Church House: Why the retail sector is alive and well

JD Sports 'shining example'

January earnings season is always kicked off by the retailers with their Christmas trading updates. This gives us a first glimpse of how the UK consumer is behaving in the New Year and changing trends in retail.

The popular opinion is that the high street is dead, reinforced by the collapse of Beales, and that Amazon is hoovering up all in its way. To pick just one example, the BBC told us last week that M&S 'overestimated demand for tight-fitting men's clothing in the run-up to Christmas' leading to yet another disappointing update from the company. We are altogether more optimistic on the outlook for UK retailers, if you look in the right place, and believe that even those with big high street presences can be successful. The UK property investment market is far from dead JD Sports st...