[June 10, 2011] Declining electronics market hits catalogue store's profits [Express & Echo (England)] Tweet (Express & Echo (England) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) THE owner of Argos said conditions on the high street were worse than it expected after it posted a further sharp slump in sales. Home Retail Group, which also owns Homebase, highlighted a significant decline in the consumer electronics market as like-for- like sales at Argos dived by 9.6 per cent in the 13 weeks to May 28. Total sales, which include the addition of new store space, were down 8.1 per cent at Pounds 817 million. It is the latest gloomy update from the mass market retail business, which has felt the brunt of low consumer confidence and rising costs. Chief executive Terry Duddy said: "Trading conditions, particularly at Argos, have proved to be more difficult and volatile than anticipated." At Homebase, like-for-like sales were up 1.6 per cent after sales of garden-related products including furniture, plants and exterior paints did well. Home Retail shares slid 13 per cent as City analysts slashed their forecasts for the company's financial year to next February. Freddie George, an analyst at Seymour Pierce stockbrokers, said the decline in Argos samestore sales was much bigger than his forecast for a four per cent fall. He said: "Argos remains under pressure from a weak consumer environment while the food retailers continue to grab share in its core markets." Argos said the weak consumer electronics market accounted for much of the reduction in first-quarter sales, offset by strong sales of toys and seasonal goods. Mr Duddy said: "The difficulty of this market, together with the volatility of overall sales, has made the balance of the year more difficult to predict." (c) 2011 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]