The Confederation of British Industry's latest Monthly Distributive Trades Survey, reports that retail sales are down on year ago, falling at a similar pace to August and September's sales. The decline has stabilised, however, with retailers expecting there to be some very modest growth this month in the build-up to Christmas.

They'd better make their sales quickly! Only two weeks ago I was working from my laptop in my garden but now the sound of my keyboard contact is being drowned out by the tapping of rain that doesn't seem to have stopped for two days. The east coast of the US has seen severe early snowfall and all forecasts point to similar weather hitting us in the UK before the end of the month and keep plaguing us for much of the Winter.

The past two Winters have seen Arctic weather cause havoc for British businesses due to the disruption. Heavy snow means we're unable to get to the shops and staff can't get to work. It can trigger power and heating failures. Yes we can buy on-line but goods won't be delivered. That in itself is going to damage our industry but of course it may get far worse than that...

According to data from YouGov's Omnibus SME survey, 13% of small businesses said they were 'seriously' impacted by last winter's bad weather and 37% said they experienced weather-related problems of some sort.

The Forum of Private Business says SMEs can be particularly vulnerable to the impact of freak weather and should start planning ahead by checking their premises are winter-proof, insurance is up to date and contingency plans are well-thought-out in case staff can't get in to work. 
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Yours,