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Highlights
- Labour shortages, transport delays, and material shortages have been causing supply chain disruptions in the UK ahead of Christmas.
- Retail firms are trying to make their products reach the supermarket shelves this winter.
- Christmas shopping may be slightly preponed to November as consumers would ideally prefer to buy their desired gifts and other household stuff beforehand.
The UK has lately been facing supply chain disruptions due to labour shortages, transport delays, and material shortages across the globe. All these factors combined together have led to a sharp increase in consumer demand which has in turn created gaps on supermarket shelves.
The manufacturing sector of the UK has been suffering amid the rising inflationary pressure and soaring gas prices, while the consumers are also suffering with costs being passed on to them. Various businesses have been facing supply chain issues ahead of Christmas, however, they are still trying to make their products reach the supermarket shelves this winter.
As consumers are already well aware about the supply chain issues, the Christmas shopping may be slightly preponed to November as the consumers would ideally shop for gifts and other household stuff beforehand to avoid facing shortage or unavailability later.
Purchasing stocks before holidays is a strategy followed by both short term as well as long term investors. The selling pressure generally increases ahead of Christmas, driving the stock prices to fall, which provides the investors with a good opportunity to buy stocks at lower prices and sell them later when the prices revive.
Source: Copyright © 2021 Kalkine Media
RELATED READ: M&S (MKS), Next (NXT) & WH Smith (SMWH): 3 retail stocks to buy now
Let’s take a look at some of the UK retail stocks that investors can buy ahead of Christmas.
WH Smith Plc (LON: SMWH)
WH Smith plc is a UK-based retailer operating via two segments, which are Travel and High Street. The current market cap of the FTSE250-listed company stands at £2,029.09 million and the shares of the company have given a return of 8.24% to shareholders in the last one year. WH Smith plc’s shares were trading at GBX 1,543.00 at 8:03 AM on 18 November 2021 (GMT).
JD Sports Fashion PLC (LON: JD)
JD Sports Fashion PLC is a leading UK-based retail company that sells branded sportswear and fashionwear across the globe. The current market cap of the FTSE100-listed company stands at £11,930.77 million and it has given a return of 46.95% in the last one year. JD Sports Fashion PLC’s shares were trading at GBX 1,159.50 at 8:04 AM on 18 November 2021 (GMT).
Frasers Group PLC (LON: FRAS)
Frasers Group PLC is a UK-based retail and intellectual property group that mainly operates under the Sports Direct brand, both online and physical outlets. The current market cap of the FTSE250-listed company stands at £3,490.32 million and its shares have given a return of 46.36% in the last year. Frasers Group PLC’s shares were trading at GBX 698.00 at 8:05 AM on 18 November 2021 (GMT).
RELATED READ: Card Factory, ASOS & M&S: 3 retail stocks to buy before Xmas 2021
Dunelm Group plc (LON: DNLM)
Operating throughout the UK, Dunelm Group plc is into home furnishings retailer, manufacturing curtains, blinds, and accessories in its own factories. The current market cap of the FTSE250-listed company stands at £2,819.43 million and its shares returned 12.13% to the shareholders in the last one year. Dunelm Group plc’s shares were trading at GBX 1,380.00 at 8:06 AM on 18 November 2021 (GMT).
Card Factory PLC (LON: CARD)
Card Factory PLC is a retail company which is manufacturing greeting cards, party decorations, and gifts in the UK. The current market cap of the company stands at £232.27 million, and it has given a return of 29.00% in the last one year. Card Factory PLC’s shares were trading at GBX 54.70 at 8:06 AM on 18 November 2021 (GMT).
