Tough times will sort men from the boys

The August bank holiday weekend marks the end of the summer for retailers and the start of the home straight into Christmas. This time of year more than ever is when retailers’ operations need to be on top form, ready with the right product and the right infrastructure to make the most of the year’s biggest retail opportunity.

There will doubtless be the usual gloomy predictions, but Christmas will be OK because Christmas always is.

It might not be a blockbuster, but there’s no reason to expect the solid trading we’ve seen so far in 2010 will come to an abrupt halt before the end of the year, particularly as the looming January VAT rise should help pull forward a few sales.

But it is also now that thoughts in retailers’ head offices will turn to beyond the Christmas period and in to 2011, because that’s when the economic clouds are likely to get darker. Unemployment, price rises and the VAT increase are just three of the factors that could conspire to make next year a much tougher one than this, and sentiment in both the retail and financial communities is becoming increasingly downbeat.

Retailers will need to plan cautiously for the year ahead, but there’s no point despairing. Yes, we’re set for an age of austerity, but all tough times really do is separate the men from the boys, and whether or not the darkest of predictions come to pass, the best retailers will simply knuckle down and focus on providing the best possible products, prices and service to their customers.

Don’t Blame Retailers

Rarely can the unglamorous plus-size clothing market have had more attention than it has lately. From Marks & Spencer’s plus-size school uniforms to new sub-brands for outsize but fashion-conscious teens from Asos and Evans, retailers have spotted an opportunity to serve a growing market better and capitalise on the opportunity presented by the increasing number of larger shoppers.

The response, particularly to M&S’s move, has been to portray retailers as almost encouraging the obesity epidemic. But all they’re doing is meeting demand - if kids need outsize clothing, it’s not the retailers supplying it who are responsible but the parents who allowed them to get that way.