Comet sees Christmas surge before New Year VAT rise
Delaying the VAT rise until January could see a sharp surge in electrical sales in the run up to Christmas according to Comet owner Kesa.
Kesa which also owns France's largest electrical chain Darty saw television sales rise by a third ahead of the World Cup and chief executive Thierry Falque-Pierrotin is optimistic about a similar stimulus from the VAT hike.
He pointed out that prices for televisions and multi-media electricals are at present falling by between 15% and 17% a year which means consumers will barely notice the extra 2.5% in sales tax.
Having cut its dividend last year Kesa today raised it by 18% to 5.9p per share which Falque-Pierrotin said "reflects the fact we feel confident not just about the short-term but also the medium-term".
Kesa's headline profits rose 18% to £81.9 million on sales which were up 3.4% at £5.1 billion. On a like-for-like basis French sales rose 0.2% while Comet's fell 1.4%.
Comet has seen "little impact" from the arrival in the UK of US electrical giant Best Buy, according to Falque-Pierrotin.
He said: "We have outlets on the same sites as the two they have opened and we are very confident that out medium-sized stores offer a real alternative to their big box concept."
