Some 63.4% of respondents cited reduced customer spending and footfall as their greatest challenge, followed by competition from online platforms (57.4%) and increasing employment costs (39%). Rent rises (21.1%), business rates (14.7%) and limited high street regeneration funding (22.7%) were also key concerns.

A total of 84% said they lacked confidence that the government was doing enough to support the sector. Most of those surveyed run a single store (89.4%) and employ fewer than five staff (86.3%).

Despite this, many businesses remain resilient. More than a third (36.7%) have traded for over a decade and 62.8% have operated for more than three years.

Retailers called for greater financial support to help them remain viable, including increased small business grants (39%) and a freeze or reduction in business rates (26.7%).

They also highlighted the need for local interventions such as improved high street infrastructure (49.4%), community events (49.8%), affordable parking (46.6%) and marketing assistance (76.9%).

Soraya Gadelrab, Spring and Autumn Fair event director, said: “This data shows how much independent retailers are struggling – but also how much they matter. The high street is more than a place to shop. It’s a space for connection, culture, and community. If we want thriving towns, we must start by backing the businesses that hold them together.”

Alex Schlagman, founding partner of SaveTheHighStreet.org, added: “These findings reveal just how critical it is to remove the barriers holding small retailers back. Through smarter support, local partnerships, and focused innovation, we can level the playing field and ensure independent businesses thrive in a changing world.”

Spring and Autumn Fair and Save The High Street.org are calling on the government to implement targeted reforms and infrastructure investment to prevent further closures and community decline.

The Yorkshire Rose collection is based on one of the earliest designs created by founders William and Julia Shaw, who began their jewellery-making business in Barnsley in 1988.

The pieces will be handmade in the company’s Dodworth workshop and available in a range of precious metals with options for customisation.

Each item in the collection will be hallmarked by Sheffield Assay Office and accompanied by packaging designed specifically for the range. The business has also worked with manufacturers Curteis and Dahlinger to supply chains and presentation boxes respectively.

The launch will take place both in-store and online and will feature an invitation-only event, with gift bags for attendees.

The event will also mark the start of a charity raffle, with proceeds going to Barnsley Hospice and Barnsley RSPCA. The first prize is a white gold and diamond Yorkshire Rose necklace.

WJ Shaw was founded by husband-and-wife jewellers William and Julia Shaw and is now run alongside their daughter Heather Shaw. The company specialises in bespoke design, manufacturing and repairs, and operates with a team of six staff across sales and jewellery production.

The business was founded in 1860 by Josiah Hancock, initially offering a clock-winding service during the city’s cotton boom. It later moved from its first Piccadilly location to King Street, where it has remained for more than a century.

Owner Roy Lunt said: “Jewellery styles may evolve, but our commitment to quality, service and beauty never changes. Celebrating 165 years of heritage in Manchester is a moment of immense pride for the entire team.”

Hancocks has sold hand-selected diamonds, coloured gemstones and bespoke jewellery to generations of customers in Greater Manchester and beyond.

Its collection reflects changing design eras, from 1950s gem-set pieces to 1970s abstraction and today’s focus on high-quality stones such as emeralds, rubies and sapphires.

The company is recognised as a specialist in diamonds and precious stones, serving clients across the UK and overseas.

As headline subject partner of the National Saturday Club Art&Design programme, the Goldsmiths’ Company will play a key role in supporting the next generation of creatives.

This year, the Art&Design programme has enabled over 1,000 young people to explore more than 200 creative disciplines at free Saturday Clubs in 49 locations across the UK.

A report jointly published by organisations including the Design Council and Design and Technology Association in the summer of 2024, found that the number of pupils studying Design and Technology at GCSE had fallen by 68% in the last decade following its removal as a compulsory subject,

Lucy Kennedy, chief executive of the National Saturday Club, said: “We are deeply grateful to the Goldsmiths’ Company for their generous support of the National Saturday Club’s Art&Design programme. Their commitment helps us provide young people across the UK with the space to explore their creativity, build confidence, and imagine new futures.

