High Streets are still suffering and town centres recognise the need to re-invent themselves, hence such as the Mary Portas initiative Bill Grimsey’s review and yet an overwhelming majority of retail sector financial directors expect their business to grow over the next 12 months, according to new findings* from the Royal Bank of Scotland Corporate & Institutional Banking (RBS CIB) and accountancy firm BDO.
Mary Portas on a visit to Stockport earlier this year
Four in five (80%) financial directors polled said they expect growth in the year ahead, with more than one third (35%) believing that it will grow “significantly”.
Nearly three quarters (74%) of those polled said they expect consumer spending to increase over the next five years, with 50% expecting prime growth to come from overseas sales, followed by online sales (41%).
Traditional forms of retail and business transaction scored significantly lower, with just 6% expecting primary growth to come from high street sales and 3% from M&A. No financial directors expected the main growth to come from shopping centres.
Ben Williams, director retail & wholesale at RBS CIB said:
“It is heartening to see that retail financial directors are bullish on the prospects of the industry over the coming year as the UK economy battles its way out of recession. As the largest sectorial employer, with 15.3%2 of the British workforce, the industry has an important role to play. In addition, the retail sector is one which is ripe for innovation, and we are confident that the coming years will see some exciting new developments, with retailers extending their business online and abroad.”
Read the full article at Wholesale News
Sources: * Research carried out among 35 Financial Directors at an event held by RBS CIB and BDO in April 2013.