Andrea Felsted, Columnist

Retailers' Inflation Sideshow

That record clothing inflation isn't just a story of weak sterling.
Photographer: Jason Alden
Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

The biggest increase in clothing prices on record is all down to the slump in sterling after the Brexit vote.

That's the obvious conclusion to draw from the Office for National Statistics's report that clothing and footwear inflation picked up to 4.6 percent in in August. But it's not quite right. Because retailers actually have more pricing power than you think -- but only when they get their fashion just right and the weather's in their favor.