Kesa reports drop in Comet sales
UK electricals group Kesa today said sales at its flagship Comet chain were deteriorating as shoppers cut back on buying goods such as fridges and dishwashers.
Kesa said like-for-like sales at Comet had dropped by 5% since the beginning of February – a bleaker performance than in the three months to April 30 when they fell 2.2%.
Shares in the company fell more than 3% after bosses confirmed their view that Comet would make “a small loss” during the first half of the financial year.
Kesa boss Jean-Noel Labroue said demand for white goods was particularly weak, and its sales were being driven by digital and multimedia products instead.
Like-for-like sales across the group were 0.7% lower as growth also slowed at its French retail businesses, Darty and BUT, as consumers became less confident.
Mr Labroue said: “The group’s performance in the period reflects the deteriorating retail conditions across our markets.
“Anticipating that the difficult market conditions will continue, our businesses are working hard to manage margins and streamline their organisations in preparation for our important second half.”
Comet is the UK’s second biggest electricals retailer, with more than 250 branches in the UK, and today’s update put pressure on market leader Dixons, which was the second heaviest faller on the FTSE 100 Index.
Shares in GUS, however, were unaffected after the retail group told investors yesterday that consumer electronics and white goods at its Argos chain were selling well.
Analysts think GUS could be capturing market share from rivals such as Kesa.
