Sales start on Tuesday with first-ever post-recession profits forecast

SUMMER sales on the high street officially start on Tuesday (July 1) and for the first time since the start of the financial crisis, the fashion industry is expecting to see a profit.

Discounts ranging from 30 to 50 per cent can be found in the first week or two, but as the sales progress and stocks become lower, goods at up to 70 or even 80 per cent off are fairly common.

Despite certain industry insiders' views that the government's having relaxed rules on when shops could hold sales means summer and post-Christmas 'no longer have the same ring to them', figures show that more stock is shifted during these two periods nowadays than before the recession.

And with an estimated turnover of 2.7 billion between July and early September this year, it will mean takings are up by 3.5 per cent on summer 2013.

Until July 2012, shops were only allowed to hold sales in summer and just after Christmas, lasting for a minimum of a week and a maximum of two months.

Now there are no limits as to when and for how long sales can be held, but instead of this leading to cut-price deals year-round which take the novelty off finding bargains, in practice it means shops are choosing to start their sales a week or two earlier to increase takings.

And many others prefer to stick rigidly to the previous régime, especially where increasing profits is not a case of mere survival as it is with many smaller boutiques.

The Inditex chain (Zara, Bershka, Pull&Bear, Oysho, Massimo Dutti, Stradivarius and Uterqüe) and department store El Corte Inglés have waited until July 1 to slash their prices, although 'sale' items and other special details can often be found the rest of the year.

Already, clothing sales have gone up by five per cent this year, a factor which is thought to be largely because of the mild, springlike winter and early start to the summer, meaning the SS14 ranges have been flying off the pegs.

June, however, is often a bad month for retailers as shoppers will tend to put off buying anything until the sales start rather than parting with their cash just two or three weeks beforehand.

Although the sales typically last two months, the first day always sees a mad rush on the high street, retail bosses say.