UK retail sales 'rose in January'

The January sales saw heavy discounting by many retailers Sales of retail goods rose in January, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has said, after shops cut prices to encourage consumers to keep spending. On a like-for-like basis, retail sales rose 1.1% compared with a year earlier, the biggest increase since May 2008. The strong overall performance was driven by food sales, which rose 5.1%. Sales of non-food items fell by 1.6%. However, the BRC warned that economic conditions remained weak, and January's sales rise could be "just a blip". By the end of January, sales growth had weakened as clearances ended, the BRC said. Sales of clothing, footwear, homewares, and health and beauty products all fell. Overall sales, which include the impact of new stores, rose by 3.2%, with food sales up 6.8% and non-food sales rising 0.8%. Results 'skewed' "These surprisingly good figures give some reason for optimism," said Stephen Robertson at the BRC, before sounding a more cautionary note. "But the fundamentals haven't changed. Job fears are mounting. Consumer confidence is at record lows. It remains to be seen whether January's discount driven growth was just a blip." Helen Dickenson at consultancy firm KPMG, which compiles the figures in conjunction with the BRC, also emphasised the impact of discounts. "The results are heavily skewed by the continuation of a short-lived pick up in spending immediately after Christmas," she said. The BRC/KPMG Retail Sales Monitor covers the four weeks between 4 January and 31 January.

Tesco trails after new discount offers backfire

One of the largest supermarket changes in Britain "Tesco" has suffered over the Christmas period. It was the worse performing on the top four supermarkets. This article is in direct contrast to Sainsbury's bumper Christmas sales.

The Article

Tesco will this week report the weakest Christmas trading of the big four supermarkets as doubts set in over its ambition to become "Britain's biggest discounter".

Analysts expect Tesco to post a 2.5% increase in like-for-like sales, lagging behind a field led by Morrisons, with an estimated 9%, nearly 7% at Asda and 4.5% at Sainsbury's.

Last year Tesco introduced a range of discount brands such as "Country Barn" cornflakes and "Daisy" washing up liquid to compete with Aldi and Asda. Analysts fear that the cheaper brands cannibalise sales: because these brands cost less, Tesco must sell more to stand still.

"This is the first big mistake Tesco has made in a decade," said Planet Retail analyst Bryan Roberts.

The supermarkets fared better than non-food specialists during a tough holiday season for the retail sector with results from specialists such as Currys and Argos, also due on Thursday, expected to make grim reading as consumers deferred spending on non-essential items. Tesco chief executive Sir Terry Leahy will say that consumers let go of the purse strings to buy "special" Christmas treats for their families.

read full article sourced from The Observer

Tesco trails after new discount offers backfire

One of the largest supermarket changes in Britain "Tesco" has suffered over the Christmas period. It was the worse performing on the top four supermarkets. This article is in direct contrast to Sainsbury's bumper Christmas sales.

The Article

Tesco will this week report the weakest Christmas trading of the big four supermarkets as doubts set in over its ambition to become "Britain's biggest discounter".

Analysts expect Tesco to post a 2.5% increase in like-for-like sales, lagging behind a field led by Morrisons, with an estimated 9%, nearly 7% at Asda and 4.5% at Sainsbury's.

Last year Tesco introduced a range of discount brands such as "Country Barn" cornflakes and "Daisy" washing up liquid to compete with Aldi and Asda. Analysts fear that the cheaper brands cannibalise sales: because these brands cost less, Tesco must sell more to stand still.

"This is the first big mistake Tesco has made in a decade," said Planet Retail analyst Bryan Roberts.

The supermarkets fared better than non-food specialists during a tough holiday season for the retail sector with results from specialists such as Currys and Argos, also due on Thursday, expected to make grim reading as consumers deferred spending on non-essential items. Tesco chief executive Sir Terry Leahy will say that consumers let go of the purse strings to buy "special" Christmas treats for their families.

read full article sourced from The Observer