1. December 2009 Update
The For the first time since July of this year, the number of retail administrations has risen above that of
Summary new market entrants, with 5 – Pubs N Bars, Escada (pre-pack), Borders, Head and Virgin Vie -
falling to the wayside this month.
New market entrants are Out The Closet, Mackintosh and KidRobot.
Birth and Death of Retailers
25
20
15
10
5
0
Dec- Jan- Feb- Mar- Apr- May- Jun- Jul- Aug- Sep- Oct- Nov- Dec-
08 09 09 09 09 09 09 09 09 09 09 09 09
In Administration New Retailers
In the news…
A definite mixed bag of news this month;
The Good
• Expansion is on the cards for Astley Clark, Baguette Express, Bargain Booze,
Dreams, Hobbycraft and Mills Group
• New formats have been announced as Comet and M&S launch mobile sites and
Gieves and Hawkes take their website transactional
The Bad
• Nokia has been forced to close its flagship store on Regent Street due to
competition from market leader Apple across the road
• The Envy name to disappear from the high street, as up to 12 underperforming
stores are closed and the remainder are rebranded to Tom Wolfe
The Ugly
• All Saints are issuing legal proceedings against River Island claiming copyright
infringement
• New Look has been found guilty of causing the Oxford Street fire two years ago
It seems that when they are good they are very, very good but when they are bad they are horrid…
It’s the same in the Statistics section, with House Prices up 0.5% MoM, BRC retail sales up 4.1%
YoY but Consumer Confidence down 4 points and Ireland still suffering as CSO reports the value
of retail sales 11.8% lower YoY. The FSP view of the current Clothing & Footwear market is
supported by ONS Retail Sales showing a mere 0.4% increase YoY this month.
www.snap-shop.co.uk

2. Geoff’s The Golden Rule
View
“Do as you would be done by” is an ethical code that has its roots in a wide range of world cultures,
present in the philosophies of ancient India, Greece, Judea and China. It is based on the
understanding of the human condition expressed by John Donne as, “No man is an island, entire of
itself …- any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never
send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee." We are indeed social animals.
There is a view that the current economic situation was precipitated and is perpetuated by a failure
within society in general and particularly in the financial community, to maintain the Golden Rule.
For those who are not retailers, the upcoming break from normal routine may provide space to
reflect on whether the ethic of reciprocity is really still relevant to our society. If it is, is there a
personal responsibility to reflect it in the way I conduct my life and business? None of this is easy
but as Edmund Burke reminds us, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do
nothing."
With these merry thoughts ringing in my head, I wish you a happy holiday and a prosperous New
Year
With kind regards
Geoff Nicholson
Managing Director, FSP
geoff@fspretail.co.uk
www.snap-shop.co.uk

3. New Retailers
Kidrobot has opened its first standalone European store at Seven Dials in Covent Garden
Out The Closet by pop singer Elton John’s Aids Foundation is to open a ‘pop-up shop’ at Covent
Garden for two weeks
Woolworths(.co.uk) may return to the high street as a 200-store chain as brand owner Shop Direct
considers launching a bricks and mortar franchise strategy
Store News
Amazon has denied a report in The Sunday Times that it plans to open physical stores in the UK
Baguette Express is planning to open 30 new franchised sandwich stores in the Greater Manchester area
Bargain Booze is looking to double the size of its chain of 610 franchised drinks stores over the next
five years
Debenhams is to open in Vietnam as it seeks to bolster its international portfolio
Debenhams has become the first non-food retailer to offer a cash-back service
Domino's Pizza opened its 600th outlet in the UK and Ireland this month
Dreams has embarked on an expansion plan to open 40 shops over the next two years
Dune has unveiled a multi-brand mens-only footwear store in London's West End under the
Chelsea Cobbler name it acquired as part of its rescue of Shoe Studio Group earlier
this year
Haldane Stores has announced the acquisition of 13 new outlets across the UK as its expansion plans
kick into gear
Hobbycraft plans to quadruple the size of its business to 180 stores over the next few years
Hollister is to roll out a new high street retail format in the UK
Jones Bootmakers has launched a new-look store at its Milton Keynes branch
Josef Seibel is looking for a franchise partner to open 10 stores in major towns in the UK and
Republic of Ireland in the next five years
Holland & Barrett is to overhaul health food shop Julian Graves' brand and product range from January,
as it gears up to make the chain a "specialist food retailer"
Kookai is opening a new-look store as part of its repositioning to expand in the UK
M&Co has unveiled a new-look store concept and pushed the button on a 2010 expansion
strategy
Mackintosh is to open its first standalone store in London
Mamas & Papas has signed a deal with Shop Direct Group to sell its maternitywear through the
Very.co.uk and Woolworths.co.uk channels
www.snap-shop.co.uk

