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Retail round-up: what the Sunday papers said on November 23, 2008

24 November, 2008 | By John Ryan

Woolworths' plight was covered by almost every paper on Sunday as writers variously mourned or anticipated its disappearance.

The Sunday Times reported that restructuring company Hilco, which last week offered£1 for the 840 Woolworths shops, had “sweetened” its proposal by offering to assume a greater share of the retailer's£385 million “debt mountain”.

The Observer's response to the story was to go into the field, to Muswell Hill, where it reported that shoppers were shunning the retailer. The Sunday Mirror led on the story with a headline branding the retailer “Woolworthless”.

The other big story extensively covered was the likelihood of this Christmas being the “worst ever” for retailers, as The Independent on Sunday put it. The Sunday Express reported on the deep discounting that is sweeping high streets ahead of Christmas in the “hope that millions of people will scorn the credit credit crunch”, while the News of the World provided details of how shoppers can enjoy a Christmas lunch on a budget.

The Sunday Mirror reported that with prices down by as much as 70 per cent, shoppers were being offered the biggest sales bargains for 30 years. The Mail on Sunday led its financial section with a report that Marks & Spencer, which staged a one-day sale last week, was leading the sales panic among retailers. Retailers are also cutting overtime this Christmas in an attempt to avoid redundancies, according to the Mail on Sunday.

JJB is looking at selling its fitness clubs and has hired investment bank Lazard to find a buyer after receiving an offer for the division, according to The Sunday Times.

Elsewhere, the Mail on Sunday reported on the expectation that DSGi will report a£25 million loss when it reports this week and The Sunday Times noted Asda’s pledge that by 2010, it will not send construction waste from its store opening programme to landfill.

Finally, The Sunday Telegraph carried a page-long analysis of what the future holds for retail tycoon George Davies. Among other things, Davies said that he plans to launch a new fashion brand for men and women over the age of 25, which is likely to be called George Davies. It could be launched as early as next year.