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The Summary

Four administrations namely, ForestGold t/a TravelZone, Krisp Clothing, Descamps and Half Price Jewellers were reported since our December issue. Three retailers are new to UK including Vagabond, Sainsbury‟s Fresh Kitchen and Stately Interiors and some are muttering about coming to UK – see our new retailers section.

In the news… A tough month overall for HMV Group, Signet UK, Ernest Jones, Theo Fennell and New Look. At the same time impressive results from SuperGroup and Mulberry. A fantastic year continued for John Lewis when it achieved a record sales week of £121 million. Last month was hugely statistics dominated with Christmas trading updates, the VAT increase and efforts to evaluate the effect of snowfall. However, there were also some internal re-organisations and key staff changes. However, retail news included the launch of augmented reality feature to Ebay‟s fashion mobile app allowing shoppers to virtually try on sunglasses before they buy. Following a strong Christmas, jewellery giant Aurum is all set to launch a new fascia under its Goldsmiths brand as it seeks to attract a younger, more fashion-conscious customer. To cap things off, Amazon has acquired Lovefilm, rumoured to have been worth around £200m. Keeping the trend alive FSP’s retailer of the month award goes to “Sainsbury‟s” as it ruled the news with improved Christmas sales, increase in market share, launch of Fresh Kitchen, new investment strategies and much more…

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Birth and Death of Retailers

In Adminis trat ion New Retailers

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Geoff’s View

“When the going gets tough, the tough get going” Wild newspaper claims that Christmas trading was the worst since records began in 1988 were

based on a misreading of the ONS Press Release. Nevertheless, the error reflects the increasing

straws in the wind that signify already difficult retail trading conditions are set to get worse. The

rate of monthly sales increases has been falling since August 2010; snow disrupted trading in two

separate weeks in December, reducing sales by an estimated 2% to 4%; the number of retail

businesses in financial difficulties in Q4 2010 showed the first increase since the dark days of

2009; tax increases, Government austerity measures and uncertainty about the implementation of

radical changes, increasing unemployment, already above 20% in the key 16 to 25 year old group,

rising commodity and utility prices compounded by a 25% devaluation of sterling since 2007; a

sufficient list to indicate that the going is certainly getting tough.

How then do the tough get going? I am reminded of the two explorers who came face to face with

an angry tiger. One of them immediately started to run away. “You can‟t out-run a tiger!” said the

other. “No, but I can run faster than you.” In no likely economic scenario will consumers stop

shopping altogether. The challenge is to ensure that they shop in your shopping centre or park

rather than with your competitors.

It is now received wisdom that physical stores can compete effectively with digital stores by

offering a satisfying and enjoyable experience to their shoppers. This requires a thorough

understanding of your particular shoppers and their needs and aspirations. Delivering a good

shopping experience depends on the centre providing a conducive environment and the retailer

providing the merchandise and customer service. A degree of mutual inter-dependence is

required. This is where the tough are heading – towards using their resources to maximise their

own performance by maximising the sales of their retailers.

With kind regards Geoff Nicholson Managing Director, FSP geoff@fspretail.co.uk

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New Retailers Boux Avenue

will open its first store in March in shopping centres including the Trafford Centre and Bluewater

Mackintosh

has opened its first standalone store (970 sq ft) in Mayfair in London

Nao Do Brasil

has opened its debut shop in 1,073sq ft on the upper Thames Walk in Bluewater

Oliver Bonas

is to launch its first own-brand range to improve margins & create a clearer fashion identity

Sainsbury's

has opened its first sandwich shop in Fleet Street, near to its Holborn head office, under the fascia Sainsbury's Fresh kitchen

Stately Interiors

launched by Mike Clare (who founded beds giant Dreams) sells "grand and unusual furniture" from its store in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire

Vagabond Wines

opened its first UK store on Fulham Broadway in south-west London

Whistle & Flute has opened its first store and showroom in Spitalfields, London to offer made-to-measure suits and shirts

Store News Banana Republic

has signed for a 1,600sq ft store at 22-24 King's Road, in London's Chelsea

Best Buy

has insisted its plans for the UK are still on course despite it pulling out of a deal to open a store in the north-east of England

