Yesterday, ASOS announced its chief executive is leaving the company - news that saw its share price tumble by 15% in early trading. But there is another story taking hold at the company, which has widespread implications for the post-Brexit retail climate: ASOS are creating 52 jobs in Northern Ireland by early 2022, and 184 jobs by 2024.

With non-essential retail set to re-open next month, Meg Pirie takes a look at the plethora of issues facing the charity shop sector. From the waning quality of donations and influx of loungewear, to an anticipated £10bn funding shortfall, shop closures and 60,0000 job losses due to Covid.

As the Covid-19 pandemic took hold last year, click & collect services exploded in popularity, as people were less inclined to spend time inside shops. Retailers with such a service tend to find that it's the fastest growing delivery option, and for those with store networks, up to 85% of customers will buy additional items when they collect their online order.

According to new data from Tyl by NatWest - where they explored purchasing habits during the pandemic – an estimated £7.2bn pounds was spent with local independent businesses in 2020. Clothing stores were ranked amongst the top 10 types of local business supported by UK consumers.

We are currently collating names of signatories for our open letter to the Government regarding Brexit and the UK fashion industry. Please sign by emailing Sarah at Fashion Roundtable with confirmation of your name and job title.

According to the Centre for Retail Research an estimated 180,000 retail jobs were lost in the UK in 2020. As retailers continue to face rent-charges and a cash-flow crisis, 200,000 more jobs are also in jeopardy as we enter 2021. This has been accelerated by the Arcadia Group’s administration which put thousands of jobs at risk on-the-spot, highlighting the death of the traditional high-street as we know it. It’s now fundamental for the surviving stores to provide what consumers want and need, as we learn to live in this new era.

Photographers, stylists, make up artists (and so on) perform virtually identical roles and the sector also relies heavily on international talent. The UK fashion industry makes over 10 times what film does for the UK economy, but this is severely at risk if we are not operating on a level playing field.

“One of the most prominent issues with Topshop’s business model was that they didn’t shift their values to match what Gen Z were demanding as consumers. Unlike my generation, where your identity was largely reflected by what brand you wore, fashion for this particular generation has been more about aligning with brands that reflect their own identities and less about buying the latest It-bag. These shoppers are value-oriented and are far more open to alternative fashion systems…”

Retail shopping is experiencing its most dramatic change for many generations. Aside from the tragedy of Covid-19, there is a new narrative that’s moving away from consumerism and looking at new options for shopping. The familiar vocabulary of ‘new’, ‘latest’ and ‘must-have’ is being replaced by ‘sustainable’, ‘re-use’ ‘recycle’ and ‘restore’.

Fashion Roundtable joins industry stakeholders and calls on the Government to reverse plans to bring an end to the VAT Retail Export Scheme.

According to a report by PWC, retail sales have been hit very hard with 4.3% of stores reporting a zero turnover in April. Yesterday saw retailers re-opening across England, with the government issuing all businesses with guidance and framework on how to safely operate. So, what changes can we expect?

Bev Malik our Retail and Buying Director at Bev’s Paris showroom with Selena Wu. Selena is Bev’s Mentee in Buying and Retail thanks to a pilot Fashion Roundtable mentoring scheme.

April marked the first Extinction Rebellion occupation, with Rebels setting up camp in Oxford Circus, Marble Arch, Waterloo Bridge and around Parliament Square. What is interesting about the group and their demands is that they are predominantly policy facing rather than consumer-oriented, demanding truth and legislation from politicians, and the creation of a Citizens’ Assembly to deliberate on climate change proposals.