Selfridges has said the end of tax-free shopping in Britain is partly to blame for a drop in the number of big-spending tourists splashing out in its UK department stores.
The retailer’s UK business, which has stores in London, Birmingham and Manchester, said trade and turnover “continued to feel impacts from various economic factors”, citing “reduced numbers of international visitors visiting the UK and shopping in Selfridges’ stores, with the ongoing impact of the loss of tax-free shopping for international shoppers”.
In newly filed accounts for Selfridges Retail Limited, the company posted a 7 per cent decline in revenue to £774.6 million in the 48 weeks to January 4, compared with the prior 53-week reporting period.
Many UK retailers, including Mulberry and Burberry, have blamed the scrapping of VAT-free shopping for international tourists in 2021 as a key reason for losing customer spending to rival European destinations such as Paris and Milan. They have renewed calls for its reinstatement in Rachel Reeves’s November budget.
Selfridges also blamed the drop in numbers on “disruption to some supply chains due to worldwide conflicts and shipping route delays, inflation and exchange rate fluctuations, price increases across luxury brands, alongside higher costs of living, high energy costs and other economic conditions impacting customer confidence”.
