Things may be tough, but there’s plenty for retailers and consumers alike to be positive about.
As retailers our prime responsibility is to inspire our own people and consumers, to make them feel good about selling and buying. Number one in our job descriptions should be enthusiasm and a positive attitude to life.
That might seem a bit of a hill to climb in this climate, so let me remind you of just a few reasons to be upbeat. Interest rates have been cut to their lowest level in 57 years and everyone thinks that the next move will really plumb the depths. And with next to no incentive to save, surely those of the great British public who have any money left might as well have the fun of spending it now.
VAT has been slashed by a meaningful 14 per cent or so, not the meagre 2.5 per cent that always hits the headlines. True, sterling’s dive is not exactly helpful to those of us selling imported goods, but at least it should ensure that the punters stay at home rather than taking their sickly pounds on an overseas shopping trip to Paris, New York or Dubai.
Competition is diminishing, too. In the short term the closing down Sales of the fallen and the death throes of the mortally wounded may cause a bit of grief, but in the coming year retail can only benefit from the shake-up that always accompanies a recession.
It is sad in a big way for the people whose jobs are on the line, but it has to be recognised that businesses like Woolworths and MFI failed to move with the times. The present downturn is the occasion rather than the cause of their demise.
We live in a time where events move at breathtaking speed. It is only a couple of months since I was writing about Damien Hirst’s world-class selling triumph, but it might as well have been 500 years ago, so seismic have been the changes in the auction market.
With specialists reappraising their valuation of everything and up to 50 per cent of goods typically remaining unsold, there will never be a better time to buy those fine jewels or artworks you have always fancied. Or to snap up a new car – where the trade is so desperate that they have started offering them as bogofs.
And with petrol prices 25 per cent off their peak you can now afford to hook up the caravan, turn the air conditioning on full and head for the hills. As for potential house hunters, not only are prices through the floor but buyers only need evaluate a couple of possible mortgage offers compared with the hundreds they might well have had to plough through 12 months ago.
Yes, to me it’s looking good, with VAT down, cheaper money and less competition. All we need is to bring the same sort of emotional commitment to spreading the good news as the media invest in spreading doom and gloom.
Flatten the corrosive rumours as soon as they flare up and remind people that retailing is all about fun. Santa is coming, the kids are hanging up their stockings and the mince pies are warming nicely in the oven. Wake up and smell the turkey.
That might seem a bit of a hill to climb in this climate, so let me remind you of just a few reasons to be upbeat. Interest rates have been cut to their lowest level in 57 years and everyone thinks that the next move will really plumb the depths. And with next to no incentive to save, surely those of the great British public who have any money left might as well have the fun of spending it now.
VAT has been slashed by a meaningful 14 per cent or so, not the meagre 2.5 per cent that always hits the headlines. True, sterling’s dive is not exactly helpful to those of us selling imported goods, but at least it should ensure that the punters stay at home rather than taking their sickly pounds on an overseas shopping trip to Paris, New York or Dubai.
Competition is diminishing, too. In the short term the closing down Sales of the fallen and the death throes of the mortally wounded may cause a bit of grief, but in the coming year retail can only benefit from the shake-up that always accompanies a recession.
It is sad in a big way for the people whose jobs are on the line, but it has to be recognised that businesses like Woolworths and MFI failed to move with the times. The present downturn is the occasion rather than the cause of their demise.
We live in a time where events move at breathtaking speed. It is only a couple of months since I was writing about Damien Hirst’s world-class selling triumph, but it might as well have been 500 years ago, so seismic have been the changes in the auction market.
With specialists reappraising their valuation of everything and up to 50 per cent of goods typically remaining unsold, there will never be a better time to buy those fine jewels or artworks you have always fancied. Or to snap up a new car – where the trade is so desperate that they have started offering them as bogofs.
And with petrol prices 25 per cent off their peak you can now afford to hook up the caravan, turn the air conditioning on full and head for the hills. As for potential house hunters, not only are prices through the floor but buyers only need evaluate a couple of possible mortgage offers compared with the hundreds they might well have had to plough through 12 months ago.
Yes, to me it’s looking good, with VAT down, cheaper money and less competition. All we need is to bring the same sort of emotional commitment to spreading the good news as the media invest in spreading doom and gloom.
Flatten the corrosive rumours as soon as they flare up and remind people that retailing is all about fun. Santa is coming, the kids are hanging up their stockings and the mince pies are warming nicely in the oven. Wake up and smell the turkey.
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