Brasserie Blanc

is to make its debut in the north-west at Liverpool's Mann Island Scheme

Byron

the chain of up-market burger restaurants, will launch its latest site on London‟s Charing Cross Road later this month

Calvin Klein

concept and Ted Baker Passions are to take units at Manchester's Spinningfields

Claire's

has launched a UK website which aims to engage its teenage customers with a focus on social media & blogging. Claire's intends making the site transactional late next year

Coes

is to kick off the new year with a major multi-million pound refurbishment and expansion of its Ipswich store - lifting it from a two-floor elevation to three floors

Cote

has secured a new site in Bluewater shopping centre in Kent, its first in the South East county

D&D London

has secured a space at the Grade I listed Royal Exchange in the City, to develop an outdoor café for launch in summer 2011

Flying Brands

has acquired a further 30 per cent stake in Dealtastic Holdings from Jonathan Ruff

G-Star

has started the UK roll-out of a buying initiative for indies, whereby indie stockists commit to dedicating 60% of their store space to the brand in return for shopfit funding

Gerry Weber

the German mainstream womenswear brand, opened the doors on two stores in Chichester (550 sq ft) and Eastbourne(1,500 sq ft)

Goldsmiths

is to launch a new fascia it seeks to attract a younger, more fashion-conscious customer

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H&M

has signed to take a 17,000 sq ft anchor store in the Kingsgate Shopping Centre in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire and has teamed up with footwear & accessories brand Swedish Hasbeens to create three styles of clogs.

House of Fraser

has launched a mobile commerce site, m.houseoffraser.co.uk and has invested £10m in Frasers, its flagship Glasgow store, to create a luxury accessories & footwear emporium

Jamie's Italian

mid-market restaurant chain, is to open ten new sites in 2011 in a move that is set to boost turnover to an estimated total of £70m

Jimmy Choo

has launched an interactive section on its website (My Choo Stories) which allows users to share their personal Jimmy Choo experiences

John Lewis Partnership

is to invest £500m in 2011 and indicated that it will be ready to expand overseas by end of 2011

LK Bennett

has signed an extended 10-year lease to relocate to a new unit (2,200 sq ft) at the Metquarter in Liverpool

Lush

has suspended online sales after hackers broke into its site, jeopardising customers‟ financial data

Marks & Spencer

and Amazon websites were taken offline on night during the key Christmas trading period amid ongoing cyber threats by pro-Wikileaks saboteurs

Mimco

is expanding its UK portfolio, it has signed up to take five stores of between 500sq ft and 900sq ft in Glasgow, Chester, Leeds, Bath and Sheffield

Mitchells & Butlers

is to open its first ever Premium Country Dining (PCD) gastropub in a city centre - at a site once operated as a discount Goose venue

Morrisons

has entered into a conditional agreement with Asda to acquire 120,000 sq.ft. of additional selling space through the purchase of 16 former Netto UK stores at a cost of £28.1m

New Look

is looking to widen its offer by selling third-party young fashion brands on its website. The retailer is understood to want to target brands such as womenswear labels Motel, Lipsy and Vila, and men‟s brands G-Star, Gio-Goi and Levi‟s.

Not Your Daughter's Jeans (NYDJ)

has almost doubled its number of outlets in Europe over 2010.There are now 2,000 stores in Europe including House of Fraser, John Lewis, Fenwick and Selfridges

Oak Furniture Land

is upping the pace of its expansion to brick-and-mortar stores with the opening of its second showroom in six months

Poundland

will open two more stores in Scotland, one in Glasgow and one in Arbroath, as part of its continued expansion in the region

Shop Direct Group

is to launch an online department store (Isme.com) targeting style-conscious 50 plus women & faced by actress Lynda Bellingham

Sony Centre

has unveiled a new-look store (5,000 sq. ft) to offer consumers more opportunity to try out products at retail destination Tottenham Court Road

TK Maxx

is close to signing a 15-year lease at Liberty Wharf for 10,000sq ft near the anchor tenant, Marks & Spencer Home

Waterstone's

and HMV have created a new concept double-fascia store at Fort Kinnaird shopping park in Edinburgh

White Stuff has opened a second store devoted to providing enhanced levels of customer service & retail theatre

