Asda fires the gun for the festive period
Supermarket giant Asda has today fired the gun for the beginning of the festive period with an announcement of around £150 million in discounts as we approach the Christmas and New Year season. Tesco is also rumoured to be on the verge of announcing large scale discounts for customers with some estimates placing the figure as high as £250 million. So between the two largest supermarket groups in the UK, consumers could be on the verge of up to £400 million in discounts over the festive period.
Despite the fact that many companies are still struggling on the high street it is believed that the 2009 festive period and New Year period will see the most competitive retail sector for over a decade. As the likes of Tesco and Asda are already performing well it will be the smaller companies which will struggle to compete, something which could place more and more companies under financial pressure.
When you also consider that the UK banking sector is being less than supportive of the UK retail sector it seems inevitable there will be a number of failures with early 2010, just after the festive period, set to be a difficult time for many. When you also take into account that UK consumers are still worried about their job security there appears to be less and less money available for the high street but more and more competition.
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