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Reason for optimism for UK retailers?

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Investors in Britain’s battered retailers breathed a sigh of relief Thursday following positive figures from clothing giant Next the first listed retailer to report on the state of trading over the crucial Christmas period.

The figures are a bellwether for conditions on the High Street and the strength of consumer confidence after what has been a dire 12 months for U.K. retailers; Toys “R” Us and electronics retailer Maplin collapsed into administration as did House of Fraser, which was rescued.

But Next chief executive Simon Wolfson warned MarketWatch: “I’d be careful to draw big conclusions from small pieces of information. This is only one company.

“I think generally if you only read headlines of the last few weeks it would give a false impression of what’s going on. Everyone said November was a disaster because of Brexit — but it was more likely to be the mild weather seen in November.”

MarketWatch

This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds.

Craig Erlam

Craig Erlam

Senior Market Analyst, UK & EMEA at OANDA
Based in London, Craig Erlam joined OANDA in 2015 as a market analyst. With many years of experience as a financial market analyst and trader, he focuses on both fundamental and technical analysis while producing macroeconomic commentary. His views have been published in the Financial Times, Reuters, The Telegraph and the International Business Times, and he also appears as a regular guest commentator on the BBC, Bloomberg TV, FOX Business and SKY News. Craig holds a full membership to the Society of Technical Analysts and is recognised as a Certified Financial Technician by the International Federation of Technical Analysts.
Craig Erlam

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