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Financial Restructuring

Abel & Cole

organic food home delivery specialist is being put up for sale and Morrisons and the Co-op are expected to be at the forefront of acquisition interest

Adidas

chief executive Herbert Hainer has claimed that the German sportswear giant will grow faster than US rival Nike in 2015

Amazon

has acquired British film & games subscription firm Lovefilm which is rumoured to have been worth in the region of £200m

ASOS

has announced it will launch a Facebook shop later this month, allowing its 390,000 fans to buy its clothes without leaving the Facebook site

Blacks Leisure Group

sale is drawing to a close with two parties thought to be outdoor clothing rival Go Outdoors and LDC (Lloyds TSB Development Capital)

British Bookshops & Stationers

has collapsed into administration, becoming the first retail casualty of 2011.Simon Appell, Fraser Gray and Stuart Mackellar of Zolfo Cooper have been appointed administrators

Change Capital

the private equity firm run by former Marks & Spencer boss Roger Holmes, is among those bidding for Bathstore

Cruise

has been rescued by Sir Tom Hunters by entering into a joint venture agreement with Van Mildert

Daniel Footwear

has acquired footwear retailer Rojo Shoes, using £700,000 in funding from Barclays Corporate

HMV Group

has drawn plans to shut 60 of its 285 stores in the next 12 months as sales have continued to fall over the Christmas trading period and the profit warnings, but has been promised support from seven of the country's top music executives despite ongoing sales slump and store closures

J Crew

has extended the period in which it can accept rival bids for the business until February 15 as it settles a shareholder lawsuit over its proposed takeover

J Sainsbury PLC

is to invest in its own brands after bumper Christmas

JJB Sports

is expected to ask investors for a further £50m following the £31.5m promised before Christmas

Krisp Clothing

went into administration on 14 January 2011

Ladbrokes

is in talks to buy online rival 888, with reports suggesting that it has offered £240 million for the company

Landsbanki Commercial Finance

is considering selling its 35 per cent stake in the House of Fraser department store group

Marks & Spencer

is considering opening banks in 55 stores, branches would be opened in partnership with HSBC

One Stop

Tesco‟s convenience fascia has acquired 77 stores from Mills Group as part of its long term expansion plans

Phase Eight

could be bought by private equity firm Towerbrook Capital for almost £80m

Sainsbury's Supermarkets

has more than tripled its share of the £9.9bn UK value clothing market in the last five years

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SuperGroup

has re-engineered prices of its Superdry young fashion brand for autumn 11, after warning that rising cotton costs could impact gross margins next year

Tesco PLC

is to trial two beauty parlours in its larger stores. Two larger Beauty Salons will open at the end of January.

Topshop

is to enter into Brazil as part of an ambitious overseas expansion programme as revealed by Sir Philip Green

Urban Outfitters

and US retail giant Sears are said to be considering a possible bid for American casualwear business J Crew

VF Corporation

has signed a deal to buy premium denim brand Rock & Republic for $57m (£36.8m), deal to be finalised by April 2011

Internal Restructuring

Adidas

has joined forces with Italian denim giant Diesel to create a limited edition trainer series

Alexander McQueen

has unveiled its striking new spring 11 brand images featuring American model Lindsey Wixson

Arcadia Group

and Topman will not pass the January VAT rise on to customers, confirms Sir Philip Green

Argos

is to more closely integrate its famous big book with social media such as Facebook & Twitter as its multichannel business grows

Carpetright

is downsizing 10% of its portfolio (stores sized between 12,000 sq ft and 14,000 sq ft) to get better returns from its selling space

Chanel

signed Blake Lively (American actress) as its new face - Blake will appear in a campaign for the Mademoiselle handbag line.

