"We would like to see progressive policies that reinvigorate international visitor spending, that support jobs and stimulate growth across the whole visitor economy, Burberry's chief executive, Joshua Schulman, said in a media call on Thursday. He said that would involve changing the VAT refund scheme, putting us on par with other European countries. We know that our tourist business here in London has gone down ever since that refund was taken away."
"Burberry said that while UK sales only accounted for less than 10% of the brand's overall revenues, that could increase if the Labour government reinstated the VAT change. Obviously at the moment [UK sales are] just 10% but it could clearly grow to be a lot more than that, if we had more tourism here, the chief financial officer, Kate Ferry, told reporters."
Burberry has called for reinstatement of a VAT refund programme for foreign tourists to boost shopping and stimulate growth in the UK visitor economy. The tax-free shopping scheme was abolished at the end of 2020, briefly restored under Liz Truss in 2022, and removed again weeks later. The company argues the change has driven high-spending visitors from the US, Middle East and Asia to Paris and Milan instead of London. The brand identified the 26 November autumn budget as an opportunity to restore the refund and grow UK sales, which currently account for under 10% of overall revenues. Burberry reported a 2% rise in comparable store sales and a near-halving of losses in the six months to the end of September.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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