| British retailers have worst December on record |
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| Written by Tom Philp | |
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LONDON - British retailers suffered through the worst December sales since monthly stats began to be tracked nearly 14 years ago, according to a report from the British Retail Consortium.
In its monthly retail assessment, the consortium said yesterday (13 January 2009) that "like-for-like" sales slumped 3.3 per cent in December from the previous year. Total sales fell by 1.4 per cent in the same period. The like-for-like decrease was the seventh in a row while the total fall was the third. The consortium said 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, suggesting slow sales in December, when many retailers depend on holiday revenue to get out of the red, may foreshadow bad times ahead. A cursory glance at Britain's leading newspapers shows there are mounting fears there that a spreading global recession may drive a lot of stores out of business this year. |
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