We Brits are Pants With our Pounds!

MILTON KEYNES, England, April 4/PRNewswire/ --

If the Great British public didn't store up so many unwanted clothes,
then they could look forward to more money in retirement or even a new car, a
survey revealed today.

A new poll from YouGov plc, carried out on behalf of Volkswagen's
224-strong UK retailer network, found that the average Brit has over GBP200
worth of clothing which remains unworn in their wardrobe.

With this money, a substantial 39 per cent of people said they would buy
a new car or upgrade to a better car. This was followed by putting more money
into a pension at 33 per cent, with requests for plastic surgery at a
surprising 6 per cent.

If the GB adult population is assessed as a whole, as much as
GBP 10 billion(i) worth of clothes purchased are never worn. And, before men
shout out that most of it lies in women's wardrobes, the results
interestingly showed that women have on average GBP218.05 of unworn clothing,
compared to GBP 215.45 for men - a mere GBP3 less.

At 46 per cent, clothing came out top in the poll of 2347 adults, for
items purchased but never used or worn. Shoes at 27 per cent and kitchen
gadgets at 23 per cent were also included. Split between men and women, a
whopping 59 per cent of women said clothing at number one, with shoes a close
second at 39 per cent. For the men, clothing still came in ahead of anything
else at 32 per cent, but this was followed by miscellaneous purchases like
CDs/DVDs at 20 per cent.

Alvin Hall, an independent financial expert, believes better financial
planning will help people buy the things they actually want. He said:
"Effective financial planning is key, particularly in today's uncertain
financial climate. Good research combined with thoughtful consideration of
one's needs and financial goals will help consumers make better choices and
save money in both the short and long term."

The poll showed that 54 per cent of adults don't have either a weekly or
monthly budget. Split between men and women, 57 per cent of men admitted to
no budgeting while 52 per cent of women also said they didn't budget.

It also revealed that 75 per cent admit to making a purchase only to find
the item being sold at the same time for a lower price elsewhere.

Bhavisha Navsaria, Volkswagen's retail communications manager, said of
the results: "It's fascinating to take a look at the population to see how
other people plan and spend their money. If anything, I think we've found
that with better planning, we could all purchase the things we actually want.
Many people would even be surprised to find that they only need a small
deposit to drive away in a brand new Volkswagen Polo."

Alvin Hall has created an easy to follow budgeting sheet which can be
downloaded at http://www.makemymoneytravelfurther.co.uk/ .

Notes to Editors

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample
size was 2,347 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 13th - 17th March
2008. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and
are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).

The complete YouGov survey (by Government region) and Alvin Hall's guide
to budgeting can be issued upon request. Please contact
suefoster@connect-group.com

(i) Based on a GB adult population of 48 million people.

Source: Volkswagen UK Retailer Network

For more information contact Hazel at Connect PR on +44(0)1902-714957 or email hazel@connect-group.com.

2008-04-03 18:03:55 0328060 PRNEWSWIRE