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Talent flow reverses as luxury groups get serious about digital. UK retail sales volumes dip in June - BBC News. UK retail sales volumes fell unexpectedly by 0.2% in June, after consumers bought fewer household goods, and less food and petrol. The figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) also showed the annual rate of sales growth slowed to 4.0% last month from 4.7% in May. That was the slowest annual growth rate since September 2014, and was below analysts' forecasts. However, the ONS said the annual growth rate was still "strong". Sales volumes in the April-to-June quarter were up 0.7% from the previous quarter. The value of online sales in June increased by 1.4% compared with May and accounted for 12.4% of all retail sales. Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist for IHS Global Insight, said June's sales data was "a little disappointing" but added that the figures were "not a body blow to improved second quarter growth hopes".

Many analysts have been expecting retail sales to do well, with recent statistics showing wage increases are picking up while inflation remains near zero. UK inflation rate falls back to 0% - BBC News. Image copyright Getty Images The UK's inflation rate fell to 0% in August, down from July's rate of 0.1%, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said. Inflation, as measured by the Consumer Prices Index, fell due to a smaller rise in clothing prices from a year ago and cheaper fuel prices, the ONS said. CPI inflation has been almost flat for the past seven months. Inflation has failed to take off due to a sharp fall in oil prices and a continuing supermarket price war. Oil prices hit a six-and-a-half year low of around $42.50 per barrel in late August. The ONS figures also showed that the Retail Prices Index (RPI) measure of inflation rose to 1.1% from 1.0% in July. Bank rate The rate of core inflation - which strips out the impact of changes in the price of energy, food, alcohol and tobacco - fell to 1.0% in August from the previous rate of 1.2%.

Many analysts expect the Bank of England to start to raise interest rates in the first quarter of 2016. 'Fragile recovery' Pay rise. Small designers don't need big retailers to find a market. In January 2015, San Francisco-based custom clothing company JAKE debuted its capsule, ready-to-wear collection ROYGBIV, not in a boutique or in Bloomingdale’s, but on crowdfunding site Indiegogo. Backers could preorder from 10 essential clothing pieces, and production began after the campaign closed, beginning with the company reaching out to each backer for sizing and color preferences as well as demographic and psychographic data. Although JAKE had already had some success—it was chosen to work with Macy’s Fashion Incubator San Francisco (FiSF)—the crowdfunding campaign helped the small designer to generate demand, avoiding the need for costly guesswork in sourcing the high-end textiles, and also to build relationships and a better understanding of its customers.

JAKE’s story is a great example of how new digital platforms are reshaping the retail industry: Suddenly, makers and manufacturers don’t necessarily need bricks and mortar in order to have a market. Why do these models work? London Fashion Week: Fashion industry worth £26 billion to UK economy. New figures published by the British Fashion Council on the first day of London Fashion Week value the fashion industry's contribution to the UK economy at £26 billion BY Ellie Pithers | 14 February 2014 A model appears on the catwalk during the London College of Fashion MA Show at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, Aldwych Photo: PA The British fashion industry is worth £26 billion to the country's economy, according to figures published today by the British Fashion Council.

At a press conference to open London Fashion Week Natalie Massenet, chairman of the British Fashion Council, announced the increase of 22 per cent; up from £21 billion in 2009. This figure incorporates not only the direct impact of wholesale, retail and manufacturing on the economy, but also its effect on other industries including tourism and financial services. The fashion industry is estimated to support 797,000 jobs according to research by Oxford Economics.