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UK’s biggest retailer Tesco has reported its first slowdown in underlying sales for two years, revealing that it too is subject to weakening consumer confidence, reports the FT. Finance director Andy Higginson said that the 5.5 percent underlying sales growth in the 14 weeks ended 19 November, compared with 6.6 percent in the previous quarter, was “very strong” when seen in the context of the company’s “longer-term historical performance”.

Although the food sector performed steadily, the non-food sector has felt the effects of lagging consumer confidence. Growth in non-food sales was below last quarter’s 13 percent, although still up in the double digits. Half of all the new space in the UK consisted of non-food. The company said that non-food now accounted for 6.5 percent of total group sales. Higginson said that Tesco planned to open four more non-food Tesco stores in a bid to expand that sector, and added that the company was “sensibly cautious but confident” about Christmas.

Despite the slowdown, Tesco – with a market share of 32 percent – still outperformed the three other big supermarkets. “That 5.5 percent rise (in underlying sales) is twice the size of Sainsbury’s growth,” Andrew Fowler, analyst at Merrill Lynch, told the Financial Times. Sales in the UK rose 11.6 percent, up from 10.9 percent last quarter. Higginson said that 3.7 percent of that was generated by new stores. With Tesco continuing to cut prices, price deflation was 1.6 percent. International business was “slightly ahead” of expectation, with sales rising 16 percent.

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In three years, some 60 percent of Gucci Group’s investments will be located in Asia, according to the group’s chief executive Robert Polet. A “new concept” of shops will be “unveiled in late 2006” in Tokyo and Hong Kong, Polet promises in an interview with Les Echos newspaper, with 12 shops opening in the region in the coming 36 months. “Continental China is becoming a vast area of development” while the Asia Pacific region now accounts for 21 per cent of the group’s sales, the former Unilever executive explained.

Opportunities presented by organic growth in the sector would also be exploited, Polet said. He is banking on “growth of five per cent a year” in the luxury goods market, although he believes the group can “grow a little faster than the market”. If his market predictions are borne out that means annual growth of seven per cent for the group.

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Under a seven-year strategic plan launched last December, the Gucci brand is to be doubled in size with gross margin increased to 70 per cent and spending on marketing and communications rising by 20 per cent in the first three years. Gucci Group, a subsidiary of Pinault Printemps Redoute, is not looking to reposition its top-end brand, Polet maintains, despite the launch in July of a more expensive line of leather goods. “It’s more a question of responding to a major trend in the luxury sector,” he said.

The period of flux heralded by the departure of Tom Ford and Domenico de Sole had ended six months ago, according to Polet. “The way we manage the group has completely changed because we have gone from a partnership between a chief executive and an artistic director to a group of 20 directors,” he added.

The Costume Institute in New York has chosen English designers whose works will be part of an “AngloMania: Tradition and Transgression in British Fashion” exhibit from May 3 to Sept. 4.

The exhibit will feature a mix of British designers, tailors, milliners, a jeweler and a cobbler. John Galliano, Alexander McQueen, Christopher Bailey for Burberry, Hussein Chalayan, Vivienne Westwood and Stella McCartney are the featured fashion designers; Paul Smith, Ozwald Boateng, Anderson & Sheppard, Richard Anderson, Huntsman, Richard James, Henry Poole and Carlo Brandelli for Kilgour are the tailors; the millinery will be by Stephen Jones and Philip Treacy; jewellery will be by Shaun Leane, and Manolo Blahnik will provide the shoes.

“It was really hard to come to the selection of designers because there is such a great breadth of creativity in Britain,” said Andrew Bolton, associate curator of the Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, according to WWD. “We wanted the work of designers to reflect the themes of the English period rooms. We wanted clothes to have a direct dialogue. That made it easier for us to narrow down our focus and selection.”

Bolton said the final list of designers was determined by who was the most transgressive or best represented the idea of tradition. “We felt that British creativity comes from this violent crash between tradition and transgression, and so the designers we have chosen reflect the idea of tradition and transgression in British culture and British fashion.”

