08-01-2008
Retail sales poor for December
News for Simply Business - independent providers of shop insurance, business finance, landlord insurance, buy-to-let mortgages & commercial mortgages.
Retail sales in December were the worst in three years, according to a report by the British Retail Consortium.
Compared with last Christmas’s figure of 2.5% sales increase on the previous year, December 2007 produced a very poor 0.3% growth.
Kevin Hawkins, Director General of the British Retail Consortium said, "This result is somewhat worse than we expected and points to a very challenging first half for 2008. Given that the full effects of the Bank's previous increases in interest rates have yet to be felt by many households, retailers and manufacturers alike need a rate cut now – preferably a full half-point."
The result is in contrast to a positive start to 2008, where the January sales gave businesses a boost.
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