Retail inflation is at its lowest level since 2022 as retailers offer huge discounts
SHOP price inflation has fallen to an 18-month low as retailers offer deep discounts to attract customers.
According to the British Retail Consortium, prices in January were still 2.9 percent higher than a year ago, but that is significantly lower than the 4.3 percent in December.
Food inflation also slowed slightly, but remained worryingly high at 6.1 percent.
However, the BRC said there was “good news for the morning brew” as tea and milk prices fell.
CEO Helen Dickinson celebrated “a bit of New Year's cheer” but warned that higher prices won't go away anytime soon.
She said: “Rising geopolitical tensions will increase uncertainty and costs in supply chains.”
She noted that non-food goods had driven the decline in retail price inflation, with many retailers offering heavily discounted goods in January.
Mike Watkins of Nielseniq echoed Ms Dickinson's concerns.
He said: “Shoppers are seeing savings at the checkout, with non-food retailers offering promotions and food retailers cutting prices as the cost of goods falls.
“But consumer demand remains vulnerable as most households still do not feel better off after almost two years of inflation.”
Fresh food inflation has slowed slightly to 4.9 percent – down from 5.4 percent in December.
Last week the Co-op reduced prices on 117 everyday products for members, on top of the discounted member prices it already offers on 175 essential products.
And Sainsbury's has expanded its Aldi Price Match campaign to 550 products.
Barbie swirl
THE Barbie movie has pushed UK cinema revenues past the £1 billion mark for the first time since the pandemic.
And the plastic pink family favorite – released at the same time as the Oppenheimer nuclear bomb origin story – was the most downloaded film of the past year.
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It came as the UK screen industry grew by 5.6 per cent to £12.5 billion by 2023, due to rising demand for subscription services.
The British Association for Screen Entertainment said 19.3 million British homes – more than two-thirds – had used a subscription video service in the past three months, boosting figures by half a million.
Telecom companies need interns
TWO of the UK's biggest telecoms companies are recruiting interns.
The BT Group offers more than 500 jobs for young people in software engineering, customer service, applied research, data analytics and cyber security.
And Virgin Media O2 is creating 200 apprenticeships and internships in field engineering and finance for people without prior work experience or CV.
The company's Karen Handley said: “It is wrong that many talented young people are being overlooked for entry-level roles because they have no previous experience.”
Glasses are seen falling
Shares in Aim-listed eyewear manufacturer Inspecs fell 31 percent yesterday after the company said profits will be lower than expected.
Eyewear manufacturer Barbour and O'Neill said profits would rise 16 percent to £18 million in 2023, but that is much lower than the market had hoped.
Richard Peck, boss of the Bath-based company, said: “Our focus on operational efficiency in 2024 improved our margins.”
Signs of hope for Superdry
Shares in struggling fashion brand Superdry rose 7 percent after it confirmed it was considering several “cost-saving options”.
Last week, the chain revealed a sharp drop in sales and warned shareholders that it could take some time for the recovery to turn around.
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It said half-year losses almost doubled to £25.3 million.
The news alarmed the stock market, but yesterday traders were reassured by news that the company was taking action to reverse the woes.
Cost-cutting measures could include possible store closures and job cuts.
It has already closed 12 stores, saving around £20 million, leaving 216 company-owned stores, plus franchise stores.
The company said it is on track to save £40 million this year.
Superdry said: “The company confirms it is working with advisors to explore the feasibility of various material cost saving options.”
The fall of Ryanair
RYANAIR's profits have fallen due to rising fuel costs.
The budget airline said they fell to £12.8m for the third quarter of the year, down from £180m last year.
Revenues rose 17 percent, but profits were hit as fuel prices rose 35 percent.
The company said it was also forced to cut prices in December to offset the move by some online travel agencies to pull Ryanair from their sites.
Boss Michael O'Leary said full-year results were “heavily dependent on avoiding unforeseen adverse events”.
Criticism of construction
The UK construction sector is facing an “immensely difficult period” after 4,370 companies went bankrupt in the year to November.
According to accountants Mazars, this is the highest number of bankruptcies of any sector in Britain in the past three years.
Flutter American bet
British gambling giant Flutter appears ready to move its stock exchange listing to New York.
After listing its shares on the New York Stock Exchange for the first time yesterday, it said it will ask shareholders to approve a move of its primary listing to the US.
The owner of Paddy Power and Betfair hopes this will spark interest from US investors.
If approved, the company, which also owns US site Fanduel, would maintain a secondary listing in London so its shares could still be traded here.