The boss of family-owned jeweller Beaverbrooks has called on the government to give business “a bit of break” by halting cost increases amid flat sales and falling profits.
The retailer, founded in 1919, revealed a 9% fall in underlying operating profit to £7.8m last year after an increase in employer national insurance contributions (NICs) and the legal minimum wage introduced by former chancellor Rachel Reeves.
Anna Blackburn, the managing director of Beaverbrooks, said she was positive about the performance against the backdrop of a challenging retail market: “Everything we hear in the jewellery industry [suggests] this is a pretty strong performance,” she said.
Total sales slipped 0.1% to £217m at the group, which operates 56 Beaverbrooks and four Loupe stores as well as 22 outlets for specific brands including watchmakers Omega, Breitling, Tudor and TAG Heuer.
Blackburn said she wanted to see the government help boost consumer confidence and provide stability by tackling unemployment and inflation and not adding new taxes in next month’s budget as retailers prepare for Christmas.
She said: “[The government] can’t increase business costs much more. Give business a bit of a break and stimulate some growth and confidence. A long-term, joined-up strategy is critical.”
Blackburn said Beaverbrooks was outperforming its rivals in tough conditions as it continued to invest in its stores and staff, modernising its online operation and developing new products.
“Our business has remained strong for 107 years because we believe in the high street and the importance of exceptional products and customer service.”
The group has just opened its fourth Loupe watch boutique, in Sheffield, and is investing in revamping its outlets in Manchester’s Trafford Centre and Lakeside in Essex in the year ahead.
Blackburn’s comments come after the since-departed boss of the John Lewis department store chain, Peter Ruis, said the chancellor’s budget would come at a “critical period” for retailers and he wanted to see more help on business rates.
The boss of fellow retailer JD Sports has also said Reeves’ move to increase employer NICs at the same time as a chunky rise in the legal minimum wage had been “really a wrong movement” and pushed retailers to use more technology and hire fewer young people.
The government faces a tricky budget as the high price of oil and government borrowing put the squeeze on its finances – and on household bills.
The chancellor, John Healey, is reportedly considering shifting more green subsidies from energy bills into general taxation, examining fuel duty and targeting help at the poorest households.
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