UK RETAIL ROUNDUP: Sainsbury, New Look, JD Sports Had Good Xmas

Thursday saw fresh evidence that most U.K. retailers enjoyed a bumper Yule Tide, with supermarket group J Sainsbury PLC (SBRY.LN) reporting third-quarter sales ahead of market expectations on the back of a record Christmas, and saying the business continues to perform well in the challenging consumer environment.

JD Sports Fashion PLC (JD.LN) said it expects to significantly beat fiscal 2010 market forecasts following a strong performance over the Christmas season.

And privately-held U.K. clothing chain New Look said it hopes to double the average size of its stores in the medium to longer term as the company--which trades from 1,012 stores--posted a 5.9% rise in U.K. comparable sales in the 14 weeks to Jan. 2.

The bouyant updates contrasted with Marks & Spencer PLC's (MKS.LN) report Wednesday of a worse-than-expected rise in comparable sales that lagged the growth reported by some rivals.

On Tuesday, clothing retailer Next PLC (NXT.LN) and department store group John Lewis Partnership issued robust updates but both said the outlook for 2010 looks uncertain, amid worries that consumer spending may dry up now that the Yule Tide period is over.

All U.K. retailers are stressing a cautious note for the New Year, as Britain is taking longer to emerge from recession than most major economies. While indications so far are that Christmas 2009 was buoyant, some of the boost may have come from shoppers bringing forward purchases ahead of a rise in value added sales tax on Jan. 1. U.K. retailers are also cautious about prospects, with taxes expected to rise this year to rein in government debt.

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

Fri, Jan. 8:   Ted Baker PLC trading update (TBK.LN) 
Mon, Jan. 11:  Blacks Leisure (BSLA.LN) trading update 
Tue, Jan. 12:  Tesco PLC (TSCO.LN) trading update 
               Dunelm Group Plc (DNLM.LN) trading update 
               Topps Tiles PLC (TPT.LN) trading update 
               British Retail Consortium Christmas Sales 
               Debenhams PLC (DEB.LN) trading update 
Wed, Jan. 13:  Game Group PLC (GMG.LN) trading update 
Thu, Jan. 14:  DSG International PLC (DSGI.LN) trading 
               update 
               Home Retail Group PLC (HOME.LN) 
               Halfords Group PLC (HFD.LN) trading update 
               Mothercare PLC (MTC.LN) trading update 
               HMV Group PLC (HMV.LN) trading update 
Mon, Jan. 18:  Asos PLC (ASC.LN) trading update 
Tue, Jan. 19:  Burberry PLC (BRBY.LN) trading update 
               Carphone Warehouse PLC (CPW.LN) 
Wed, Jan. 20:  Kesa Electricals PLC (KESA.LN) trading 
               update 
Thu, Jan. 21:  William Morrison Supermarkets PLC (MRW.LN) 
Wed, Jan. 27:  WH Smith PLC (SMWH.LN) AGM trading update 
Wed, Feb. 3:   Carpetright PLC trading update 
Thu, Feb. 18:  Kingfisher PLC (KGF.LN)

-By Sten Stovall, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 207 842 9292; sten.stovall@dowjones.com

TED Baker (LSE:TBK)
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