4. Mills Group is looking to expand its Tyneside-based chain of 82 convenience stores with up to ten
new outlets a year
Musto has opened a concession in the London Regent Street branch of menswear chain
Austin Reed
Nokia has been forced to close its flagship Regent Street store due to competition from an
Apple store across the road
Paperchase has insisted it will remain largely unaffected by the administration of Borders UK despite
operating 38 concessions in the collapsed chain
Pets at Home plans to open 200 out-of-town warehouses
Phones 4 U plans to ramp up its store refits in the new year with the aim of completing the whole
chain by the middle of 2010
Phones 4 U is to extend its trial with DSG International with the opening of a second concession
within the Currys Megastore in Thurrock, Lakeside
Supergroup is to make its standalone retail debut in the Republic of Ireland despite the troubled Irish
trading climate
Tesco Stores UK plans to open 500 instore phone shops, from 100 currently, with 200 scheduled to be
up and running by the end of 2010
Toast has opened a pop-up store in Cheltenham that will become permanent in February
Waitrose is extending a deal to open outlets in Welcome Break-run motorway service stations
Internal Restructuring
Blacks Leisure Group Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) has been approved by 98% of its landlords at
a creditors meeting
Dunelm Mil founder Bill Adderley has offloaded more shares in the family-run business, transferring
around a 10% share of the retailer to his son and Dunelm chief executive Will
Envy is to shut up to 12 underperforming stores and rebrand its remaining shops to Tom
Wolfe in the new year
Flannels has announced the approval of a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) proposal that
will save 12 stores but see three others close
French Connection is weighing up possible further store closures
John Lewis Direct will be integrated with the chain’s department store business to create a "joined-up
customer objective"
Kurt Geiger has relaunched its upmarket sub-brand of the same name as a top-end, better-quality
footwear collection
Marks & Spencer plans to buy back £225 million (USD367.29 million) of corporate bonds
Marks & Spencer has re-introduced fresh food counters including a butcher and fishmonger at two of its
stores (Bluewater, Dartford and Meadowhall, Sheffield) on a trial basis
www.snap-shop.co.uk

