The retail sector
There’s a ton of results coming out from the retail sector at the moment and there are some definite winners and losers emerging from the festive season.
Greggs did well from mince pies and festive bakes – but they have since been continuing that momentum with the introduction of their vegan sausage roll. Majestic had good sales, but the margin was dented a bit by the cost of sales promotions and Ted Baker also did well.
I’m inclined to believe that subsequent share price rise of Ted Baker was a bit of a one-off as recent weakness has been all about founder Ray Kelvin’s behaviour, which could yet come back to bite because he’s so closely associated with all aspects of the business that if he had to depart for good, the company could suffer.
China car sales
Over in China, the China Passenger Car Association announced that car sales had fallen by 6%.
This is major news because it is the world’s biggest car market AND it is the first time that there’s been a sales decline in China for twenty years.
The ongoing trade war with the US, a slowing economy and the exponential growth of ride-hailing services have all been cited as reasons behind the slowdown and carmakers are bound to suffer fallout.
Jaguar Land Rover will suffer particularly as China WAS its biggest and most profitable market, but it has now fallen into fourth place behind the US, UK and mainland Europe.