High Street Britain
The British High Street has been hit hard by the recession though perhaps not has bad as it could be. Overall the retail economy's second quarter 2010 down 3.6% off the corresponding period of '09 while 2009 annual sales down 7.8% from '08 (The Blue Book 2006 reports that this sector added gross value of £127,520 million to the UK economy in 2004). The collapse of car sales the downward driver: -33.8 in Q2 '10 and -21.1% in '09 (British Retail consortium). Interestingly, I recieve a call from a German friend at Nord Bank who may lend to the McLaren Group, famous for its fast cars. McLaren will launch the MP4 in April, 2011, for a cool £170,000. Nord Bank wants the pre-sales since the company is cagey about the figures. To lend a hand, I call dealers in London, Manchester and Birmingham posing as a HNWI ("high net worth individual," dear reader). How nice to get call-backs within moments of my message! While the salesmen will not tell me their order book one fellow does offer helpfully: "it is fantastic!" To secure my MP4 by 2012, I am asked to show an "expression of interest" by giving McLaren fifteen grand. Opportunity does not come on the cheap.
While cars are a donut, department stores, super markets, furniture and foot ware are growing >6% a year while watches and jewelry - a sure indicator of the economic cycle - post second quarter sales of +22% (British Retail consortium). Another interesting shift: Internet and online delivery is up 18% from last year (source: Internet Retailing). Our local high street, meanwhile, is on a fairly busy road and a hodge podge of estate agents, restaurants, cafés, clothing, hardwares and magazine stands. There are chains (Costa Coffee, WH Smith, Blockbuster) and independents. We have the largest Waitrose (an upmarket grocery) in southwest London while Madeleine has two pet stores to choose from, lucky kid. Nature's law applies: the strongest shops survive - which is a nice example for Eitan as I explain Darwin's theory of natural selection this week. Christmas is the make-or-break season and the weak gone by spring.
And Britain's largest? Tesco, easily, which is a global grocery and general merchandising retailer headquartered in Cheshunt. Tesco is the third largest retailer in the world by sales (£62 billion, Feb-2010) and the second largest measured by profits (£3.4 billion) (Deloittes and the Tesco annual report)). The company employs 440,000 people in 14 countries across and 2,482 stores (33 million square feet).