5. Superdrug plans to launch a loyalty card in the UK next year
Financial Restructuring
Astley Clarke is considering seeking further investment next year to bolster growth
Borders has appointed MCR as administrator to Borders UK. All stores are expected to close by
Christmas Eve, though takeover talks for some stores are underway
Cath Kidston is looking for a new majority owner. The new funds will reportedly back an aggressive
expansion strategy in the Far East
Effective Cosmetics have decided that they can not keep the Virgin Vie retail stores operating and have
closed about half so far. The remainder will close from next month, once they run out of
stock or available staff
Escada has been bought by Subco Limited, the wholly-owned subsidiary of the Mittal Trust
First Quench Retailing administrator KPMG has sold the Wine Rack brand and 14 shops to wholesaler Venus
(Thresher Group) Wine & Spirit Merchants. Several other areas of the chain have also been sold, though
no buyer for the complete business has been found
Habitat new owners Retail Investments, a consortium headed by Hilco, say they have no plans
to shut any stores
Head is understood to be closing its four stores less than a year after opening
JD Sports Fashion has sold its remaining stake in rival retailer JJB Sports
Jessops will be de-listed from the London Stock Exchange before Christmas, it was reported
Leekes (J H Leeke & Sons has acquired Cole's Home Furnishings, the operator of three furniture stores in Bilston,
Ltd) Bedworth and Fenton, and will create a department store format at each site
Matalan has received first-round bids from five top private equity groups
Premium Bars & is close to being rescued from administration by GI Partners
Restaurants
Pubs N Bars has fallen into the hands of administrators and is preparing to slough off some of the
weaker outlets in its 87-strong portfolio of community pubs mostly in the South East of
England
Whitbread PLC has reached a deal with the board of coffeeheaven international to buy the chain, which
will be managed as a subsidiary of the group’s Costa division
General
Agent Provocateur is to broaden its target customer group and develop more commercial collections under
the guidance of Kim Winser
All Saints chief executive Stephen Craig said he would "ferociously" protect the retailer's creativity
as the company issued a writ against high street retailer River Island. They have also
issued similar to Arcadia
Anthropologie UK debut has been hailed a success by parent Urban Outfitters
www.snap-shop.co.uk

6. ASDA has vowed not to add the UK VAT increase to existing stock of clothing in the New Year
when the rate goes back to 17.5%
ASDA has won the rights to sell official World Cup products next summer after its parent
Walmart struck a deal with FIFA’s worldwide master licensee
ASOS is gearing up to launch The Green Room, a new section on its site to target ethically
minded shoppers and boost ASOS's ethical credentials
Burberry is poised to enter a joint venture with Indian fashion retailer Genesis Colors, pending
government approval in India
Burton will axe its premium Black Label for spring 10 after three years
Chanel has had accusations of stealing from a knitwear supplier thrown out by a French court
Comet has launched its first mobile phone site, allowing customers to reserve items and collect
products from their nearest store
DSG International is reportedly to sue its own legal advisers for as much as €1m over alleged mistakes in
closing down the retailer’s business in France
Fast food The Local Data Company has reported the number of fast-food chains in the top 10 UK
cities climbed 8.2% in the year to October - 6.6% more than the previous year
Germany has emerged as the number one target for retailers looking to expand their international
presence in Europe, the Middle East and Africa in 2010
Gieves & Hawkes will launch a transactional website in December
Harrods is to sell emerging designers via a new area on the luxury department store's website
called Harrods Launches
HMV could make a bid for its live-music partner Mama Group, which is currently the subject
of a takeover bid from its largest investor
Hugo Boss backer Permira will not exit the menswear giant for at least a couple of years
Irish shoppers claim to avidly check receipts to make sure that they are not being ripped off – however
over 50% of shoppers still do not ask for a receipt if they are not automatically provided
with one
Key staff changes have occurred at the following retailers this month; Aldi, Aurora Fashions, Crew
Clothing, Amazon, John Lewis, Morrisons, Ascension, HMV, JJB Sports, Agent
Provocateur, New Look and Sports Direct International
Liberty of London has confirmed it has signed a deal with US value chain Target to create a range of
clothing and accessories for the store
Louis Vuitton has opened in Macau’s One Central retail and residential development as part of its
planned expansion across the Asia Pacific region
Marks & Spencer is launching a mobile gift website featuring characters from Wallace and Gromit
www.snap-shop.co.uk

