ClickAJob News

The rush for post Christmas bargains will not save the retail industry from a very tough 2009, the head of the industry’s trade body has said.

Stephen Robertson, the head of the British Retail Consortium, said declining sales, rental costs and massive discounts would combine to mean retail jobs would be under threat.

Shoppers yesterday flocked to high streets around the country to take advantage of price cuts of up to 90 per cent in certain places.

But Mr Robertson said December had been a “poor” month for sales overall.

He told BBC Radio 4’s today programme: “We had poor sales in October, worse sales in November and retailers were telling me that December started very poorly indeed.”

Research from PricewaterhouseCoopers suggested 82 per cent of retailers had begun offering sales or promotions in the run up to Christmas.

Meanwhile retail analyst Experian Footfall said preliminary figures suggested a 12.5 per cent increase in the number of people looking for a bargain on Boxing Day.

But despite yesterday’s rush to find a bargain Mr Robertson said retailers were in for a difficult 2009.

“We’ve seen a triple whammy sales declining, the margins are being crushed by these fabulous promotions that customers are enjoying at the moment but costs are still rising,” he said.

Business rates are due to rise 5 per cent in April next year, based on October’s Retail Price index Inflation figures.

Mr Robertson said the increase could put retail jobs under threat and called on the government to dramatically reduce the rate increase before April.