What a weak pound can do

18 January 2010 By Ian Campbell

Central London retailers had a great December. But they did so in part because foreign tourists came and spent, and some of their competitors have gone entirely. Retailers are right to be nervous about 2010. Unlike tourism, UK production hasn’t yet responded to devaluation.

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Retail sales in central London in December were 12 percent higher on a likeforlike basis than a year ago, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) reported on January 18. The BRC said this was the best December figure since its survey began in 2002. Spending by shoppers from China, the Middle East and Europe was reported to be strong.

In December 2008 sales had fallen by 0.7 percent as financial fears affected consumer confidence. The BRC said that retail footfall was below its yearearlier level but that consumers spent more. In the UK as a whole sales rose by 4.2 percent.

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