7. Mobile Retailing One in three UK consumers has tried to shop from their mobile phone but 28% of those
shoppers have found it difficult, according to research
Natuzzi has denied involvement in alleged price fixing, for which it has been reported to the
Office of Fair Trading
New Look has been found guilty of causing the Oxford Street fire two years ago which gutted the
building
Nokia has been forced to close its flagship Regent Street store due to competition from an
Apple store across the road
Sainsburys.co.uk is buying 50 more electric vans for its online grocery delivery service, giving it the
world’s biggest fleet of electric vehicles
Supermarkets non-food sales are expected to increase by 40% to £16.2bn in 2014, representing
nearly 10p in every pound spent in the grocers
Tesco plc has launched a legal challenge against a subsidiary of Mike Ashley’s Sport’s Direct,
after the supermarket giant overpaid for some bicycles
Tesco Stores UK has launched a shop on eBay to sell faulty customer returns that have been repaired
along with discontinued electronic lines
The British Retail is braced to launch a campaign to ban upward-only rent reviews if its members demand
Consortium it, after the Irish government scrapped the reviews
Westfield faces the threat of a second revolt this year by retailers at its Shepherd’s Bush, west
London, shopping centre over service charges
Wet weather in November dampened sales across Britain's leading pub and restaurant groups,
according to latest figures
Property
Cadena is thought to have bought the 86,000sq ft Maesglas Retail Park in Newport on behalf of
Threadneedle for £12.6m
CIS has sold the Clyde Shopping Centre, near Glasgow, for £69m
Costcutter and the Endless private equity firm have both ruled themselves out of the remaining
500 stores from the First Quench Retailing portfolio
Hammerson has been appointed preferred buyer of the £300m Silverburn shopping mall near
Glasgow in a joint venture with Canada Pension Plan
Henderson Global and Invista Real Estate Investment Management are to remarket Princes Quay
Investors Shopping Centre in Hull, following the collapse of a £65m sale to Hull-based investor
Manor Property Group
Land Securities has bought Yorkshire developer Caddick Developments' 25% stake in Trinity Leeds
Poundland opened its 250th store on 3 December
Tesco plc plans to build its largest store in Ireland have been rejected on appeal
www.snap-shop.co.uk

8. Retailer
Results
www.snap-shop.co.uk

9. www.snap-shop.co.uk

10. UK Overview
ONS Retail The value of retail sales in November at current prices not seasonally adjusted, increased 2.5% YoY, changing
Sales the 3 month moving average to 2.6%, from 2.4% in October. Value of sales through food stores in November
increased by 3.4% YoY, compared with 3.8% in October. The value of sales through non-food stores was up
0.7% YoY, down from 1.8% last month.
As always, Non-Store Retailing & Repair was the best performing sector, with a YoY increase of 9.7%. After a
reasonable increase of 3.4% YoY in October, Clothing & Footwear stores showed only a marginal increase of
0.4% YoY in November.
Please see the Retail & Economic Statistics page on SnapShop for more historical detail
www.snap-shop.co.uk

11. Internet Data from ONS for November were unavailable, therefore based on BRC figures, non-food non-retail sales
Retail were 16.9% higher in November YoY.
Sales
% Internet Sales YOY % Change
20
16
12
8
4
0
No v- Dec- Jan- Feb- M ar- A pr- M ay- Jun- Jul- A ug- Sep- Oct- No v-
08 08 09 09 09 09 09 09 09 09 09 09 09
ONS YoY % Change BRC YoY % Change
NB: ONS have recently adjusted historical figures, but have given data only back to October 2008. BRC started reporting in April 2009.
BRC Year-on-Year (YoY) total UK retail sales values in November increased 4.1%, while like-for-like (LfL) sales
Retail increased 1.8%.
Sales
Retail sales in central London in November were 13.3% higher on a like-for-like basis than a year ago, when
sales had fallen 0.4%, as financial turmoil hit consumer confidence – especially in the City. November's
growth was the best since October 2006.
Please see the Retail & Economic Statistics page on SnapShop for more historical detail
www.snap-shop.co.uk

