AUGUST TRADE NEWS Bad weather blamed for shopping centre delay Chester council  not supporting retailers New rules 'won't help save retail centre' Irish shoppers look abroad for bargains British consumers spend more on beauty products Yorkshire town gets behind plastic bag reduction scheme Rising obesity prompts calls for VAT rule changes eBay restructures fee scheme to make fixed-priced sales cheaper Online sales boom despite slowdown Music retailer goes out of business Matalan named and shamed for how it treats wholesalers BCC slams higher parking charges proposals Booming wholesaler moves to new warehouse Market traders told to only 'shout quietly' London's retailers show growth despite gloom Counterfeit goods dealer sentenced to prison UK's smallest town protests supermarket plan More retailers and wholesalers going out of business Online retail sector predicted to expand rapidly Henley retailers protest development plans Retail sales continue to slow Tiffany appeals US court's eBay ruling Report criticises electricity suppliers' treatment of small businesses MK retailers protest Tesco expansion plan Yorkshire retailers protest supermarket move Manchester wholesaler shut down over fraud worries Businesses welcome plans to reduce red tape Rate hold accepted by small businesses Internet sales put pressure on the high street Huge counterfeit goods haul in Somerset Irish entrepreneur online retail plans Wholesaler sector set to struggle Staycations could help British retailers Retailers 'gloomy' about economic outlook Retailers report footfall continues to decline as consumers cut back Hidden door reveals huge counterfeiting operation in Manchester shop No recession for the UK this year East London wholesaler goes into receivership London mayor reveals plans to support small retailers Toy retailers defy gloom Retailers urged to embrace online sales Trade News Archive August 08 July 08 June 08 May 08 April 08 March 08 February 08 January 08 Subscribe to our newsletter   Go to The Wholesaler UK Directory 21st August 2008 Independent music retailer goes out of business thanks to online pressures One independent music shop from Suffolk has revealed that the dominance of large online retailers pushed it out of business. The local East Anglian Daily Times reported that WrapCD in Aldeburgh will cease trading when all its existing stock is sold. Owners Celia and Sebastian Allaby told the paper that they were worried that the ''the muscle of the internet'' will have a similar impact on other independent music shops across the UK. ''We noticed a significant change when broadband came to Aldeburgh which was very recently," Mrs Allaby explained. "A lot of older people in Aldeburgh became computer literate, they found that CDs could be delivered to their door and they didn't have to worry about being in to receive them. However, the owners stressed that people who purchased music online were missing out on the "friendly experts" that are often found in independent shops. What's more, the independent retailer explained that it was not able to negotiate the discounts with wholesalers to compete with the majors. "CD albums that we sell for £15.99, we buy from the distributor for £9.15. It might be being sold at the supermarket or on the web for £7.99," Ms Allaby concluded.     (c) 2008 Adfero Ltd. Sponsor of August Trade News Samsung TV Brackets   Comment on this news story To comment on any story please click on the above link, put the story title in the subject line and please provide your name, trading style ie. retailer or wholesaler and the town where you trade.