Retailers in central London are experiencing strong growth in sales despite an apparent slowdown across the rest of the UK, October’s figures show.
The latest figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) revealed that retail sales in central London were 11% higher than the year before.
What’s more, although retail footfall slowed, London still outshone the UK as a whole, the BRC said.
Kevin Hawkins, director of the London Retail Consortium (LRC), said: “The sharp slowdown in sales growth in the UK as a whole has yet to have its full impact in London which has been boosted by the spending power of shoppers visiting from the rest of the UK and overseas.
“While the weak dollar has meant fewer Americans, spending less, European visitors, who now get more pounds for their euros, are compensating.“
However, Hawkins added that although Londoners’ higher than average earnings has also softened the blow for retailers in the capital, they are unlikely to avoid completely feeling the squeeze on disposable incomes caused by recent interest rate rises.
Helen Dickinson, head of retail at KPMG, added:
“These are strong figures for London, though it continues to show considerable volatility on a month by month basis and across the performance of individual retailers.
”Many of those that have outperformed the market are reliant on a high degree of promotional activity to drive footfall and sales. However, it's early days in the context of the crucial Christmas trading period and retailers in the capital will be hoping the trend of the past month continues.”
© Crimson Business Ltd. 2007