12. Pedestrian SPSL’s Retail Traffic Index for November increased by 1% MoM against October, and 0.8% against
Flows November 2008. Experian FootFall reported a MoM increase of 7.5% and a YoY decrease of 1.9%
%
5
Pedestrian Flows - Year-on-Year Change
3
1
-1
-3
-5
SPSL (YoY) FootFall (YoY)
-7
Oct- Nov- Dec- Jan- Feb- Mar- Apr- May- Jun- Jul- Aug- Sep- Oct- Nov-
08 08 08 09 09 09 09 09 09 09 09 09 09 09
In November 2008, FootFall adjusted their benchmarking, and provided revised historical data, as included above.
Interest In December, the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee once again voted to maintain the official
Rates Bank Rate paid on commercial bank reserves at 0.5%.
% Bank of England - Base Rate
3
2
1
0
Jan- Feb- Mar- Apr- May- Jun- Jul- Aug- Sep- Oct- Nov- Dec-
09 09 09 09 09 09 09 09 09 09 09 09
Please see the Retail & Economic Statistics page on SnapShop for more historical detail
www.snap-shop.co.uk

13. Inflation In the year to November, the consumer prices index (CPI) rose by 1.9%, up from 1.5% in October. The more
familiar RPI (Retail Prices Index) increased, from -0.8% in October, to 0.3% in November.
% UK Inflation (CPI v RPI) CPI RPI
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
-1
-2
Dec- Jan- Feb- Mar- Apr- May- Jun- Jul- Aug- Sep- Oct- Nov-
08 09 09 09 09 09 09 09 09 09 09 09
House According to the Nationwide index, the price of a typical house rose by 0.5% in November MoM. At
Prices £162,764, the average price of a typical UK property was 2.7% higher than a year earlier.
NB: YoY figures refer to left hand scale, MoM statistics refer to right hand scale.
Please see the Retail & Economic Statistics page on SnapShop for more historical detail
www.snap-shop.co.uk

14. Consumer The GfK NOP Consumer Confidence Index fell by 4 points during November to -17. After a fairly steady rise
Confidence throughout 2009 the index is 20 percentage points above where it was at the start of the year, but this month
is the first time the index has fallen for over a year.
Please see the Retail & Economic Statistics page on SnapShop for more historical detail
www.snap-shop.co.uk

15. Ireland Overview
CSO Retail At time of writing, the most recently published data were October, when the value of retail sales in current
Sales prices, not seasonally adjusted, was 11.8% lower YOY, decreasing the moving YOY 3 month figure to -11%
from -10.5% in September.
The value of food sales in October decreased to -7.3% YOY, and the value of non-food sales decreased to
-17% from -16.4% the previous month.
Please see the Retail & Economic Statistics page on SnapShop for more historical detail
www.snap-shop.co.uk

16. Inflation in In Ireland, HICP remained at -2.8% in November, while CPI increased, to -5.7%.
Ireland
% Irish Inflation (HICP v CPI)
2
1
0
-1
-2
-3
-4
-5
-6
-7
Dec- Jan- Feb- Mar- Apr- May- Jun- Jul- Aug- Sep- Oct- Nov-
08 09 09 09 09 09 09 09 09 09 09 09
HICP CPI
Please see the Retail & Economic Statistics page on SnapShop for more historical detail.
www.snap-shop.co.uk

17. And Finally…
Butt of a Joke
The North Face Apparel Corp has apparently filed a federal court lawsuit in St Louis against parody brand The
South Butt.
The brand, started by a college student to help pay for his fees, sells t-shirts, fleece jackets and sweatshirts
with the tagline “Never Stop Relaxing”.
The cease and desist request apparently stated that the companies’ logos are similar enough to cause
“confusion”. Honestly now, when was the last time you confused your face with your butt…?
Other mildly amusing parodies discovered when researching this article include; DeadBull to RedBull; Naïve to
Evian; and Nescrape to Nescafe!
www.fspretail.co.uk
17/12/09
FSP has gone to its best efforts to ensure this data is correct but the author reserves the right not to be responsible for the accuracy of information provided.
SnapShop Monthly, a benefit of SnapShop Membership, is provided by:
FSP
20 Manor Court Yard
Hughenden Avenue
High Wycombe
Buckinghamshire
HP13 5RE
Tel: 01494 474740
Email: snapshop@fspretail.co.uk
www.snap-shop.co.uk
www.fspretail.co.uk
www.snap-shop.co.uk