All eyes on retail groups' figures
Well-known retail brands including PC World, Argos and Homebase will be in the spotlight next week when two major retail groups post figures.PC World and Currys owner Dixons Retail Group has emerged from the storm battering the electronics sector with its reputation enhanced.
Rivals such as Comet, Argos and BestBuy have endured high-profile difficulties, but under chief executive John Browett and successor Sebastian James the chain has bucked the gloom in the UK retail sector.
Dixons shares are around a third higher than the start of the year after it said last month that profits were at the top end of City expectations. Even so, the group is still expected to report a 19% decline in profits to £69.2 million on sales slightly down at £8.1 billion.
Dixons has outperformed rivals with the help of strong online trading, demand for its click and collect service and its new Knowhow services which sees it offer expertise to help customers install new technology.
The wash-out weather is likely to have placed more pressure on the owner of catalogue chain Argos after a recent 60% slide in annual profits.
Home Retail Group, which also runs the Homebase chain, has been hurt by declines in the electronics and home improvement markets, prompting it to scrap its dividend.
The group has so far resisted calls for widespread store closures in its chain of nearly 750 Argos stores, claiming they support its presence online and only seven were loss-making, but the poor run of trading is set to continue on Tuesday when the City expects a 4% fall in like-for-like sales in the three months to the end of May after bad weather dampened sales.
Meanwhile, sales at Homebase, which operates some 340 stores, are set to be even worse hit, down 8%, as shoppers delayed buying seasonal goods such as garden furniture.
It comes after Kingfisher-owned DIY chain B&Q unveiled a 12% slide in sales due to poor demand for outdoor products and building materials.
The wash-out weather is likely to have placed more pressure on the owner of catalogue chain Argos after a recent 60% slide in annual profits.
Home Retail Group, which also runs the Homebase chain, has been hurt by declines in the electronics and home improvement markets, prompting it to scrap its dividend.
The group has so far resisted calls for widespread store closures in its chain of nearly 750 Argos stores, claiming they support its presence online and only seven were loss-making, but the poor run of trading is set to continue on Tuesday when the City expects a 4% fall in like-for-like sales in the three months to the end of May after bad weather dampened sales.
Meanwhile, sales at Homebase, which operates some 340 stores, are set to be even worse hit, down 8%, as shoppers delayed buying seasonal goods such as garden furniture.
It comes after Kingfisher-owned DIY chain B&Q unveiled a 12% slide in sales due to poor demand for outdoor products and building materials.
© 2013 Press Association