“Art and design spans every aspect of the creative industries, and we are especially appreciative of partners like the Goldsmiths’ Company who recognise the long-term value of nurturing creative talent, not only for their own sector, but for society at large.”

Annie Warburton, CEO and clerk of the Goldsmiths’ Company said: “Our partnership is rooted in a shared ambition to equip young people with skills and connections to thrive in future careers in the creative industries, and beyond.

“We are excited by the opportunity to support the sustainability and growth of the Art&Design programme over the next three years, with the generous support of Goldsmiths’ Company members – reaching more young people, in more communities, across the UK. Together, we aim to spark curiosity and inspire experimentation and exploration by nurturing creative skills and design thinking – crafting careers for the next generation.”

Founded in 2009, the National Saturday Club gives 13 to 16-year-olds an opportunity to study subjects for free at their local university, college, and cultural institution.

The brand’s ranges will be launched online at Goldsmiths and Mappin and Webb this July, marking the first time Annoushka will be available through a national specialist watch and jewellery retailer.

The brand will also debut in a selection of showrooms through a phased rollout: beginning with Northern Goldsmiths in Newcastle from 21 July, Goldsmiths Birmingham Bullring and Goldsmiths Stratford from 18 August, culminating at Manchester’s new Mappin and Webb flagship jewellery showroom from 5 September.

Annoushka Ducas MBE, founder and creative director of Annoushka, said: “Jewellery is so much more than adornment. It is identity, memory and emotion. After founding Links of London, I wanted to return to the heart of design: storytelling through craftsmanship and creating pieces that are as versatile and playful as the wonderful women who wear them.

“I’m thrilled that our pieces will now be part of the Goldsmiths and Mappin and Webb experience, where they can be discovered in beautiful surroundings by clients who value creativity, quality and connection.”

Craig Bolton, president of The Watches of Switzerland Group, added: “We’re thrilled to welcome Annoushka to our showrooms across the UK. This partnership reflects our commitment to providing our clients with pieces that hold exceptional craftmanship, timeless design, and individuality.

“By being the only watch and jewellery specialist to offer Annoushka in the UK, this new partnership brings with it a new era of jewellery retail within our showroom portfolio.”

Annoushka was founded by Ducas in 2009 and focuses on 18ct gold designs adorned with diamonds and precious gemstones.

The collection, which draws inspiration from Christian Dior’s childhood home in Granville, features the compass rose motif seen in the garden of the villa Les Rhumbs. The eight-pointed star symbol, said to reflect Dior’s affinity for the number eight, has become a recurring emblem in the house’s designs.

The latest pieces extend several chapters of the Rose des Vents story, including Rose Céleste, The Charms and Étoile des Vents. Highlights include a new ring influenced by the Tribale design and a watch styled as a pendulum, both incorporating signature elements of the collection.

The Rose Céleste range has been updated with reversible medallions depicting the sun and moon, now available as necklaces, rings and earrings. Materials such as mother-of-pearl and onyx are used to enhance contrast and versatility.

Among the more decorative additions are charms representing symbols including lily of the valley, hearts, roses, skull and crossbones, ivy and bees. These feature necklaces, bracelets, brooches, earrings and rings, including a double-finger style designed to suggest a bee in flight.

The plastron necklace, a larger statement piece, combines multiple motifs and conceals stones on the reverse side.

The Étoile des Vents series continues to spotlight Dior’s use of talismans, with diamond-accented ear cuffs and other pieces designed for mix-and-match styling.

The new designs reinforce Dior’s ongoing exploration of its heritage symbols through contemporary interpretations in fine jewellery.

The collection draws on longstanding themes for the house, including flowers, butterflies, the Mandarin translation of Hu, and serpents.

Hu collaborated with Parisian high jewellery workshops to realise the designs, combining traditional craftsmanship with experimental materials.

