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Independent retail bodies welcome new report aimed at tackling retail crime.

21 Mar 2024

ACS (The Association of Convenience Stores) and the Federation of Independent Retailers (The Fed) have both welcomed a new report published by the Association of Police and Crime... Read more…

Indie retailers outperformed supermarkets in sales of organic food, wellness and beauty products in 2023.

21 Mar 2024

As reported by Healthstores UK, new data contained in the 2024 Soil Association Organic Market report shows that independent retailers delivered an impressive 10% growth in 2023, with... Read more…

Cheltenham beer shop and bar wins top UK award.

21 Mar 2024

An independent bottle shop and bar in Cheltenham has been named as the UK's Independent Beer and Wine Retailer of the Year 2024 at the Drinks Retailing Awards. 
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Welsh Government Announce £20m Future Proofing Fund for Retail Businesses in Wales

21 Mar 2024

A number of organisations, including Bira (the British Independent Retailers’ Association), other trade associations, BIDs and unions have met with officials from the Welsh Government to... Read more…

High Street Faces 'Unprecedented Challenges' says Trade Association

21 Mar 2024

The British Independent Retailers’ Association (Bira) has reacted to data released by PwC and the Local Data Company exploring the state of the UK retail landscape.
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Greeting Card Association expresses concern on new evidence Royal Mail prioritising parcel deliveries over letters.

6 Mar 2024

The Greeting Card Association has reacted to a BBC Panorama programme lifting the lid on Royal Mail management prioritising parcel delivery over letters, which it says are in contradiction of... Read more…

Kate Bush named as Record Store Day ambassador.

4 Mar 2024

Pop star Kate Bush has been announced as an ambassador for this year's Record Store Day, on 20 April.
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Shortlist for Independent Bookshop of the Year 2024 revealed.

4 Mar 2024

The British Book Awards has announced its shortlist for Independent Bookshop of the Year. 
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Local Bike Shop Day 2024 confirmed for Saturday May 4th.

4 Mar 2024

The ACT is happy to confirm the date for Local Bike Shop Day 2024 as Saturday 4 May, the weekend of the early May Bank Holiday.
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New research reveals the best cities in the UK for independent retailers.

4 Mar 2024

Research by global fintech company SumUp has revealed the best cities in the UK for independent businesses.
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Rising costs continue to impact hair and beauty sector

Posted on in Business News

The latest quarterly State of the Industry survey from the National Hair & Beauty Federation (NHBF) shows that the recovery of the sector was slow and steady through 2023 and into January 2024.

Haircut

Resilient sector businesses, though, are still under pressure from sticky inflation, high winter energy costs, rising wage costs in April 2024 and the lack of availability of experienced staff to grow their business.

Whilst the sector continues to make a slow and steady recovery, there has been a slight rise in businesses making a loss which is up 6% from September 2023, with 20% of businesses now reporting losses and 40% of businesses making a small or good profit - down 5% from September last year.

The trend towards increasing prices continued to slow with 39% of businesses doing so over the previous three months, down from 55% in September 2023.A further 64% of businesses will raise their prices over the next three months.

Reliance on external support remains high but is stable, with over half of businesses (58% up slightly from 56%) partially or completely reliant on Government support.

High energy costs are continuing to affect the sector, two thirds of the sector are paying for more energy than they were six months ago. When the Energy Bill Discount Scheme ends on 1st April, half of the businesses (49%) will see their costs increase by a further 20% and for two thirds of the sector they will be set to rise by up to 40%.

Caroline Larissey, NHBF chief executive says:

“The sector recovery is slow, but of most concern is the dip in businesses intending to take on staff and apprentices, as we rely on a pipeline of young talent entering our sector. Ahead of the Spring Budget on 6 March, we are calling on the government for further targeted sector support in the form of VAT reform (either reducing the rate, raising the threshold or tiered rates) and further support to employers through apprenticeship incentives.

With this support we are positive that our sector will continue to demonstrate resilience and the ability to weather the storm.”

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