Aug clothing sales hit by warm weather, says SRC

14 Sep '05

3 min read

Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) released the retail sales of August.

The SRC reported that like-for-like sales grew by 0.4 percent in August, a reduction in growth from 3.4 percent in July. Total sales grew by 3.6 percent in August, slower growth than the strong 8.0 percent in July. The like-for-like sales for August showed the weakest growth for several years. Clothing and footwear were the biggest casualties, with significant slowdown in sales during August.

Fiona Moriarty, Director of the Scottish Retail Consortium said that sales growth in Scotland is now experiencing a slow down as the gap with the rest of the UK narrows. In spite of the boost brought about by the back-to-school trade and good weather; clothing and footwear sales were still significantly slower and limited uptake of new autumn lines will be worrying for many.

However, new store openings, heavy discounting and stronger sales within key tourist areas have provided some respite and growth. Many retailers will now be hoping for good take up of winter and seasonal products in the lead up to Christmas.”

Andrew McLaughlin, Group Chief Economist at The Royal Bank of Scotland Group said that above earnings increases in unavoidable costs such as mortgage interest payments, council tax, petrol and utility charges are starting to catch up with Scottish consumers who tempered their retail spending in August.

These additional calls on take home pay are, predictably, having an ongoing impact upon those elements of consumer spending which are discretionary, none more so than retail sales. However, these latest set of figures should be seen as part of a more general downward trend and they remain hopeful that under the watchful eye of the Monetary Policy Committee, consumers and retailers will be set for a period of stability sooner rather than later.

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