Philip Green: business is "horrible"
Retail entrepreneur Sir Philip Green says conditions are as tough as he's ever seen.
At a press conference to announce performance across his retail empire, Sir Philip Green today offered a mixed bag.
While Arcadia - which includes Topman, Topshop and Miss Selfridge - look set for another record year, BhS has had a "horrible" few weeks, the retailer admitted. He told the Press Association: "The market is probably as difficult as I've seen it: very challenging...whether it be food retailers who carry non-food to general high street, nobody is excluded from this."
Interestingly, it's neither consumer spending nor margins that are hitting performance; but costs. As reported last week in a briliant analysis in Business Week, China is seeing major wage inflation leading to factory shutdowns and big increases for western consumers dependent on China-manufactured products. (NB: the Business Week article is well worth a read.)
"What's killing me is the underlying costs," the billionaire entrepreneur insisted.