NEWS IN BRIEF
Tuesday 6th January 2009

JOHN LEWIS HOMEWARE SALES PLUNGE BY MORE THAN 20%

John Lewis shoppers shunned furniture and homeware in the week to last Saturday, with the department store chain reporting a 20.5% drop in category sales. Other merchandise, however, fared better, including clothing (+25%) and electrical goods (-1.2%).

SERVICE CHARGES COULD COME DOWN FOR RETAIL PARK AND SHOPPING CENTRE OUTLETS

Furniture retailers could be among those to profit if Prudential, one of the UK’s largest commercial landlords, follows through on its pledge to reduce service charges and cut rents at retail parks and shopping centres. Bosses at the firm said they were looking at its payment structures following ‘a number of requests.’

FURNITURE SHOP HIT WITH £50K GAS BILL AFTER SUPPLIER FAILS TO CHARGE FOR THREE YEARS

A furniture shop in Lancashire has been forced to pay a £48,000 gas bill after Npower failed to bill for more than three years. Wigan furniture store Abitare was hit with the bill after the gas company realised its mistake.

Mary Ashworth, owner of Abitare, had been paying monthly to Atlantic Energy and Gas, part of Scottish & Southern, but Npower informed her that it, not Atlantic, had been supplying her power since she took over the premises in January 2004. Ashworth said. ‘This has absolutely killed us. We tried to talk to them about it and set up an installment plan, but they wouldn’t listen to anything.’