Highlights include the La Rose Gracieuse brooch, a tribute to Princess Grace of Monaco, featuring a 1.18-carat fancy vivid yellow diamond surrounded by spinels, rubies, emeralds, brown and brilliant-cut diamonds.

The piece was inspired by the annual Bal de la Rose charity gala founded by the princess in 1954.

Hu also introduced the Orchid Minuet collection, dedicated to Mu Guiying, a legendary heroine from Chinese literature and Peking Opera.

The series includes rings, earrings and brooches crafted in titanium and gold, treated with nano-electroplating pigments and hand-painted in pastel gradients. Centre stones include yellow diamonds, Paraiba tourmalines and yellow-orange diamonds.

Anna Hu Haute Joaillerie was founded in 2007 and is known for its bespoke designs and collaborations with leading museums and international art fairs. The house holds three world auction records, including two with Christie’s and one with Sotheby’s.

Set to be released on 17 July, the collection features a series of recycled 925 sterling silver charms, many embellished with enamel and zirconia stones. Each design incorporates iconic SmileyWorld motifs reinterpreted under the theme “Charm Up Your Life – And Do It With a Smile”.

The charms are part of the Thomas Sabo Charm Club range and feature delicate eyelets for flexible combinations on bracelets and necklaces. The company said the additions support “next-level customisation” and cater to “creative, trend-conscious jewellery fans”.

Janet Martin, chief product officer for lifestyle consumer products at SmileyWorld, said: “We’re delighted to be working with Thomas Sabo on this new Charm Club collection. SmileyWorld is all about emotional expression and the beauty of these new charms is that they allow wearers to choose charms that match their mood and showcase their emotions outwardly.”

The SmileyWorld collection will be available in Thomas Sabo stores globally, online and via selected retailers. The launch will be supported by digital campaigns and social media activity.

This latest insight direct from Gold Bank London takes into account the retailer’s sales from across the country, which includes both online and in-store transactions.

Consumers continue to invest in gold bars more, with gold prices continuing to remain high while impacted globally by ongoing conflicts and political unrest.

The Israel-Iran crisis boosted safe-haven demand in the month of June, as investors always typically respond to times of uncertainty, with the ceasefire causing short-term shifts in the global marketplace.

Faisel Ali, founder and managing director, said: “If Israel-Iran tensions had not been de-escalated swiftly it could have escalated to an all-out nuclear war, which would have seen gold prices reaching astronomical heights. History tells us that the yellow metal has always held itself up even when faced with the most disastrous global wars and economic downturns.

“The global economy is now changing faster than people can possibly predict. People that stand any realistic chance of protecting their future must be willing to make decisions quickly. We have seen, during the last 12 months, a significant increase in gold purchasing and investment, which can be attributed to market conditions – which can shift very quickly as a knee-jerk reaction to what is happening in politically unstable parts of the world.”

He added: “As troubles in Gaza are now headlining the news, gold prices stand firm, near to the record highs we have seen so far this year, with geopolitical tensions in the Middle East of course constantly having a heavy influence on fluctuations.”

Unveiled during Paris Haute Couture Week, the collection draws inspiration from the cultural and aesthetic energy of the 1960s. It comprises a necklace, bracelet and earrings set with a total of 7,790 oval, baguette-cut and round diamonds, weighing more than 129 carats.

Each piece features a pattern of concentric ovals designed to evoke the era’s psychedelic art and fashion.

Baguette-cut diamonds line the edges of the white gold settings, while a discreet row of pavé emeralds, the house’s signature green, is concealed within the design.

Graff said the suite reflects both the company’s heritage and its pursuit of innovation and technical precision.

CEO Francois Graff said: “This is one of the most intricate, complex and technically challenging high jewellery suites we have ever created. While the design is inspired by the decade in which Graff was founded, each jewel also represents the journey and evolution of our brand, our expertise and our future potential. We pursue absolute beauty and perfection in everything we do, and ‘1963’ is the ultimate representation of those values.”