UK retail industry takes a beating post-lockdown

Long struggle: The Debenhams Plc flagship department store on Oxford Street in central London. The store has tried and failed since April to find someone willing to take the business on. — Bloomberg

LONDON: Most of England’s retailers are emerging from lockdown, with just over three weeks left until Christmas and the outlook for the industry looking far worse than before they closed their doors a month ago.

While the shutdown may have helped contain the spread of Covid-19, it dealt a hammer blow to stores during their most lucrative period of the year. Debenhams and Philip Green’s Arcadia Group, two of the biggest retail brands, collapsed this week, putting 25,000 jobs at risk in an industry that was already on track to cut more than 200,000 positions this year.