February retail sales come crashing down

- Fashion sales worst on record

After a positive January the UK’s retailers will be left despairing as BDO’s Like-for-Like Club has shown that February’s retail sales were down by 8.1 per cent year on year – the second worst figure since the Club began.

BDO’s Like-for-Like Club outlines weekly sales changes of more than 60 mid market retailers with some 4,500 individual stores located on high streets through the UK.

Rupert Eastell, Head of Retail at BDO, says: “February 2009 will go down in the record books as being an extremely difficult month for retailers, as the realities of the credit crunch hit their businesses with a resounding thud this month.“

“The first week of February brought severe weather conditions not seen for 18 years to the UK’s high streets and then adding insult to injury, the timing difference with Mother’s Day knocked takings during the latter half of the month.  This double whammy resulted in the second worst like-for-like sales figures we’ve seen,” continues Eastell.

Fashion – worst result ever, sales down 9.7%

Fashion retailers were particularly hard hit during February with sales down 9.7 per cent in comparison to this time last year.  As new spring ranges hit the stores, consumers were reluctant to buy lighter clothing when the ground was covered with inches of snow.  The only retailers to buck the downward trend were a few outdoor specialists who benefited from snow related sales. 

Non-Fashion sales dropped by 3.7%

Non-fashion retailers had a slightly more positive experience in February, with sales down 3.7 per cent, in fact, most of which can be attributed to the calendar difference with Mother’s Day.  Gifts and luxury were the strongest performing sector within non-fashion.  However, there were also signs that demand for luxury goods, although still up on last year, is beginning to wane suggesting that the credit crunch is now hitting this part of the market.

Homewares sales fall by 8.0%

February saw homeware sales drop for a seventh consecutive month, with takings decreasing by 8.0 per cent.  However, there were some signs that demand for larger ticket purchases such as furniture and lighting is beginning to stabilise.

“As we feared, January’s positive sales figures were just a blip with results quickly reverting back to the negative levels experienced before Christmas.  Although there were a number of one off events in February that distorted the picture, it is clear that consumers remain wary of making any purchases unless they are discounted heavily - value still appears to be very much at the forefront of shopper’s minds,” concludes Eastell.

Monthly L4L Results by Sector 2008-09
 Source: BDO

ENDS

For more information, please contact Dee Crooks at BDO on 020 7893 2761 / 07815 172 051 or email dee.crooks@bdo.co.uk

Notes to editors:

BDO’s Like-for-Like Club outlines weekly sales changes of more than 60 mid-tier retailers across Fashion: accessories, clothing & footwear; Non-fashion: general household goods, gifts, health & beauty, leisure goods, Homewares: cookware, furniture & floor coverings, lighting, linen & textiles.

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