Co-op Retail

has launched an advertising campaign for its food stores focusing on the importance of celebrating quality family time

Ebay

has added an augmented reality feature to its fashion mobile app allowing shoppers to virtually try on sunglasses before they buy

Ego Restaurants

is to close its businesses in Leeds & Manchester due to worsening trading conditions in each city

Enterprise Inns

has sold 29 central London pubs to Max Property Group for £42.56m

George

at Asda has stepped in at the final hour to headline sponsor Graduate Fashion Week (GFW) and save the event from extinction

Harvey Nichols

sent out a viral Christmas video sending up fashionistas who use their dogs as the ultimate fashion accessory

John Lewis

announced plans to launch a new in-store beauty spa concept. The first spa will open in its Reading and Cheadle department stores this summer

Marks & Spencer

has unveiled a Plan A-inspired fashion capsule collection for its Indigo range and has joined hands with O2‟s location-based marketing service, enabling it to target consumers with special offers

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Morrisons

is pledging to cancel out the effects of rise in VAT by slashing prices, with January savings totalling £210m

Nisa

is to embark on its first TV advertising campaign as it guns to build its brand profile with consumers & sign up new retailer members

O2

is to close 40 of its 493 stores this year and instead invest in its best performing shops. 100 stores will be refitted to the latest format including live handset displays, gaming lounges and the O2 Guru Bar

Peacocks

has partnered with Daisy Lowe to launch a range of retro-inspired swimwear designed by the model

Sarah Coggles

has received a multi-million pound investment from Manchester Square Enterprises, a subsidiary of Pentland Group

Starbucks

unveiled a new logo which no longer has the words "Starbucks" and "coffee", leaving just the firm's white on green image of a twin-tailed siren

Superdrug

is to absorb the January 4 VAT increase on all its own brand beauty, toiletries and household products (nearly 2,000 products)

Tesco Direct

has launched a Brand Boutique on its clothing website to house the independent labels and designers it stocks. Also it recently teamed up with blackcircles.com to move into car tyre trade.

Tesco plc

fired back at ASDA's price back guarantee by saying that its is "confusing and misleading" because it excludes around half of Tesco's range, and relies on a complicated process for customers to get their money back

Triumph

has launched a premium collection called Triumph Essence, fronted by supermodel Helena Christensen

Zara has created a kidswear collection for its Zara Home Kid range in collaboration with Liberty print fabrics - collection is available at zarahome.com

General ALDO

will make its first move into the French market this year

Alexandalexa

has received an investment of £1.5m to drive international expansion

All Saints

boss Kevin Stanford has been forced by a court in Iceland to repay a £1.3m personal guarantee he gave to secure finance for his investment portfolio

Arcadia Group

owner Sir Philip Green, scooped the International Retailer of the Year Award in New York this week at the National Retail Federation conference

Asics

opens a flagship store in Amsterdam as it warms up for an aggressive European expansion next year alongside its sister clothing brand, Onitsuka Tiger

BCSC Awards

Land Securities' and Capital Shopping Centres' St David's in Cardiff won the supreme gold award at this year's BCSC awards

Boxfresh

has increased prices and repositioned to be more premium for autumn 11

City Analyst

has forecast that the on-trade market (pubs, restaurants and cafes) lost in the region of £500 to £750m in sales as a result of severe weather in December

Counterfeit Items

are becoming more difficult to spot and London is awash with expensive fakes. Fake goods cost on average 31% of the price of the genuine article in the capital

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Dixons Retail

Shoppers have flocked to Black, in its first week of trading, its parent has claimed

Emu Australia

has launched a counterclaim against Deckers, a month after the owner of popular footwear brand Ugg kicked off legal proceedings to prevent Emu from using its trademarks

FGH (Otto UK)

Group- home shopping retailer has merged its online fashion retailer Oli into its Freemans business

Gap

has become the latest retailer to sign a lease at the extended St David's shopping centre in Cardiff, taking 9,200sq ft

Gordon Ramsay Restaurants

and Jamie Oliver - who are fronting up Channel 4's season of programmes campaigning against overfishing - have been caught serving endangered eels in their restaurants

Hermes

won against LVMH, after LVMH increased its share in Hermes to more than 20%

High street shopping

in the UK has entered a steep decline, with national average vacancy rates set to surpass 15 per cent as retailers and their customers are lured away by the attractions of out-of-town retail parks and online shopping

Hobbs

has secured £14m of new investment from its private equity backer 3i, and brought in turnaround specialist Iain MacRitchie to replace Tony Campbell as chairman

Joules

grew its UK store portfolio by a third last year & is in talks with Deloitte to find ways to raise money to expand its 40 stores, seven UK franchises & six overseas franchises