The exhibit’s contemporary pieces were culled from the 30-year period between 1976 and today. The show also includes historical pieces from the 18th and 19th centuries, which will be juxtaposed with the contemporary designs. The exhibit will comprise about 60 pieces.

On Tuesday British retailer Matalan denied that it had issued a profit warning, despite reporting a 10.6 drop in underlying sales since the beginning of the second half. The company also admitted that there was “little evidence to suggest that this will improve in the near term.”

Finance director Phil Dutton said the drop in sales did not equal a profit warning, but said “the next eight weeks will determine everything and it’s very difficult to predict and so we’re giving no guidance.” Chief executive John King admitted that the company had bought 40 percent less seasonal stock for Christmas than last year in an effort to remain conservative, but told the Financial Times that he was nervous, like he was every year.

The company attributed the recent disappointing results to slower sales of coats and sweaters due to the warm autumn weather, as well as its planned departure from the “grey” clothing market, a slow start to the Christmas season shopping and a continued poor performance of its home business. Pre-tax profits were down 28 percent to £30.7 million for the first half, while sales dropped 2 percent to £527.8 million. On the up side, gross margin was up 1.4 percent.

London Margin, the upscale streetwear exhibition, is continuing its quest to help young, urban brands reach a wider audience amongst key retailers and press. For many, Margin London was created out of necessity. Retailers travel the world looking for cult labels and the next big thing but rarely find at mainstream shows where costs prohibit fresh talent from taking part.

The main drive of Margin London was to establish a show where new young labels could find an affordable platform. The exhibition has certainly succeeded and has delighted buyers and press alike with its mix of left-field brands and commercial successes waiting to happen. The next edition of Margin London will be on the 12th & 13th February 2006. For more information go to www.marginlondon.co.uk .

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Luxury giant Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy has reported a 13 percent sales gain to €7 billion for the first six months period. It boasted “market share gains across the brands.â€? Underlying sales rose 12 percent, thanks to a continued strong performance of the fashion and leather goods arm. The Louis Vuitton and Fendi brands are still its bestsellers. The news has allayed fears that the luxury goods sector is showing a slowdown, particularly in the US . The results were slightly above analysts’ expectations. The group reiterated that it expects “very significant growth in its results for 2006â€?. Antoine Belge, an analyst at HSBC, told the FT that the figures could counter investors’ fears, stating that they had “overestimatedâ€? how badly a rise in US interest rates would affect luxury goods demand. Meanwhile, the watches and jewellery division grew 23 percent, led by Tag Heuer. The group said that there had been accelerated growth “in several Asian countriesâ€?, and attributed growth in Chinese tourism as a reason for the success of its retail operations.

The Peacock Group, which owns Peacocks, Bon Marche and The Fragrance Shop, is set to open over 60 new stores as part of a £15 investment programme. Peacocks and Bon Marche will both increase by 30-plus, while three new stores will be added to The Fragrance Shop’s portfolio, in addition to a £2.5 refurbishment programme for the perfumery.

Richard Kirk, CEO of the Group states: “Our brands are among the most exciting growth stories on the high street today. We know what our customers want and each of our brands is very focused on its core target markets.

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Luxury group PPR has said that it has entered into exclusive talks with RREEF to sell its Primtemps department store group to the fund for €1.08 billion. RREEF oversees the real estate portfolio of the Italian La Rinascente department stores and the Borletti Group, which is controlled by Maurizio Borletti, chairman of La Rinascente. PPR said on Tuesday that the transaction will be submitted to the European competition authorities and to Printemps employee representatives. If the deal is approved it will create a department store concern with 32 stores in Italy and France and collective sales of more than €1 billion. The new management structure has not been revealed, although Borletti last year brought Vittorio Radice on board as chief executive of La Rinascente. In a statement he said: „We have a lot of faith in the potential of this retail format, which increasingly turns shopping into entertainment. We want Printemps and its employees to be part of a new surge in development as we continue the repositioning and brand improvement that was launched several years ago.“ Printemps employs approximately 5,200 people and had reported sales of €752 million last year. The deal will include the Citadium sports megastore in Paris and 24 Made in Sport stores, the Madelios men’s emporium in Paris and a Printemps Design unit at the Centre Pompidou.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for PPR told WWD that the company is not looking to sell its other retail activities like the Fnac book and music chain and the Conforma furniture stores. „We will keep all of our businesses that are in line with our strategy for organic growth and international expansion. Printemps was a marginal, small part of our overall business.“ PPR is believed to concentrate increasingly on luxury goods.

