Brexit, schmexit: Christmas sales up 4 per cent at Dixons Carphone Sales at Dixons Carphone in the UK and Ireland sales rose 4 per cent for the ten weeks up to Christmas, the retailer said today. During its last quarter, the borg had previously warned that Brexit could dampen the firm's results in the future, with ex-Etonian and chief exec Seb James warning of "uncertain times ahead". But …
Revenue for 2015/16 rose 3 per cent to £9.78bn for the full year, while sales in Blighty increased 1 per cent to £6.4bn.
3% growth internationally but only 1% within the UK?
Perhaps a more accurate headline would be 'Growth in the UK is only a fraction of what the rest of the EU is experiencing'?
Maybe it's just me, but only seeing 1/3 of the growth seen elsewhere isn't really something to shout about.
>Maybe it's just me, but only seeing 1/3 of the growth seen elsewhere isn't really something to shout about.
I think its you. ;)
I'm not convinced your allocation of costs and profits is correct, but if we assume that it is, its expressed in GBP, the value of which has fallen by, oh let's say 10%
So converting profit in other countries/currencies into GBP should mean we have 10% more GBP after conversion, without any increase in foreign sales at all. If they are only 3% higher, they have lost 7% (and in the same time, we gained 1%) so we'd actually be 8% ahead, which is pretty good for us.
If GBP has lost 20% in value but foreign income only increased by 3% in GBP, they've dropped 17%.
Or something like that.
I'm happy to be corrected.
I'm not sure increased sales are always a sign of confidence. I'm not in the market for any of their products, electronic or white goods, for some time but if I were planning a 2017 purchase and I anticipated further price rises (or redundancy!), I might be tempted to do it sooner rather than later.
But the comment was about confidence.
There are basically 4 choices that will be made.
Do we leave the EU?
Since this question was actually asked, we probably ought to, especially given the behaviour immediately after. I think the EU would actually be better of without us.
Do we leave the EEA?
While it is still undetermined if quitting the EU would automatically eject us from the EEA (since we would no longer be a member of either of the bodies whose membership required to join), it is highly unlikely the EU would not make it easy to carry on, it is not in their interests force us out. Leaving this is what will cause economic and social problems. (Our service and financial sectors would be hit hard)
Do we leave the customs union?
Remaining in this would prevent our manufacturing industries taking a hit, and mean that hard borders would not be required between Northern Ireland and the Republic.
Does the UK break up?
By choosing to interpret the arguments made in the referendum, rather than simply acting on the question asked, the government has set a precedent that undermines the validity of the Scottish independence referendum. the question of Scotland being thrown out of the EU on leaving the UK was a strong argument to remain in the UK. This needs to be settled.
The Good Friday peace agreement depends on freedom of movement for people and goods. An open border between a part of the EU and the UK makes a mockery of any claims to 'control our borders' and being outside the customs union and the EEA would make it impossible anyway.
Since yes to any but the first of those will decimate our economy and split our society, and they are all seeming likely, confidence is hit. (Value of the pound being a good indicator, but I suspect there's quite a buffer of 'they can't be mad enough to actually do it' which will dissipate once we actually do)
I've been stuffing as much money as I can into safe savings so as to be ready to stay afloat during the forthcoming economic shock.
A lot of people are worried about the effects of brexit and they all really really want to be wrong about it.
It's not a time to be heavily in debt.
I spent far more post vote than I would otherwise have in the first three months, basically, because I knew the risk that the government would interpret the vote for their own ends rather than as any expression of what people actually voted for, and that those consequences would be very serious a couple of years down the line, and I wanted to enjoy myself while I had the chance.
Since then I have been in spending lock down.
I suspect the results are a mix of people behaving like me and those who are oblivious to the fact that we are terminating our largest sectors access to their largest markets, and relying on someone who has stated America First to rescue us.
Personally I don't expect the economy to crash until we are actually out. Anything with a return of investment of under two year will carry on. Anything with one of 3 years will be speeded up. Once article 50 is implemented in the self destructive way that has been promised, there will be lots of work moving businesses. (Big EU HQs and data centres moving to the EU and little UK replacements being set up) EU businesses will stock up on inventory from the UK as much as they can before the red tape hits. EU tourists will take advantage of the final 2 years of simple visits.
It might even be a boom. That would make the shock of what follows even worse.
It is worth noting the Russia has been hit quite hard by the EU sanctions, and they are much larger than us. Chunks of our service and financial sectors will be effectively in an equivalent situation. (And what's the betting the sanctions get lifted just as we leave, so the EU doesn't suffer by us being harder to trade with?)
I installed a car phone or two, back in the 1980s! Who in 2017 is getting a car phone installed? Surely it's just a dock for a normal mobile phone, or some custom bluetoothy gear, and not a true, installed into dash or centre console, wired handset, car phone. Right? Tell me it ain't so, Nigel?!
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