BRC-KPMG London Retail Sales Monitor - May 2008

16.06.08 - 17:49 ... source : KPMG UK

... Industries 16 June 2008 HIGHEST LONDON SALES GROWTH SINCE FEBRUARY Retail sales in Central London in May were 8.2% higher than a year earlier, on a like-for-like basis. This was above the 6.3% in May 2007 and stronger than the 1.9% gain in the UK as whole. Retail footfall rose further above its year-earlier level, boosted by warm weather and some special sales events Western Europeans remained the main overseas shoppers, taking advantage of the strength of the Euro, while Americans and Japanese were still discouraged by the weak dollar and yen. Warm sunny weather and sales events gave a good boost to clothing and footwear sales after several very difficult months. Homewares, especially big-ticket items such as furniture, were still tough, hit by the housing market weakness and squeeze on household budgets Stephen Robertson, Director General, British Retail Consortium, said: "Central London sales growth rose to its highest rate ...» Next (HTML)