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 6th August 2008 Wholesaler sector set to struggle in coming months The latest Wholesaling Review from Barclays Commercial has painted a gloomy picture of the sector and predicted things could get worse as retailers continue to struggle. According to the report, the wholesale sector's output dropped by 1.1 per cent in the year that ended in May. This is the first decline wholesalers have recorded since July 2005. In particular, the report said that wholesalers of durable household goods and agricultural machinery had already experienced sharp falls in sales. Looking forward, the research suggested that continued pressures on consumer finances in the country would reduce retail sales and therefore impact wholesalers. It noted: "Against this backdrop, we expect growth in wholesaler output to slow to one to two per cent in 2008. "Those wholesalers supplying consumer and durable goods, as well as builders' merchants, are likely to be impacted most by the expected slowdown." Earlier this month, the problems that UK wholesalers are currently facing were highlighted when London-based firm S Gold and Sons confirmed that it had gone bust.   (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.