Mango

has outlined fresh expansion plans in China, Eastern Europe and Russia as it continues to consolidate its global presence

Maplin

asked potential buyers to submit informal offers

Marks & Spencer

took a step forward with international expansion, when its first store in Egypt and third in China were scheduled to open

Retailers

are to be banned from selling alcohol below a minimum price for the first time, as Government aim is to prevent binge drinking

Retailers

including Tesco and Sainsbury‟s have signed up to a service designed to help them hold more accurate product information and take better advantage of multichannel and mobile commerce

Royal Bank of Scotland

is to take control of the 306,000sq ft Friars Square shopping centre in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire

Sixty UK

Italian parent company has been ordered to pay almost £600,000 in unpaid rent to the owner of the Met Quarter in Liverpool

Ted Baker

and Lush founders were recognised in the New Year Honours List. Ray Kelvin was awarded a CBE and Mark and Margaret Constantine received OBEs

Waitrose

has been awarded a second Royal Warrant for supplying Prince Charles with food and drink. Waitrose already has a Warrant as a supplier to the Queen

Weldrick's Pharmacy won the „Best Large Multiple Pharmacy‟ award at the 2010 Alliance Healthcare Pharmacy Awards

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Property

AXA REIM

Foss Islands retail park (159,000sq ft ) in York is being put up for sale by Axa Real Estate Investment Managers with a price tag of around £26m

Capital Shopping Centres

A US property giant (Simon Property Group) dropped its £3 billion pursuit of Britain's biggest shopping centre owner after failing to gain access to its books

Henderson Global Investors

has confirmed its acquisition of two Thornfield entities comprising the 600,000 sq ft Silver Hill scheme in Winchester, from the developer‟s administrator Deloitte

Hermes Property Asset Management

has unexpectedly cancelled the sale of its sale of a 7.5% stake in the Bluewater shopping centre in Kent

INVESCO Real Estate

has completed its first purchase for its third UK fund. It has bought a 104,026 sq ft retail property in Bromley, south-east London for £17.05m

Land Securities

Primark & New Look are in talks to take units at Land Securities' Trinity Leeds shopping centre development. Marks & Spencer, H&M, Next, Bhs and River Island are among the tenants to have signed up

Legal & General Property

has confirmed its acquisition of Fremlin Walk shopping centre in Maidstone, Kent, for £92m

Meyer Bergman

has appointed Wilson McHardy as the retail leasing agent for the Burlington Arcade, in London's Mayfair

Sainsbury's Supermarkets

has acquired 134-138 North Street, Brighton from UK Commercial Property Holdings, the fund managed by Ignis Real Estate

St Enoch, Glasgow

shopping centre recorded a 20% year-on-year rise in footfall during Christmas week as shoppers avoided the cold weather and chose to do their shopping under cover

Westfield Shoppingtowns Limited

has been refused planning permission for the expansion of the Friary shopping centre in Guildford. Westfield proposed to extend the retail space by around 6,400sq ft

Woolworths Group 30% of Woolworths stores are vacant, compared with 40% in July and 60% the year before that

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Retailer Results

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Please note that only half and full year results have been mentioned. For detailed statistics on Christmas sales please click here

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UK Overview

ONS Retail Sales

The value of retail sales in December at current prices not seasonally adjusted increased 3.0% YoY with the 3 month moving average also at 3%. Value of sales through food stores in December increase by 2.2% YoY, while the value of sales through non-food stores was up 2.2% YoY. Once again, non-store retailing made the biggest gains with a 17.4 % increase in value of sales. Household Goods have again fared worst, down 10.1 % YOY in December.

*Please note that ONS made several changes to its Retail Sales reporting in January 2010. For more information, see http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/rs0210.pdf Please see the Retail & Economic Statistics page on SnapShop for more historical detail

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%UK Retail Sales Growth - All Retail (Not Seasonally

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Volume Value Inflation 3 month moving average

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Internet Retail Sales

Based on ONS experimental Internet sales series, the non-seasonally adjusted average weekly value of Internet retail sales in December 2010 was £770 million, which was approximately 10.6 per cent of total retail sales (excluding automotive fuel). BRC has recorded a 18.0% change YoY

*ONS are trialling an experimental measure of Internet retail sales. For more details see http://www.statistics.gov.uk/articles/nojournal/Internet_information_paper_February_2010.pdf.

