The boss of Superdry has said he believes that striking a free trade deal with the European Union is key to breaking the UK out of its current inflationary cycle.
Julian Dunkerton, co-founder and chief executive of the fashion retailer, said the economic outlook for the UK continued to be hampered by Brexit and would not materially improve until a free trade agreement could be reached with the UK’s nearest trading partner.
While the fashion retailer delivered a 4.5% increase in sales over the Christmas period, losses for the first half deepened as inflation soared and customer confidence collapsed.
Dunkerton said the uncertainty that continues to plague the economy into 2023 is being exacerbated by the government’s stance on Europe.
“I personally believe that, unless we come to some kind of free trade deal with Europe, we’re going to have a weak pound and we’re not going to therefore come out of our inflationary cycle,” Dunkerton told Retail Week.
“So it’s just the state of where we are as a nation. We need to keep pushing for a deal in Europe. That’ll get us into a different world. It would add 20 cents to the value of the pound overnight. That would get rid of inflation in one fell swoop.”
Dunkerton was also critical of the government for its failure to commit to reforming business rates. While he said that Superdry was expecting its business rates bill to be slashed by a third at the next revaluation in April, more could be done in Whitehall to support retailers.
“Of course, if they really wanted to change the high streets and the shopping centres, then they need to really rethink rates for shops in their entirety,” he said.
“This [revaluation] is a great first step of a journey that they need to now complete.”
- Get the latest fashion news and analysis straight to your inbox – sign up for our weekly newsletter
No comments yet