We're braced for a slow Christmas, warns Dixons

Dixons today warned of a sudden slowdown in sales. Britain's biggest electrical retailer said it was "cautious" about prospects in the run-up to the festive season.

The downbeat comments will fuel fears of a poor Christmas for High Street stores.

Chief executive John Clare said: "Business performance in the year to date has been satisfactory. However, the rate of sales growth has slowed in recent weeks."

He added he was prepared for an "aggressive trading environment" at Christmas, indicating that Dixons is braced for heavy price cutting from rivals.

The comments follow the admission of a disastrous slump in sales at French Connection yesterday and a warning from the London Retail Consortium earlier in the week that sales fell more than three per cent in October.

Marks & Spencer has also indicated that trading has been weak since the summer and was forced into an unprecedented "20 per cent off everything" promotion to kick-start sales last week.

Retailers fear that the succession of interest rises and the stalling housing market has sapped confidence from consumers.