David Ross, the owner of upmarket fashion retailer Jigsaw, has urged Andy Burnham to "stop hammering Middle England" as tax increases squeeze household spending.
Ross, who bought Jigsaw in 2018, called on the Prime Minister to reverse tax rises and deliver a "fair deal" for businesses and employees. "The system is currently stacked against retailers and our customers," he said. "We will see whether Andy Burnham is genuine about reviving Britain's high streets."
Ross, who co-founded Carphone Warehouse, said the government had to stop hammering Middle England. "Our customer works, pays her taxes, and has watched frozen thresholds and higher bills eat her pay rise," he said. "Very often she's also the person behind the till. Squeeze her and you squeeze the shop, the jobs and the tax take together. Leave working households' take-home pay alone."
Pressure ahead of the Budget
Rising labour and energy costs, combined with changes to business rates, have squeezed retailers, and there are mounting fears of further pressure in next month's Budget. Chancellor John Healey is grappling with limited headroom and a pledge to increase spending on welfare and defence.
Ross called on Burnham to reform business rates and "keep shops out of the new top rate that was aimed at warehouses and hit flagship stores instead."
He joined other retailers in calling for the threshold for employers' National Insurance to be raised to £6,000, and said changes to workers' rights should target exploitative practices or contracts rather than flexible jobs.
"Youth unemployment is at a ten-year high, don't let new employment rules kill the Saturday job, where millions of us learned the value of hard work," he said. "Target the exploitative contracts and leave the weekend jobs alone."
"None of this is a handout," he added. "It's a fair deal for the businesses that create jobs and the people who do them. Give us a chance, Andy."
Sales jump as 'turnaround' takes hold
Ross's comments came as Jigsaw said its "turnaround is working" after sales rose 18 per cent in the six months to July, compared with the same period a year earlier.
The growth was driven by a 43 per cent jump in dress sales. The brand's yellow suit, launched in March, sold out within three weeks.
Concession sales, where Jigsaw products are sold in sites such as department stores, jumped 47 per cent on a like-for-like basis year-on-year, while online sales rose 21 per cent. International online sales increased by 48 per cent year-on-year over the period.
The retailer plans to expand further into the United States this autumn via the online marketplaces of Macy's and Nordstrom.
A subdued backdrop
The improvement came despite what Jigsaw called a "subdued market backdrop," with "little targeted support for business" ahead of the Budget on October 28.
Jigsaw highlighted its progress after launching a turnaround programme following a £3.5 million loss for the year to March 2025. Its "strategic reset," begun in 2025, has focused on strengthening its core British business, expanding internationally and creating "authority and consistency" across its product lines.
Tikki Godley, managing director of Jigsaw, said: "This season is further evidence that our turnaround is working. Customers are watching their wallets right now, but still choosing Jigsaw."
In March, the group said it planned to open ten new shops across Britain this year.
A brand built on tailoring
Founded in 1970, Jigsaw has long been associated with timeless tailoring and quality craftsmanship. In a market crowded with fast fashion and increasingly digital retail, it has had to evolve rapidly.
The business struggled during the Covid-19 pandemic to retain its middle-class shopper base and was forced to close 30 shops.
Jonathan De Mello, founder of retail consultancy JDM Retail, said high street pressures, flat non-food retail markets and rising business costs remain persistent challenges, but Jigsaw had "shrugged these off with good growth across all channels, driven by a surge in dress sales in particular."
"The future prognosis is encouraging as the brand pivots from stabilisation to international growth, with a forthcoming US launch this autumn via Nordstrom and Macy's," he said.
Three demands for the Budget
In an interview with This Is Money, Ross said Jigsaw's customers had bought around 20 per cent more from the retailer this summer than the year before. "We made better clothes and our customers noticed," he said. "British shoppers still want great products at a fair price, made by people who care about quality, fabric and fit."
He set out three changes he wants from Burnham's first Budget. First, on business rates, he said retail makes up five per cent of the economy but pays more than a fifth of the rates bill, which rises with inflation every year "whether you're trading well or badly." He wants the annual uprating scrapped.
Second, he said retailers had absorbed £6.5 billion in extra employment costs over two years, and that raising the employer National Insurance threshold to £6,000 would encourage firms to hire school-leavers.
Third, he repeated his call to protect working households' take-home pay, saying none of the changes he was asking for amounted to a handout. "It's a fair deal for the businesses that create jobs and the people who do them," he said. "Give us a chance, Andy."
