and the U.S. have reached an agreement under which the European countries will drop their national digital services taxes as they prepare to implement a new global corporate tax defined through the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). A two-year transition period for ...
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ArticleBritish luxury brands face duty-free hit
The U.K.’s luxury goods sector is set to feel the full impact of the government decision to axe tax-free shopping as Covid-19 travel restrictions come to an end and a key Chinese week-long public holiday looms, a survey showed. Latest data from the e-commerce specialist ESW revealed that 46 percent ...
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Article
Next to sell the Gap brand in the U.K., Ireland
The British apparel retailer Next has reached an agreement under which it will sell the Gap brand in the U.K. and Ireland after the U.S. brand decided to close its own stores in those markets. The two groups have created a joint venture to operate Gap’s e-commerce business across Next’s ...
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U.K. consumer confidence at pre-pandemic level - GfK
According to their latest consumer survey of around 2,000 citizens, market analysts at GfK see the U.K. Consumer Confidence Index at pre-pandemic levels of -8 in August, against a backdrop of cooling headline inflation and rising house prices. Expectations regarding personal financial situations over the next 12 months continue, and ...
