Dixons suffered a nasty fall yesterday after the latest figures from the British Retail Consortium stoked fears of another disappointing Christmas for the electricals retailer.
Dixons shares closed 5p weaker at 137p – the biggest faller in the FTSE 100 – as traders had their first chance to react to news that retail sales grew at their slowest pace in seven months during October, with electronics and electricals one of the worst performing sectors.
According to the survey, which was released after the market closed on Monday, growth in the electricals category was weaker in October than in September, with sales of televisions and audio equipment – a big market for Dixons – particularly disappointing.
While October is a volatile month for the retail industry analysts said the figures suggested that faced with the prospect of higher interest rates – the survey was taken before last week’s rate rise – consumers had started to reign in their spending on “big ticket” discretionary items.
With rates likely to rise again in the new year analysts reckon sales of such items could fall further, which means this Christmas could prove to be every bit as bad as last year’s for Dixons.
>From The Guardian