Key facts
- Beaverbrooks reported a 9% fall in underlying operating profit to £7.8 million.
- Total sales for the jeweller slipped 0.1% to £217 million.
- The company cited increased employer national insurance contributions and minimum wage hikes as reasons for the profit decline.
- Anna Blackburn, managing director of Beaverbrooks, called for government stability and a halt to new taxes.
- Beaverbrooks operates 56 Beaverbrooks stores, four Loupe stores, and 22 outlets for brands like Omega and Breitling.
Anna Blackburn, the managing director of family-owned jeweller Beaverbrooks, has urged the government to provide businesses with a "bit of a break" by halting cost increases amid flat sales and falling profits. The retailer, founded in 1919, reported a 9% fall in underlying operating profit to £7.8 million last year, attributing the decline to increased employer national insurance contributions and a rise in the legal minimum wage.
Total sales for the group, which operates 56 Beaverbrooks stores, four Loupe watch boutiques, and 22 outlets for specific brands, slipped 0.1% to £217 million. Blackburn expressed positivity about the performance given the challenging retail market, stating that the jewellery industry generally suggests this is a strong outcome.
She called on the government to boost consumer confidence and provide stability by tackling unemployment and inflation, and to avoid introducing new taxes in the upcoming budget. Blackburn emphasized the critical need for a long-term, joined-up strategy and suggested that increasing business costs further is unsustainable. She highlighted Beaverbrooks' continued investment in its stores, staff, online operations, and product development as reasons for its resilience.
Comments from other retail leaders echo these concerns. Peter Ruis, the former boss of John Lewis, noted the critical period for retailers and the need for assistance with business rates. The boss of JD Sports described the simultaneous increase in employer NICs and the minimum wage as a "wrong movement" that pushes retailers towards technology and reduced hiring of young people.