There's no business like snow business

Written on: 27 January 2011

Looking forward to a new, successful year...

How time flies with the first month of 2011 nearly at an end. January is always a month of sales and trading analysis, with Retail Week in overdrive about what retailers enjoyed a bumper Christmas and who failed to capitalise on the madness that is the Christmas shopping rush. Of course the week before the Big Day was somewhat hampered by the weather, we certainly experienced a huge drop off in footfall and early closing stores as both shoppers and shop staff were beaten by the elements. However, the post Christmas sales saw huge numbers of people through the doors making up for lost time and hoping to bag a bargain, the cash machines at Wakefield even ran out of money. It could be said that the smaller towns actually benefited from the inability for people to drive anywhere. Darlington for example was given a huge pre-Christmas boost as people stayed locally rather than travelling to Metro and Newcastle.

There seems to be very few retailer casualties as we enter the New Year which is good news for the High Street and retailer requirement lists are starting to be issued round the market. 2011 will be tough on retailer trading as we all have a little less money in our pockets. VAT rise, petrol soaring and the extra 1% National Insurance will all bite us in 2011. And who knows what Mr Osbourne has in store for us to ensure inflation is kept down and any interest rate rise is delayed a while longer.

For Plus Shops it's a new office for a New Year! We are well settled into our new abode on Regent Street and enjoying the benefits of the countless coffee shops, bars and restaurants that surround our own hive of activity. So, if you fancy looking us up, feel free to drop by to Langham House to see our new home and we will treat you to a warm welcome!

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