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 18th August 2008 London's retailers show growth despite economic gloom A new report has indicated that retailers in London were able to cope with the economic slowdown better than those across the rest of the country. While the most recent data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) showed that retail sales dipped by 0.9 per cent in July, it added that sales in the capital were actually up 6.2 per cent on the same month in 2007. Although less than the 12.9 per cent increase recorded in July 2007, the figures nevertheless suggest that London retailers have managed to cope with the slowing economy better than those across the rest of the nation. Despite this, the report showed that some London-based retailers continued to struggle. In particular, it was shown that the market for big-ticket items, such as furniture and large electrical goods, remained very tough for businesses in the capital. "Central London has once again outperformed the rest of the UK, but by a lower margin that we have seen in the previous two months," commented Helen Dickinson, the head of retail at KPMG. "There continues to be considerable variation in performance of individual retailers in the capital and significant swings in individual retailer performance on a week by week basis as they move into and out of promotional activity." BRC director general Stephen Robertson added that tourist spending had helped buoy the market in London in July.   (c) 2008 Adfero Ltd. Sponsor of August Trade News Tilting 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.