British retailers suffer worst December on record

British retailers suffer worst December on record
By PAN PYLAS


More from BusinessWeek
• Yahoo's Yodel Turns Into a Whimper
• The Lesson of Societe Generale
• FBI Widens Its Subprime Net
• Altria's Split: Where There's Smoke…
• Under Armour's Footwear Foray
Story Tools
• order a reprint
• digg this
• save to del.icio.us


LONDON
Britain's retailers suffered their worst December in at least 14 years despite a blizzard of promotions, stoking fears that more high-profile companies may go bust in the months ahead.
In its monthly assessment of the sector, the British Retail Consortium revealed Tuesday that like-for-like sales, which strip out new stores and space, slumped 3.3 percent in December from the previous year.
Total sales, which includes the additional space, fell by 1.4 percent. The like-for-like decrease was the seventh in a row while the total fall was the third.
The consortium said that by both measures, this was the worst December since the survey began 14 years ago. Only food and footwear stores reported sales up on the previous year.
"These are truly dreadful numbers," said Stephen Roberston, the consortium's director-general.
December's figures augur badly for retailers as sales during the month are key for earnings.
Even with heavy discounting, consumers remained reluctant to part with their cash amid mounting unemployment fears and heightened personal debt levels.
With general retailer Woolworths already having closed its doors for good and others, such as tea and coffee merchant Whittard of Chelsea and Land of Leather filing for bankruptcy protection, there are mounting fears that Britain's economic retrenchment will claim further victims, especially if December sales disappoint.