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Poor festive period for retailers | Poor festive period for retailers |
(10 minutes later) | |
Retailers had a gloomy Christmas as Scots shoppers tightened their belts amid fears of an economic slowdown. | Retailers had a gloomy Christmas as Scots shoppers tightened their belts amid fears of an economic slowdown. |
New figures showed the retail sector grew by 0.4% in December 2007 compared to 3.6% during the same period in 2006. | New figures showed the retail sector grew by 0.4% in December 2007 compared to 3.6% during the same period in 2006. |
A dramatic drop in food sales was mainly responsible for the slowdown, according to Scottish Retail Consortium and Royal Bank of Scotland figures. | A dramatic drop in food sales was mainly responsible for the slowdown, according to Scottish Retail Consortium and Royal Bank of Scotland figures. |
But one of the authors of the report said the figures were not as gloomy as some forecasts had predicted. | But one of the authors of the report said the figures were not as gloomy as some forecasts had predicted. |
Growth in clothes and footwear also slowed but was not as bad as expected as shops discounted heavily, according to the figures. | Growth in clothes and footwear also slowed but was not as bad as expected as shops discounted heavily, according to the figures. |
Christmas in the shops went well for some retailers but lacked cheer for many Professor John DawsonUniversity of Edinburgh | Christmas in the shops went well for some retailers but lacked cheer for many Professor John DawsonUniversity of Edinburgh |
Like-for-like sales - which strip out growth added by the opening of new stores - were only 0.4% higher in December 2007 than in the previous year. | |
In December 2006, like-for-like growth had increased 3.6% on the previous year. | In December 2006, like-for-like growth had increased 3.6% on the previous year. |
Total sales in December, which include the effects of expansion by companies, grew at their slowest rate since December 2000, up 4.8% on a year ago. | |
The food sector showed its first year-on-year decline since March 2006 as prices rose at the fastest rate on record and consumers cut back on luxuries. | |
But there was a glimmer of hope, with sales of cut-price wine and beer offers faring well as shoppers hunted for bargains. | |
Clothing and footwear performed better, buoyed by huge discounts and clearances. | Clothing and footwear performed better, buoyed by huge discounts and clearances. |
Online presence | Online presence |
A slowing housing market also saw low sales of furniture and white goods. | A slowing housing market also saw low sales of furniture and white goods. |
Fiona Moriaty, director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said: "These figures show how hard Scottish retailers have been hit by the severe pressure on people's personal finances." | Fiona Moriaty, director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said: "These figures show how hard Scottish retailers have been hit by the severe pressure on people's personal finances." |
But Professor John Dawson of the University of Edinburgh School of Management, which is responsible for putting the data together, played down the figures. | |
"Certainly it was not as bad as some early forecasts suggested," he said. | "Certainly it was not as bad as some early forecasts suggested," he said. |
"Christmas in the shops went well for some retailers but lacked cheer for many." | "Christmas in the shops went well for some retailers but lacked cheer for many." |
A clear lesson from the festive period was the importance for retailers of an online presence, Prof Dawson added. | A clear lesson from the festive period was the importance for retailers of an online presence, Prof Dawson added. |
Stephen Boyle, a senior economist at the Royal Bank of Scotland, said the slow growth continued a gloomy trend. | |
"December's retail sales figures were similar to the previous two months, confirming a slower rate of growth for the fourth quarter as a whole," he said. | "December's retail sales figures were similar to the previous two months, confirming a slower rate of growth for the fourth quarter as a whole," he said. |
The performance on Scotland's high streets was broadly in line with that across the UK, which saw like-for-like growth of only 0.3% over the festive period. | |
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