Comet desperate for World cup glory in TV sales
High street electricals outfit Kesa was today left looking to the World Cup and the switch to digital to improve sales after a slide over Christmas.
Sales at Comet, its British business, slid 3.4 per cent between 1 November and 8 January. That offset a 5.2 per cent rise at Darty, the French arm that goes from strength to strength.
Comet is facing renewed competition from DSGi, the company behind PC World and Currys.
DSG has been in the mire for some time, but it lately recovered under chief executive John Browett. It recently reported a bumper Christmas, though that does only compare with a bad result last time. Kesa shares slumped 4.6p to 141p, three per cent, as analysts digested the news.
Shore Capital analyst Kate Calvert said in a note to clients: "Comet's weak performance will inevitably be compared to DSG and Argos, both of which took market share over this period, and increases concern that Comet will suffer when Best Buy enters the UK."
Top sellers over the festive season included TVs, digital cameras and coffee machines. Kesa hopes football fans will upgrade their televisions en masse in time for this summer's big tournament.
Chief executive Thierry Falque-Pierrotin said: "We were well prepared for our peak trading season and saw improving sales trends in most of our businesses."
