Breakfast briefing: Retail news on BRC retail sales and Dick Smith

Retailers suffer disappointing Christmas as like-for-likes inch up 0.1%

UK retailers suffered a disappointing Christmas as the spending over the crucial festive period recorded its weakest quarterly growth in more than a year.

Like-for-like sales inched up just 0.1% last month compared with the year before, dragged down by supermarket food sales, according to the British Retail Consortium-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor.

In the three months to December, UK retail spending increased 0.9% on a year earlier.

"Despite a number of positive economic indicators, retail sales over Christmas were relatively flat with more products on discount and the depth of discounting also deeper," said David McCorquodale, head of retail at KPMG.

Dick Smith boss steps down following administration

Dick Smith’s chief executive, Nick Abboud, has resigned a week after the Australian electricals retailer plunged into administration.

Ferrier Hodgson, who was called in as the receiver, said Abboud has been replaced by Don Grover, who is named as interim chief executive.

Ferrier Hodgson has started advertising Dick Smith for sale and says it has received more than 40 initial expressions of interest.