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Highlights
- Shop prices in November rose by 0.3 per cent, increasing for the first time since May 2019
- The November reading was higher than BRC’s 12-month average price decline of 1.2 per cent.
Shop prices in November rose by 0.3 per cent on a year-on-year basis, increasing for the first time since May 2019, according to UK retail trade body, the British Retail Consortium's (BRC) monthly monitor. Comparatively, the October index had shown a decline of 0.4 per cent on a year-on-year basis.
Moreover, the November reading was higher than BRC’s 12- month average price decline of 1.2 per cent, as well as a six-month average price drop of 0.6 per cent.
This month’s shop prices rose as retail companies absorbed higher costs linked with the ongoing supply chain and labour related challenges in the UK, among some other factors.
Food prices were among the major contributor to the overall November price increase. Food prices jumped by 1.1 per cent this month, higher than the 0.5 per cent increase seen in October.
The CEO at BRC, Helen Dickinson, said that factors like the impact of labour shortages, increase in commodity prices had taken hold in consumer prices. Dickinson added that the rise in food prices, especially in fresh food, could make some of the Christmas shopping a bit more costly.
November’s fresh food inflation rose to 1.2 per cent, the highest rate seen since August 2019. It had stood at 0.3 per cent last month.
Meanwhile, non-food prices dropped by 0.1 per cent in November, whereas it had declined by 1 per cent last month.
Let us take a closer look at 2 FTSE 250 index listed retail stocks with a one-year return of over 80 per cent:
- Marks and Spencer Group PLC (LON:MKS)
Marks and Spencer’s is a UK based multinational retail company involved in clothing, grocery and other areas.
The group recently acquired a 25 per cent stake in a women’s fashion company, Nobody’s Child. The investment was part of the group’s ‘Brands at M&S’ strategic initiative.
Image source: Refinitiv
Image description: MKS share price and volume
Marks and Spencer’s shares were trading at GBX 240.40, up by 1.78 per cent on 1 December at 10:40 AM BST, while the FTSE 250 index was at 22,811.07, up by 1.29 per cent.
The company’s market cap stands at £4,625.69 million, and its one-year return is 92.02 per cent as of 1 December.
- Greggs PLC (LON:GRG)
Greggs is a UK based bakery chain. The company’s two-year like-for-like (LFL) company-managed shop sales in Q3 rose by 3.5 per cent despite facing staffing and supply-chain related headwinds, according to its recent trading update.
It also stated it anticipates its full-year outcome to be ahead of the earlier expectations.
Image source: Refinitiv
Greggs’ shares were trading at GBX 3,060.00, up by 2.03 per cent, on 1 December at 11:36 AM BST.
The company’s market cap stands at £3,055.35 million, and its one-year return is 81.60 per cent as of 1 December.
