Dixons learns from past failures

AFTER two poor Christmases in a row, electrical retailer Dixons had better news for the City, with a like-for-like sales gain of 4% in its core UK operations over the eight weeks to 10 January.

A good performance overseas, which accounts for a third of profits, boosted the underlying group gain to 5%.

'It wasn't a bumper Christmas but it's somewhat more reassuring than this time last year,' said chief executive John Clare.

Dixons 'learnt the lessons of last year', especially in the cheaper gift lines, where the supermarkets chains have increasingly been capturing market share, and had started price promotions earlier.

As with other stores, Dixons saw shoppers leave purchases to the last minute and the January sale is becoming ever-more important. Bestsellers were digital cameras, camera phones, digital radios and flat-screen TVs.

Profits for the 28 weeks to 15 November rose 9% to £105.7m, excluding goodwill, on sales 21% higher at £3.1bn. UK sales were flat like-for-like, but overseas operations rose 3%.