Global vibes

Large sums owed
UNITED KINGDOM: Small and medium sized wholesale and retail businesses in the UK are owed £1.2 billion ($A2.4 billion) on any given day due to suppliers and customers failing to pay on time, according to new research. Figures from Barclays Local Business annual Late Payments report show that on a typical day TCF businesses across England and Wales are £2,418 ($A4903) out of pocket as a result of suppliers or customers failing to pay during the standard 30 day invoicing period. This total figure has resulted in SMEs losing an average of £1552 ($A3147) per business over the past 12 months due to non-payments. Firms typically have to wait over almost a fortnight after the invoice due date before they get paid, the report showed.

Russia's upspend
MOSCOW: Russian consumers' love affair of mid-to medium priced children's clothing may be coming to an end. Mid to high-priced children's clothing is estimated to have increased its market share to as much as 40 percent of the total according to bi-weekly newsletter Retail Update Russia. The trend of purchasing higher priced clothing is reported to be mainly visible in larger Russian cities. However Russia's spending still lags behind those of its neighbours. In 2008 approximately EURO 161 ($A281) per child was spent on children's clothes in Russia. In Germany, parents spent about EURO 235 ($A411) on average while in the UK it was EURO 490 ($A857) per child.

Net-a-Porter sales treble
ENGLAND: Online luxury fashion retailer Net-a-Porter has trebled its pre-tax profits in the 12 months to January 31. Accounts filed by the privately-owned London-based business show the company increased sales by 47.8 percent to £81.5 million for the period with pre-tax profits jumping from £3 million to £10.1 million pounds during the period. The company's chief executive confirmed the growth had continued into 2009, with trading for the first 13 weeks of the year up 45.3 percent over the same period in 2008.

Scheme extended
UNITED KINGDOM: The British Government has backdated eligibility for its credit insurance scheme by a further six months meaning suppliers who had their credit limits reduced on fashion retailers can now apply for backdated cover to October last year. The top-up scheme was previously only open to those who had cover withdrawn from April 1, 2009. The scheme, introduced in May, allows suppliers to purchase government-funded insurance to restore cover they have lost or to increase the amount they are able to obtain from the private sector following the removal of cover by insurers as part of the global credit crunch.