英国2026预算案对时装业意味着什么：小店减负，大店仍承压

A lot happened in fashion during Andy Burnham’s first 101 days as UK prime minister. Frasers Group bought Harvey Nichols, McQueen and Mulberry returned to London Fashion Week (LFW), and Marks and Spencer celebrated its fashion centenary. But the most important moment arrived on Wednesday: the Budget, an annual outline of fiscal spending in Britain.

The 152-page “Red Book” has garnered a lukewarm response from fashion insiders, deemed as a “first, do no harm” budget — playing it safe, rather than exacerbating current economic issues — that leaves many of the promises made by Burnham pending. “Our reaction overall is that it’s not as damaging as the previous two years, because there’s been no major announcements on extra costs,” says Andrew Goodacre, CEO of the British Independent Retailers Association (Bira), comparing it to the significant increase in business rates last year.

In his first PM speeches, Burnham proposed a great high street renaissance, as well as a decentralization of British business, both chiming with the recent moves put forward by the British Fashion Council (BFC) in its 2030 strategy. To this aim, Burnham established a Manchester office for the Cabinet and the Prime Minister, Number 10 North, as one of his first acts.

The Budget addresses the boarded-up high street crisis seen across provinces directly, increasing the small business rates relief threshold from £12,000 to £18,000 across retail, hospitality, and leisure sectors. “Today, I’m taking action to support our high streets,” said John Healey, Chancellor of the Exchequer, in his budget delivery. In practice, this means 70,000 businesses will no longer pay business rates.

The new policies come at an urgent moment. Insiders feel that the UK’s fashion sector has been crying out for help, despite the estimated £67.5 billion contribution to the UK economy and the 1.4 million jobs it supports, per the BFC. This appetite for change was palpable during LFW Spring/Summer 2027 — a season of renewed energy but also resilience.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, also addressed this in his remarks at the BFC’s LFW breakfast. “One of the reasons we support the British Fashion Council is we see it as an investment,” he said, reiterating the industry’s role in creating jobs and supporting businesses. “London Fashion Week is a showcase of our city. It’s about our culture, creativity, values, [and] innovation. You’ve had a tough few years, so thank you for persevering.”

A win for boutiques and founders

For now, the Budget leaves many fashion businesses wanting more. Burnham has billed himself as “pro-business”, but experts claim his new policies will only benefit a select segment of the fashion industry. “£18,000 is not a lot of money,” says Goodacre. “It represents small boutiques, small shops, and newsagents.”

Granted, the Budget will ease the burden on founders thanks to a dedicated entrepreneurs’ capital gains tax relief scheme, promising a reduced 10% rate on up to £10 million of lifetime gains. The objective is to encourage riskier, high-growth businesses — a positive for the growing cohort of micro-brands that have gained traction fast in the past decade. However, the cost of doing business for the majority of retailers hasn’t improved, and will rise with the Budget’s increase on national living wage and national minimum, both up 3.9% — a rate higher than inflation (3.5%).

Rosie Wrighting, Labour MP for Kettering and former fashion buyer for Asos, felt the budget was pro-growth. “It was a budget where risk-taking, entrepreneurship [and] high streets are really backed, and I think all of this helps the fashion industry,” she says. “I also want to acknowledge that regardless of what John Healey announced today, we are facing a difficult environment at the moment, and I think the fashion industry really feels that. Global headwinds — whether it’s a war in the Middle East, a war in Europe — disrupt the international supply chains that the fashion industry relies on. I think that John Healey made the announcements he did in order to give the businesses that need it the most breathing space.”

BFC CEO Laura Weir’s response to the Budget was one of optimism. “We welcome the measures in today’s Budget that provide breathing space for the independent boutiques, studios, and concept stores that give our high streets character,” she said in a statement, also welcoming the young entrepreneurs allowance — a pilot scheme that will provide living costs for successful applicants in the first year of business. “For young designers, access to finance in the first years is often the difference between building a business and walking away.” Additionally, Weir applauded a commitment to supporting women founders across the UK that was teased in the Budget, highlighting that six in 10 shows during LFW are headed up by women.

For luxury brands, the Budget looks less promising. Retailers that court high-net-worth individuals — such as Harvey Nichols, Selfridges, and Harrods — are at a disadvantage. “The latest Budget helps relieve the living costs for some consumers who will have more money in their pockets to spend on discretionary items,” says Jacqueline Windsor, PWC UK’s head of retail. “But other consumers will have to pay more tax on property and savings.” (Harvey Nichols declined to comment on the Budget, while Selfridges and Harrods did not respond to requests for comment.)

As Windsor sees it, the Budget, at best, helped the fringe. Ultimately, the cost of living for the majority of people and cost of doing business for the majority of retailers will continue to be a drag on fashion market growth, she affirms.

Missed opportunities

There are some welcome surprises. In the lead-up to the Budget’s unveiling, Bira called for business rates reform, warning that the average independent retailer would be in for 25% higher business rates (before inflation) if the Budget did not implement change. This would eat into profit margins, potentially culminating in retail closures. What has transpired is better, but not ideal. Medium-sized retailers will fare better than Bira feared.

Still, Goodacre believes that a rise in employer’s allowance for national insurance would have been a welcome addition. The government upped the allowance two years ago (from £5,000 to £10,500), but this year, nothing changed despite rising national insurance and statutory wages. “It would have reduced their liability on national insurance and also encouraged them to employ more part-time people — especially younger people,” he says. “So it feels to me that that’s a missed opportunity.”

More broadly, while the Budget addresses some of the immediate issues facing fashion retailers today, many of the older demands remain unanswered. Both Weir and Khan have expressed their wishes for the reinstatement of tax-free shopping (abolished in 2021) for overseas visitors — a proposal that was met with cheers at the BFC’s fashion week breakfast this year. This, they argue, would entice wealthy international tourists to shop and grow the nation’s fashion economy. The Budget does not mention the possibility of any reform here — a blow for the industry. “We never understood why tax-free shopping was removed. This hurt fashion retailers in particular, especially in those tourist areas,” says Goodacre.

He’s right. According to a report from the Center for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), the economic contribution per international visitor remains below pre-pandemic levels despite a recovery in tourist numbers. CEBR estimated that a tax-free reinstatement in 2025 would have strengthened GVA by as much as £11.5 billion, supporting 150,00 jobs and a net benefit to the Exchequer. In response to the Budget’s omission, Weir highlighted that the UK remains the only major European market without this policy in place.

Elsewhere, the impact of business devolvement on fashion remains vague. Plans to spread funding and governance locally are in place, but the direct impact on retail remains to be seen. “We look forward to working with mayors and local leaders to ensure that new local growth funding reaches the designers, makers, and businesses that sustain fashion beyond London,” said Weir in her statement.

Wrighting — who expressly aligns with the BFC’s strategy to decentralize British fashion — considers devolvement a crucial development. “Our fashion industry will be a better place and have a brighter future if young people from all corners of our four nations can see themselves having a career in fashion, and I think that’s really important,” she says. “I want to make sure that the next Lee McQueen or Paul Smith could come from anywhere and see a future in a career in fashion.”