Fenwick CEO: ‘There’s only room for one department store in cities outside of...
// Fenwick CEO John Edgar says that cities other than London can only support one department store // The retailer is eyeing new stores but wants to be “the only show in town” Fenwick CEO John Edgar...
View ArticleMPs to debate tax-free shopping in parliament
MPs backing the ‘Scrap the Tourist Tax’ campaign have secured a parliamentary debate to put forward the case of reinstating tax-free shopping for international visitors. The Treasury will hear and...
View ArticleHarrods blames tourist tax as it swaps costly handbags with £250 versions in...
Harrods has swapped out some of its most expensive handbags with £250 versions in airport shops as it accused Rishi Sunak’s tourist tax of deterring wealthy overseas customers. The luxury department...
View ArticleWatches of Switzerland UK sales hit by tourist tax
Watches of Switzerland first quarter sales dipped as the tourist tax hit UK sales. UK and Europe sales fell 8% to £219m as CEO Brian Duffy told the Evening Standard that sales at showrooms in Heathrow...
View ArticleData: London retail spend hit by tourist tax
New spending figures from The New West End Company have highlighted the damage caused by the removal of tax-free shopping on the retail sector’s competitiveness. Retailers have been struggling to...
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The real impact of scrapping tax-free shopping: Is change needed?
From closing stores to reconfiguring product lines, the end of tax-free shopping for tourists has plagued the retail industry since it was axed at the end of 2020 as part of the government’s Brexit...
View ArticleFortnums CEO urges government to ditch tourist tax before it’s ‘too late’
Fortnum & Mason CEO Tom Athron has urged the government to scrap the tourist tax in the Autumn Statement before it is “too late” to prevent losing sales to France. The chief executive warned:...
View ArticleTourist tax: Jeremy Hunt orders review ahead of the Budget
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has asked the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to look into whether the scrapping of VAT-free shopping – also known as the tourist tax – should be reversed. Hunt has asked...
View ArticleWatches of Switzerland UK sales slip due to tourist tax as it backs review
Watches of Switzerland saw sales dip during its third quarter, with the UK taking a hit due to the tourist tax. Group sales for the period fell 3% to £397m for the 13 weeks to 28 January while UK and...
View ArticleTourists’ golden quarter spending gap sparks calls for return of tax-free...
The gap between the number of international visitors in London and the spending associated with them widened in the final quarter of last year, sparking calls for the government to reinstate tax-free...
View ArticleRetailers make last-ditch effort to get Hunt to scrap tourist tax
Retailers have made a last-ditch attempt to persuade Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to axe the UK’s tourist tax in the upcoming Budget, with new evidence suggesting that reintroducing tax-free shopping will...
View Article‘Tourist tax’ may not be reversed in spring Budget, warns minister
Financial secretary Nigel Huddleston has warned that a u-turn on the so-called “tourist tax” is unlikely to be announced at next month’s spring Budget. Huddleston, the minister responsible for the tax...
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