BRC Retail Sales

UK retail sales values were down 0.3% on a like-for-like basis from December 2009, when sales had risen 4.2%. On a total basis, sales were up 1.5% against a 6.0% increase in December 2009

Please see the Retail & Economic Statistics page on SnapShop for more historical detail

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Pedestrian Flows

Synovate‟s Retail Traffic Index for December was down 7.0% YOY and up 24.9% against November. Experian FootFall reported a MoM increase of 19% but a YoY decrease of 3.1%.According to Synovate, last week of the year was busiest week of 2010 - 9% above Christmas (second busiest of the year). For 2010 as a whole, UK non-food store market recorded decline of 3.6%.

Interest Rates

The Bank of England‟s Monetary Policy Committee voted to maintain the official Bank Rate paid on commercial bank reserves at 0.5%. This rate has been maintained since March 2009.

Please see the Retail & Economic Statistics page on SnapShop for more historical detail

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% Pedestrian Flows - Year-on-Year Change

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Inflation

In the year to December, the all items RPI rose by 4.8 per cent, up from 4.7 per cent in November. CPI annual inflation stands at 3.7 per cent, up from 3.3 per cent in November with air transport and rising petrol, diesel, gas and food prices being the most significant drivers

House Prices

According to the Nationwide index, the price of a typical house increased by 0.4% MoM in December which is similar to YoY change. The average price of a typical UK property in November was £162,763.

NB: YoY figures refer to left hand scale, MoM statistics refer to right hand scale. September YoY was flat. Please see the Retail & Economic Statistics page on SnapShop for more historical detail

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Consumer Confidence

The overall index score this month has stayed the same as last month at -21, two points lower than this time last year. Nick Moon, MD of GfK NOP Social Research, comments: "At the moment consumer confidence is being propped up by one thing – a belief that the run-up to Christmas and the VAT hike is a good time for big-ticket retail purchases. This element of the index has distorted the overall index to make it appear static when in fact it is teetering on the brink. The real test will come in January when festive spending ceases and the VAT increase comes in. Then we will finally see the full impact of how consumers are reacting to the first wave of austerity measures.”

Please see the Retail & Economic Statistics page on SnapShop for more historical detail

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Research by GfK NOP on behalf of the European Commission

GfK NOP Consumer Confidence Index

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Ireland Overview

CSO Retail Sales

At the time of publishing, the most recently available data were for November. The volume of retail sales (i.e. excluding price effects) increased by 0.9% in November 2010 when compared with November 2009 and there was a monthly increase of 0.2%.The value of retail sales decreased by 2.1% in November 2010 when compared with November 2009 and there was a month-on-month change of -0.1%.

Please see the Retail & Economic Statistics page on SnapShop for more historical detail

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%Irish Retail Sales Growth - All Retail (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

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%Irish Retail Sales Growth - Food Retail (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

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%Irish Retail Sales Growth - Non-Food Retail (Not Seasonally

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Volume Value Inflation 3 mma

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Inflation in Ireland

In Ireland, HICP was -0.2% in December, whilst CPI increased from 0.6% to 1.3%

Please see the Retail & Economic Statistics page on SnapShop for more historical detail.

www.snap-shop.co.uk

And Finally…

John Lewis staff teach police politeness Following a survey which revealed that some police officers answer mobiles while talking to people or had inapt ringtones, officers are being sent to a John Lewis department store - to learn how to be polite to the public. Superintendent Nadeem Butt from Greater Manchester Police came up with the idea to ask the store for help because their staff are so polite. He said: "The main thing is that John Lewis treats customer service as a skill. You could be the best salesperson in the country but you still have to have regular training." Officers from Supt Butt's force will receive their politeness training from the John Lewis store in Cheadle, Greater Manchester. They will be trained to be more professional and considerate when dealing with victims of crime and witnesses. They are being taught to spend more time listening to people, to keep victims updated on the progress of inquiries.

www.fspretail.co.uk

25/01/11

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