UK RETAIL ROUNDUP: JD Sports Presents Good Xmas Performance

U.K. sportswear retailer JD Sports Fashion PLC (JD.LN) Friday said it expects full-year pretax profit to "marginally" exceed market expectations after reporting increased sales in stores open more than a year over the Christmas period.

JD Sports, which didn't begin discounting items until Boxing Day, said that sales during the five week period to Jan. 3 in stores open more than a year were up 2.8% on last year's figures, with sports fascias up 1% and fashion fascias up 12.5%.

Its upbeat report caps a week of mainly positive trading statements from retailers which so far indicate that Christmas 2008 was not the general blood bath that many had feared.

The spotlight now moves to the scheduled holiday trading update from heavyweight Tesco PLC (TSCO.LN) on Tuesday.

The nation's third-biggest supermarket chain by sales, J Sainsbury PLC (SBRY.LN), reported Thursday its 'best ever Christmas performance' and better-than-expected fiscal third-quarter sales.

Strong Yule Tide sales were also reported by department store House of Fraser and fashion retailer Peacocks, although fashion chain Ted Baker said heavy discounting over Christmas hit its margins and it now expects full-year profit to be at the lower end of market expectations.

Sainsbury's sales from stores open at least one year, excluding fuel, rose 4.5% for the 13 weeks to Jan. 3 from a year earlier, driven by customer demand for less expensive store-brand goods and the migration of some shoppers from more upscale grocers Marks & Spencer Group PLC (MKS.LN) and Waitrose amid the economic downturn. The group also continues to benefit from its turnaround strategy. It said it would add up to 3,000 staff next year having had to take on extra temporary staff over the Christmas period.

Sainsbury's strong showing contrasted with Wednesday's poor Christmas trading update from Marks & Spencer, which had its worst quarterly sales performance for a decade and responded by closing 27 stores and cutting 1,230 jobs.

The U.K. retail Christmas trading season kicked-off on Monday when both U.K. department store chain John Lewis and London department store Liberty PLC (LBE.LN) presented encouraging sales reports. Tuesday saw better-than-expected Christmas sales performances from Next PLC (NXT.LN), Debenhams PLC (DEB.LN), fashion retailer New Look and from The Co-operative, Britain's largest mutual retailer .

The sector's downturn has nonetheless claimed a number of victims. Those so far forced into administration include Passion for Perfume Ltd., Adams Childrenswear Ltd., clothing chain USC, CD, DVD and video game retailer zavvi, coffee-and-tea purveyor Whittards of Chelsea, clothing chain the Officers Club, Woolworths Group PLC (WLW.LN) and furniture retailer MFI.

Other U.K. retailers that are scheduled to report trading performances in coming days include:

 
 
Tue, Jan. 13: Tesco PLC (TSCO.LN) trading update 
              Topps Tiles PLC (TPT.LN) trading update 
              Jacques Vert PLC (JQV.LN) trading update 
              Game Group PLC (GMG.LN) trading update 
 
Thu, Jan. 15: Home Retail Group PLC (HOME.LN) 3Q 
              HMV Group PLC (HMV.LN) trading update 
              JJB Sports PLC (JJB.LN) trading update 
              DSG International PLC (DSGI.LN) update 
              Associated British Foods PLC update 
              Halfords Group PLC (HFD.LN) trading update 
              Mothercare PLC (MTC.LN) trading update 
              Galiform PLC (GFRM.LN) trading update 
 
Tue, Jan. 20: Kesa Electricals PLC (KESA.LN) trading update 
 
Thu, Jan. 22: William Morrison Supermarkets PLC (MRW.LN) 
 
Fri, Jan. 23: ASOS PLC trading update (TBC) 
 
Mon, Jan. 26: WH Smith PLC (SMWH.LN) AGM trading update 
 
Tue, Feb. 3: Carpetright PLC trading update

-By Lilly Vitorovich, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-0-207 842 9290; lilly.vitorovich@dowjones.com

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