International News: British Retailers Could Lose Millions Following Riots

LONDON -- Days of riots in London, following an initially peaceful protest against the police's fatal shooting of local man Mark Duggan, will likely cost retailers millions of pounds and could put smaller stores out of business entirely, according to an RTE News report.

"It will amount to tens of millions of pounds in terms of damage to property, goods stolen, and of course lost business," said Richard Dodd, head of media for the British Royal Consortium, which represents approximately 90 percent of British retailers. "Many retailers were under quite a lot of pressure anyway, particularly some of the smaller independent ones who haven't got big national resources to draw on, and undoubtedly in some cases, it won't be viable for them to start up again."

Grocery and general merchandise chain Tesco, Britain's largest retailer, stated that several of its London stores were affected by looters and arsonists, yet all but one had reopened this morning, according to the report.

Meanwhile, the Sainsbury grocery chain reported that all 16 of its London stores were affected. "All of these stores have now reopened, except three of our convenience stores, which remain closed and will reopen as soon as possible," the company said.

Appliances and electronics chains Comet and Dixons, which owns PC World and Currys, also reported they had been affected by the unrest, as well as mobile phone dealer Carphone Warehouse. Multiple pubs also reported being closing down or even set on fire by arsonists.

X
This ad will auto-close in 10 seconds