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Originally Posted by denphone
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Yes, retail is facing many challenges, with consumer expenditure being squeezed following the devaluation of the pound resulting in increased purchase prices plus increases in rates, minimum wages and fuel. Online is a key challenge. The slow down in the housing market is a real issue for companies like Homebase and Carpetright.
The weaker players are the ones that are being wiped but as we're seeing with restaurant chains like Jamie's, Prezzo, and Byron all shedding outlets, there's a real squeeze across the board occurring, not just old-fashioned stores that face online competition, it's people trading down from nights out to nights in.