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 13th August 2008 More retailers and wholesalers going out of business More and more retailers and wholesalers are going out of business as the economy in the UK slows, a new report has suggested. Data released by business information provider Equifax showed that total business failures increased by ten per cent in the second quarter of the year when compared to the same months in 2007. Specifically, the study showed that the pressures on consumer spending meant that retailers and wholesalers struggled in the three-month period. Despite slightly optimistic consumer spending figures for May, the new data showed that 15.7 per cent more retailers went bust in the second quarter of 2008 than did in the same months a year ago. The slowdown in high street spending also has had an impact on the performance of the UK's wholesalers - with 7.6 per cent more businesses in the sector failing in the months compared to the period in 2007. "The risk at a time like this is that companies find it harder to gain new funding and pull back on business growth as well as take greater risks with new customers they take on," explained Neil Munroe, the external affairs director at Equifax. "Plus they feel less confident about chasing outstanding debts. "Clearly, this is exactly the time when more checks need to be put in place - both of new and existing customers."     (c) 2008 Adfero Ltd. Sponsor of August Trade News Ultraslim 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.