Highlights
- Over 60 retail chiefs, including leaders of Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Aldi, Lidl, Morrisons and Asda, have signed a joint letter to the Chancellor.
- Retailers warn of £7bn in new costs this year, fuelling food inflation and driving job losses.
- CEOs urge meaningful reform to business rates to support investment, jobs and stable prices.
More than 60 chief executives from Britain’s biggest retail chains - including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Aldi, Lidl, Morrisons and Asda - have written to Chancellor Rachel Reeves calling for urgent action in the Autumn Budget to help ease mounting pressures on the sector.
In a joint letter - also signed by trade bodies including the Federation of Independent Retailers, Scottish Grocers’ Federation and British Independent Retailers Association - the retailers warn that government policy changes this year alone have added £7 billion in new costs to retail businesses. These include higher employer National Insurance contributions, rising employment costs, and the introduction of new packaging taxes. The added burden, they argue, is filtering through supply chains and contributing to renewed food price inflation.
The letter cites the Bank of England’s latest Monetary Policy Report, which forecast that food inflation will rise further this year – driven by higher global commodity prices, labour costs and Extended Producer Responsibility regulations. The British Retail Consortium expects food inflation to hit 6 per cent later in 2025, just as winter energy bills bite households.
Retail leaders stress that while they have worked hard to shield customers from the worst of inflation, it is becoming increasingly difficult to absorb rising costs. “The impact is further being felt by communities as retail investment falls and 100,000 retail jobs have been lost over the last year alone,” the letter states.
They welcome the Chancellor’s plan to reduce business rates for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure but insist reforms must go further to deliver meaningful tax relief. “No store should pay more as a consequence, with all shops excluded from the new higher multiplier,” the letter adds, arguing such measures could be achieved at no cost to the Exchequer.
The signatories, who represent many of the UK’s most recognisable grocery, convenience and general merchandise brands, say retail is uniquely placed to help drive the government’s economic growth agenda, given its presence in almost every community.
The letter concludes: “We see it as a key moment for the government to publicly buy into retail and the vital role the industry can play in helping deliver a stronger and more resilient economy for all.”