Borletti first partnered with RREEF last year to buy La Rinascente, the store his family founded in 1917. He appointed chief executive Radice, who transformed Selfridges, to give the chain an overhaul. Radice outlined a plan to double sales to €605 million in the next seven years and aims to add more product categories to the stores. Department stores are facing challenges including increased competition from specialty stores, rising rents and more demanding consumers.

Benetton’s chief executive Silvano Cassano and chief financial officer Pier Francesco Facchini have both tendered their resignation, effective immediately. They leave the Italian fashion house without a CEO and CFO. Benetton said it could be months before replacements are found. Their departure coincided with the company’s release of interim results and investor relations staff was left to deal with questions from analysts and press. During the company conference call Mara Di Giorgio, head of investor relations, said Cassano and the Benetton board had disagreed about the group’s international strategy, particularly in emerging markets. A spokesman for the company said Cassano had voluntarily left the company, while Facchini had decided to resign for personal reasons.

While the company searches for Cassano’s and Facchini’s replacements, chairman Luciano Benetton and his son Alessandro, vice chairman, will oversee the overall group strategy, while senior and mid-level executives will be responsible for the day to day management. Meanwhile, Cassano will remain a board member until his term ends in May. Benetton said the new chief executive will be responsible for developing the company, especially in the Far East .

The upheaval follows the company’s large scale celebration of its 40 th anniversary in October. Luciano Benetton famously began his fashion empire hawking a sweater his sister knitted on his bicycle, before selling it for a sewing machine. The rest, as they say, is history.To commemorate the anniversary Benetton held its first ever fashion show in the Centre Pompidou in Paris, parading almost 100 colourful looks down the catwalk. It also organized a month long exhibition in honour of the company’s world of communication.

With 5,000 stores in 120 countries, Benetton is truly a global brand. The company’s success is reflected in the results. Group net revenues for the first nine months rose 6.5 percent to €1.37 billion. Apparel wholesale sales gained 7 percent to €1.27 billion. Net income rose from €89 million last year to €94 million, an increase of 6.5 percent. However, disregarding a one-time gain of €6 million related to a real estate sale in Madrid and other transactions, third quarter profits actually dropped 6.2 percent. The group’s net position in the first nine months improved significantly at €452 million.

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“With these results we can already say we have achieved the objectives that we set for this phase of the company’s development,” Luciano Benetton said in a statement. “We are now ready to tackle a new period in which we can plan, in addition to strengthening areas where we are already present, renewed commitment to growth in emerging countries and, generally, in all countries with significant demographic growth.” The company forecasts full-year sales growth of 8 percent and profits for the year between 6.5 and 7 percent of revenues.

Dolcis, the footwear retailer, is set to change hands after its owner, the quoted fashion group Alexon, decided to offload the loss-making chain. Alexon has hired Hawkpoint, the corporate-finance boutique, to oversee the sale of Dolcis, which operates from 67 stand-alone stores in Britain and almost 150 concessions.

An information memorandum relating to the sale has been circulated to a number of interested parties within the past fortnight. These are understood to include a number of private-equity firms. A disposal will leave Alexon, which has a market value of £81million, with the Bay Trading young fashion chain and its Alexon Brands and menswear divisions. In total, the group operates from almost 1,600 stores in Britain and Europe.Alexon has decided to sell Dolcis because of the intense competition in footwear retailing in the UK.

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The company is also struggling more generally, having announced a 5.7 per cent fall in group like-for-like sales in the 16 weeks to May 20.Alexon refused to comment on the sale of Dolcis, which recorded an operating loss of £700,000 last year against a £3.6 million profit the previous year.