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 1st August 2008 Toy retailers defy gloom A new survey has suggested that independent toy retailers are resisting the current economic downturn and thriving. Plush toys wholesaler Best Years surveyed their independent retail customers and asked them how they were doing at the moment. Perhaps surprisingly, 64 per cent of the small retailers said they were currently doing well, with 15.8 per cent revealing their business was "brilliant" at the moment. Following up the survey, the wholesaler contacted some retailers that were performing well and found that all of them said they had had to work harder to maintain sales, but that the results were worth the effort. In particular, the successful retailers said they changed their displays very regularly and looked to continually bring in and market new products. A statement from the wholesaler added: "Amid all the doom and gloom in the news … it now appears that the more dynamic and flexible independents are also doing very well." Recently, the Confederation of British Industry reported that 61 per cent of retailers thought sales in the first half of July were lower than a year ago.   (c) 2008 Adfero Ltd. Best Years is the sole UK subsidiary of The Cuddle Factory   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.