As British luxury shoppers are sobering up after years of heavy spending, global luxury labels in the United Kingdom are now struggling with a weak demand, and the situation has worsened as the country is currently experiencing a technical recession.
A total of 11 stores under Ted Baker, a British High Street fashion chain, which was founded in 1988 in Glasgow, Scotland, have already shut by Friday across the UK. Teneo, which has been appointed as the brand's administrator said four more stores will shut in the coming weeks after landlords served notice on the outlets in Manchester, Bicester and two in central London. According to British media reports, the retailer struggled with tough trading conditions brought by rising rents and weak demand.
Meanwhile, boutiques on London's Bond Street, an exclusive area that is revered throughout the world for its wealth of elegant stores, exclusive brands and designer fashion, are still struggling with high rents. The average annual rent per square meter on this street is as high as more than 12,000 pounds (around 14,843 U.S. dollars)
The gross domestic product (GDP) of the United Kingdom (UK) fell by an unrevised 0.3 percent in the last quarter of 2023, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed on March 28.
It's the second consecutive quarter that the economy witnessed negative growth, which indicated that the UK fell into a recession in the second half of 2023. In the third quarter of 2023, GDP fell by 0.1 percent.
For the year 2023 as a whole, UK's GDP increased by an unrevised 0.1 percent compared with 2022, said the ONS.
Gilded age for luxury brands fading in Britain amid technical recession
China has opened a new chapter of lunar exploration with the successful launch of the Chang'e-6 spacecraft on Friday.
A Long March-5 rocket, carrying the Chang'e-6 spacecraft, blasted off from the Wenchang Space Launch Site on the coast of China's southern island province of Hainan at 17:27 (Beijing Time).
Approximately 37 minutes after liftoff, the Chang'e-6 spacecraft separated from the rocket and entered its planned Earth-moon transfer orbit, which had a perigee altitude of 200 kilometers and an apogee altitude of about 380,000 kilometers, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA).
The launch of the Chang'e-6 spacecraft was a complete success, the CNSA announced.
The Chang'e-6 spacecraft, like its predecessor Chang'e-5, comprises an orbiter, a lander, an ascender and a returner.
Regarded as one of the best open view sites, the beach at Qishui Bay in Longlou, a coastal town in Wenchang, attracted tens of thousands of people from all over the country to watch the launch.
"China is becoming more and more strong, and our technology is becoming more and more advanced," said one spectator.
"This is another exceptional, flawless launch, and I believe we have made a great start with a highly precise and accurate orbit insertion. We also wish the Chang'e-6 mission all the best," said Wang Jue, a technician at the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
"The entire set of parameters for today's launch is excellent, laying a solid foundation for us. We will carry out trans-lunar injection, followed by lunar landing on the far side of the moon, sampling, takeoff from the far side of the moon, rendezvous and docking, and finally, the return from the moon to Earth," said Zhang Gao, another technician at the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
China opens new chapter of lunar exploration with launch of Chang'e-6
