As per the Center for Retail Research (CRR), a total of 14,874 retail jobs have been lost since January, as announced by retail companies.
Nation retail brands like Paperchase, clothing chain M&Co, and the Tile Giant have collapsed in recent weeks, moreover, supermarkets like Tesco and Asda, apparel retailer New Look, and discount retailer Wilko have announced downsizing.
As per the research, retail giants with more than 10 stores have declared that they would be downsizing at their main shipping destinations as well as on UK high streets.
Paperchase, a stationery specialty retailer, went into administration after being hammered by rising costs and poor sales.
250 jobs were cut immediately when the brand and its intellectual property were purchased by Tesco, since the deal did not include 106 stores of Paperchase across the UK and Ireland, with the future of a further 500 staff members remaining uncertain.
As per the CRR’s director, Prof. Joshua Bamfield, in recent years many retailers struggled and collapsed.
“The process of rationalization will continue at a steady pace as retailers continue to reduce their cost base,” he said. “We are unlikely to see any respite in job losses in 2023 after a brutal start to the year.”
Several retail shops closed even before the pandemic lockdown was imposed. Less than 3 million retail openings were recorded in 2022, which is 63,000 less than a year earlier as per the survey conducted by the British Retail Consortium.
The largest operating costs for retailers are the business rates that are being revalued on April 1. It appears to have the potential to lower the rateable values used to calculate bills.
According to the chancellor’s announcement in his fall statement, business rates relief will result in a 75% discount on new payments for the tax year running from April 2023 to March 2024, with a cash ceiling of £110,000 per firm.
The Treasury has stated that as a result, the retail sector “is set to see its overall bills paid fall by 20%.”
Nonetheless, only a couple of branches of a retailer will benefit due to the cap, as per the caution expressed by the property adviser Altus Group.
“While the adjustments brought about by the revaluation are welcome, 10% overall just does not go far enough given the state of the market on the valuation date which is likely to lead to a tsunami of appeals,” as stated by the global president of property tax at Altus Group, Alex Probyn.
- Published By Team Timeswire