The UK’s richest are set to unleash their savings to splash on luxury goods, cars or tech, a report showed, in signs that lower interest rates are boosting demand.
Households with incomes of £50,000 ($65,000) and above are planning to increase their spending on big ticket items at the highest rate since the run-up to the festive shopping season in November, according to a Gfk survey conducted between Feb. 28 and March 13. Its gauge of major purchases intentions among the top earners reached 4 — up 3 points on the month and a dramatic improvement from the -22 recorded in the same period last year.
“Higher-income people are starting to feel the impact of the drop in interest rates on their savings,” said Neil Bellamy, consumer insights director at NIQ GfK. “Higher spenders are feeling generally more positive about spending than they were a year ago.”
The findings could represent an early sign of a brightening mood among consumers. UK households have been pocketing their recent real wage gains as a hedge against uncertainty at home and abroad, much to the detriment of the Labour government’s plans to revive growth. Such savings become less lucrative as interest rates fall.
A resilient labor market is also helping the consumer recovery. Wages are still growing faster than inflation, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer has frequently emphasized in recent weeks, and predicted job losses after Labour’s increase in payroll taxes have so far failed to materialize.
While most households are planning to save less, not everyone is using that cash for cars or furniture. GfK’s major purchases index across the income spectrum remained flat, even as as its indicator of overall savings intentions fell in March by the most since September.
One explanation could be rising bills, which are felt more acutely by people in lower-income groups. Britons are facing a £600 cost increase coming in April when water bills, energy costs and other regulated services go up in price. The poorest households are also bracing for public services belt-tightening, including a £5 billion cut to welfare benefits, in Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves’ spring fiscal statement next week.
GfK’s overall confidence gauge improved one point to -19, but remained below levels recorded before the Labour government started its warnings about tax rises in the October budget.
The Bank of England might provide less of a reason to splurge instead of save going forward. Interest-rate setters voted to keep borrowing costs on hold at 4.5% when they met Thursday as they remain wary of global headwinds.
“The current stability is to be welcomed, but it won’t take much to upset the fragile consumer mood,” Bellamy said.
M&S Gemini, on Warrington’s Europa Boulevard, has reopened following a major 10-month makeover “to cater to a wider range of customer shopping missions”.
Reuters
Featuring a refreshed Cothing and Hsome area and enhanced Beuty department, the timely reopening features the brand’s SS25 collections across womenswear, menswear and kidswear. There are also neon-lit areas to spotlight “M&S customer-favourite collections” including Per Una and Autograph and Jaeger.
Third-party brand offers also include a dedicated Mamas & Papa’s section adjacent to kidswear while other highlights include an improved M&S Footwear selection with a spacious try-on area, plus in-store bra- and suit-fitting services.
The expanded Beauty department is home to all M&S’s third-party and own brands, including the Apothecary collection, while showcasing a range of Clinique, Benefit Cosmetics and Estée Lauder fragrance products.
Dedicated Beauty Advisors are on hand while there’s colleague support to offer styling advice, and a new option that allows customers to skip the queues and pay straight away in its store fitting rooms. The Click and Collect service is also available on all its online Clothing, Home and Beauty orders.
Influencer Vogue Williams has launched a new kidswear line called Gen with M&S and Next becoming the first online platforms to bring the unisex childrenswear concept to market.
The line, which “reimagines childrenswear” has a focus on “versatility, durability, and timeless design”, we’re told.
Williams curated the pieces and said the launch responds to the growing demand for longer-lasting fashion.The result is a “unique, high-quality range that allows customers to shop freely without the constraints of traditional gendered clothing”.
The age 2-8 collection of essentials includes coats, waterproof onesies, dungarees and short-and-T-shirt sets, boldly coloured with pops of neon and fun prints, while “breaking the traditional boundaries of gendered clothing”. Prices range from £10-£34.
Each piece can be personalised with patches and features a unique ‘Wear Me, Love Me, Pass Me On’ label, “encouraging a culture of sharing and customiaation that makes each garment cherished keepsake while promoting the joy of passing on well-loved pieces”.
Williams said: “Finding high-quality, super-cute clothes for kids that actually last is not easy. I really feel like the Gen range hits all those needs. Kids… get to customise their own piece, whether it’s the first or third child along the line.”
It’s produced by Poeticgem Group and marketed via its subsidiary Luminoso Brands. Gavin Foster, managing director of the latter, said: “Vogue’s styling, vision and authentic voice has been key to the success in securing these fantastic retail partners and we look forward to forging a long term partnership with all parties.”
Italian eyewear group Marcolin has improved its profitability in the course of fiscal 2024. The group’s financial results, approved this week by the board of directors, showed adjusted EBITDA at €85 million, a 10.2% rise over fiscal 2023. The EBITDA margin on net sales also improved, growing to 15.6% compared to 13.8% in the previous year.
Marcolin – Ansa
Revenue was €545.8 million, down 2.2% at current exchange rates compared to revenue in fiscal 2023. In like-for-like terms, excluding the positive and negative impacts of the new licenses signed up in 2024 and discontinued ones, revenue increased by 1.7%.
On LinkedIn, Marcolin said that “during the year, alongside important licence renewals, Marcolin secured new exclusive agreements, and continued the commercial integration of the new house brand ic! berlin into the group.”
The company makes eyewear for Tom Ford, Adidas, Guess, Max Mara, Pucci, Zegna, Skechers, and Abercrombie & Fitch, among others.
Entertainment8 years ago