参差不齐的英国零售业

It’s been a cold damp winter， but Britain’s retail climate is showing signs of improving. New figures reveal the number of empty shops on the 1）high street has fallen to its lowest level in four years.

Matthew Hopkinson （Expert）： We’ve seen things are being 2）reoccupied around being removed from the stock or to alternative uses， so there seems to be， I dare say， green shoots coming back to the high street. But it’s not every high street. It’s primarily in London and the South.

This London suburb is one of the high streets that suffered its fair share of closures. Last year， Loughton had around 14 empty shops. That figure now stands at under 10.

Becky Elliott （Baby and Nursery Retailer）： You have that feeling in the pit of your stomach that， if they’ve gone and they’ve been here for X amount of years， you know， how long is it gonna be before we’re gonna face troubles， but， you know， luckily things have definitely improved.

But analysts warn that Britain’s economy is still 3）fragile. The latest UK retail sales figures for January fell 1.5%， slightly more than expected. That followed December’s figures， which had their strongest annual growth in almost three years.

There’s also been some improvement in other parts of Europe. French supermarket chain， 4）Carrefour， has reported its first sales rise in Spain since the financial crisis of 2008， and UK electrical retailer， Dixons， is showing a modest recovery of 3% in its Greek business. Matthew： I think that France has a number of issues， as does Italy， and probably Germany’s the next strongest to come back on line， but they don’t have such a strong on line history as the UK does.

Loughton had said goodbye to a number of chains over the years， but new ones are moving in. That’s good news for this generation of shoppers and the next.

真是一个湿冷的冬天，但英国的零售业却有了回暖的迹象。新的数据显示商业街闲置店铺的数量降到了四年内的最低水平。

马修·霍普金森（专家）：我们看到店面再次投入使用，不用被闲置或作其他用途，我敢说，商业街看起来有了复苏的迹象。但并非所有商业街都这样，复苏主要集中在伦敦和其他的南部城市。

伦敦市郊的商业街是曾有相当多店铺关门的地段之一。去年，劳顿镇有大约十四间空店面；如今，这个数字降到了个位数。

贝基·艾略特（婴幼儿用品零售商）：在你心底会有这样一种感觉，如果他们在这儿经营多年之后走了，你知道，那我们还能维持多久呢，但幸运的是，情况确实已经开始好转。

然而分析家却警告说，英国的经济依旧疲软。最新的数据显示，（2014年）一月英国零售业销售额下降了1.5%，比预期略高；而去年（2013年）12月是近三年以来，年增长最强势的月份。

欧洲其他国家的经济状况也有所改善。自2008年金融危机以来，法国连锁超市家乐福的报告显示其在西班牙的销售额第一次出现增长；而英国最大的电器零售商迪克森的数据显示其在希腊的业务也有3%的小幅上升。

马修：我认为法国和意大利一样，都面临着一系列问题，德国也许将会成为下一个复苏势头强劲的国家，然而这些国家恢复正常运行的势头不如英国。

过去几年，劳顿镇送走了一批连锁商店，但是新的连锁店正在入驻。这对这一代和下一代的购物者来说是一个好消息。