UK retailers report record Q2 growth

Buying spree: Shoppers on Carnaby street in London. British retailers reported a record annual increase in sales in the past three months. — Reuters

LONDON: British retailers reported a record annual increase in sales in the three months to the end of June, although growth was flattered by widespread store closures a year earlier due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) – members of which tend to be large high-street chains and supermarkets – said yesterday that sales in the second quarter of 2021 were 28.4% higher than a year earlier and 10.4% higher than two years before.