Retail Sales Plunge
Retail sales plunged by 1.9 per cent last month as the recession tightened its grip, official figures revealed today.
The fall between January and February was far worse than expected by economists and comes as sales fell across all sectors, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The figures will come as a blow to Government hopes that November’s.
Fashion chain Next was one of the worst hit as it announced a 14 per cent slide in its annual profits – figures which saw its share price tumble this morning.
Clothing and footwear sales dropped by 3.7 per cent, while sales in other stores, mainly small businesses selling goods such as books and DVDs, suffered their worst decline since January 20.
The figures come as credit agency Experian predicts the number of empty shops across the UK could rise to 135,000 by the end of the year – a record rate of 15per cent of the total.
Mr De Mello said some towns will see their High Streets particularly hard hit by the increasing number of store closures.
Crewe tops the list of affected areas, with vacancy rates predicted to rise 56per cent this year, leaving it with 16per cent of floorspace empty.
Rutherglen near Glasgow and Blaydon, near Newcastle are also predicted to suffer particularly badly.
Category: News
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