Apparently the UK retail sector is predicted to lose up to 900,000 jobs this year.
The British Retail Consortium is predicted the job losses as the UK experiences rising cost of living and a levy on apprenticeship levy introduced last year.
“Both have sound intentions but could fail on implementation. Together these effects could mean there are as many as 900,000 fewer jobs in retail by 2025 but those that remain will be more productive and higher earning.”
The prediction is gloomy. The report states that of the 3 million people currently employed in the UK the the retail sector in 270,000 stores, 74,000 could close. The worst affected areas? Wales and Northern England.
The retail sector is still struggling to cope after the recession and boom of online industries such as Amazon. A lot of our regular stores are now gone. The issue being that chain stores, when there is money to be made, move into areas. Once the money is gone, those stores remove the lower earning stores leaving gaps in the market. It is rare that independents can afford the rents after high street brands drive rental prices up. No one wins!
Oh but wait, we are meant to be having less jobs but those who will remain in employment will see better pay and more productive jobs.
Amazingly, people are giving out about the minimal wage change. It's going from £6.20 an hour to £7.20 for the over 25s. It is estimated to cost the industry £3 billion a year. However, this biggest change will be the change to the lives of those affected by the increase. I have to say that retail is extremely difficult as a job and very demanding.
There is a huge unspoken problem with gender as well. The report also reveals that 70% of retail workers are female. This means its a predominately female career choice which means that its another example of low paid work occupied by women. I am guessing it might be because of the higher level of part time work which means its possibly more flexible for mothers. The BRC also revealed that this area of work has actually doubled since the 1960s. It'll be interesting to see how this pans out over the next few years.
The other issue affecting UK retail this month:
Brexit.
The English are voting on staying or going from the European Union this month. It might not sound like much but one of the many ways in which this could impact is by making your clothing more expensive.
(I know there are more complicated issues at stake then this but hey, this is a fashion blog ok???)
One of the firs predictions is the difference to flights and fuel which is predicted to rise. Sterling hit its lowest against the dollar this week since 2009. The exit could wipe another 20% off the value of sterling.
I know I am not making any plans to change any of my sterling at the minute. Not to mention, as someone about to move back to the UK with parents living in Ireland - I am a bit nervous about flights rising.
The rising cost of flights and increase to retailers will mean that this will be in turn passed to consumers. The cost of your Primark dress could go up! While most retailers have covered themselves for six to nine months of sterling uncertainty, it does mean that prices will eventually increase.
So anything else you should know about?
Amazon has released plans this week to further develop on their own line of clothing.
Sounds like nothing?
Try telling the bookshops that the company have put out of business about. Amazon is now selling clothing under seven different names which are all trademarked by the company. These in turn produce 1,800 different items. Which is massive.
So eventually, as people get more and more used to the idea of Amazon for their clothing, it could mean the same state of affairs that we have now with books. Who here can honestly say they haven't gone into a book shop and photographed/mentally noted the name of a book before looking for a cheap deal online? I have. I hate to say it. I'm a student. I'll be honest.
This might be a minor threat but it comes on a bad week for the UK retail sector.
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