British retail suffers 'brutal' jobs cull

Some of Britain's most famous high street names have been among those affected as the country's retail employment sector experienced what has been described as a "brutal start to the year" with thousands of jobs being lost.

Newly published figures from the Centre for Retail Research, or CRR, have shown that since January, 14,874 jobs have been lost, with some of the country's biggest supermarket chains, including Tesco and Asda, affected, as well as familiar names such as stationery company Paperchase having gone bust, and clothing chain M&Co announcing the closure of all its stores.

"The process of rationalization will continue at pace as retailers continue to reduce their cost base," said CRR director Joshua Bamfield. "We are unlikely to see any respite in job losses in 2023 after a brutal start to the year."

The data was focused on chains with 10 or more stores, where companies such as Tesco and Asda accounted for more than 11,000 of the jobs lost, with just over 3,000 more going at companies that have collapsed and are going through the insolvency process.

Even before the toll taken on footfall and in-person shopping by the pandemic, the retail sector was already shedding staff in significant numbers.

The British Retail Consortium reported that the 2022 second quarter total of just under 3 million employees was 63,000 lower than the figure recorded 12 months earlier. However, the outlook is not entirely gloomy.

Discount supermarket chain Aldi recently announced plans to create an additional 6,000 jobs this year, and Marks and Spencer hopes to create 3,400 extra jobs by shifting its focus from existing town center sites to new premises in venues such as retail parks, with 20 new store openings planned for the coming financial year.

In addition, at the end of last year clothing retailer Primark announced plans to expand existing stores and open new ones as part of an investment program worth 140 million pounds ($168.3 million).

"Busy towns and cities benefit us all — we want to see thriving high streets and shopping centers where people come together and enjoy spending time," said Primark's chief executive Paul Marchant. "Through (this) investment, we're … giving people another reason to visit their local high street."

Another sign of hope on the horizon is the reevaluation of business rates from the start of April, which a spokesperson for the Treasury said could see overall bills for retailers fall by 20 percent.

However, property group Altus told The Guardian newspaper that although it welcomed the move, multiple-outlet chains would only see a small number of their stores reaping the benefit.

Alex Probyn, Altus's global president of property tax, warned that given the state of the property market at the time valuations were likely to be made, there could be a "tsunami of appeals" against new valuations.