The latest survey of the distributive trades by the CBI showed a positive balance of 21% of retailers reporting an increase in sales from 12 months before.

Judith McKenna, chair of the CBI Distributive Trades Panel and chief operating officer at Asda, said: "It's encouraging to see High Street sales up compared to a year ago, and that business sentiment about the next three months has improved.

But a note of caution was introduced from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) who showed that retail sales volumes fell by 2.3% in April compared with March, largely due to a record decline in petrol and diesel sales.

The figures released by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) also found April disappointing. They saw it as a combination of the wettest April on record (good news for the hosepipe ban) and that shoppers had already splashed out for summer goods during the March heatwave.

However, there was a silver lining as sales of floor coverings and homewares, such as bedding, linen and lighting, received a boost as the depressing weather prompted people to give their homes a facelift.

Mike Twomey, Marketing Manager of ABDS says:
“Online was still the quickest growing part of the retail sector, up by 9%, but its growth slowed from 14% last year.”

If you need any help and advice on Retail Business Plans, Management Accounts, Budgets and Cash Flow Forecasts, contact Lavinia Newman, Stuart Coleman or Tonmoy Kumar NOW to discuss how ABDS can help in all your financial planning.

ABDS Chartered Certified Accountants of Southampton.
Tel: 023 8083 6900 E-mail: abds@netaccountants.net

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