Breakfast briefing: Retail news on Tesco, footfall and Irish retail sales

Tesco boss Philip Clarke comes under fresh pressure over S&P’s changed outlook

Tesco chief executive Philip Clarke has come under fresh pressure after Standard & Poor’s warned of a potential cut to its credit rating, The Guardian reported. S&P revised its outlook on Tesco’s debt from stable to negative, a move that flags the grocer is more likely to have its rating slashed than raised.

Footfall across UK high street plunges 7.3% last week

High street footfall dropped 7.3% last week in the UK skewed by the Easter weekend, according to data from Springboard.

Retail parks performed better, up 3.2% week-on-week, while shopping centres also slightly improved, up 0.4% for the week, Drapers reported. However, overall footfall figures slumped 3% for the week starting April 21.

Footfall in Scotland was hit the hardest, down 13% overall. It was followed by Wales, which was down 9%, and the West Midlands, which tumbled 5.3%. The South East was the only territory that saw a rise in footfall, up 0.8% for the week.

CSO data shows Irish retail sales up 8.9% in March

According to Central Statistics Office (CSO) data, retail sales volume in Ireland jumped 8.9% year-on-year in March, driven by a sharp rise in car sales. On a month-on-month basis, sales increased 1.7%, the figures showed.