It was a tale of two Novembers for retailers, the latest sales stats showed.

Over the month, total sales slipped 4.4% year on year, down 4.9% in like-for-like terms, according to the BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor. That’s excluding Black Friday.

Adjusted for the big promotional extravaganza, however, total sales were ahead 0.9% and like for likes advanced 0.4%.

So, which is true? Both may be, but behind the absolute numbers, the reality of retail performance is more obscure.

To what extent will Black Friday and Cyber Monday have pulled forward Christmas sales, particularly since this year’s event coincided with payday for many? And how profitable were those sales for retailers?

Taking the most optimistic view, the Black Friday fillip reported by the BRC came in the context of low-to-no growth. On a three-month and 12-month basis, total sales growth was zero and 0.2% respectively.

“In the present tough climate, many retailers will gratefully take sales where they can find them”

While shoppers are willing to spend if they sniff a bargain – discount stores were among the month’s star performers, according to Barclaycard – they are keeping a close eye on their purses. A monthly increase in November excluding Black Friday of 0.9% registered by Barclaycard was actually a decline in real terms when inflation is taken into account.

Department store group John Lewis & Partners recorded a 2.1% increase in sales over the Black Friday period versus last year’s event. As well as demand for its own deals, that performance reflected price matching against competitors – a tactic that can, of course, threaten margins.

In the present tough climate, many retailers will gratefully take sales where they can find them, and the longer-term trends show the industry remains under pressure.

Next week’s general election may bring some much-needed political certainty and greater clarity on Brexit. But withdrawal from the EU has a long way to go yet and there will be more upsets along the way.

For retailers, the structural shift in the industry will also take more time to play out and life is unlikely to get much easier for those already hard-pressed.

Characteristics such as relevance, convenience and value, alongside emerging consumer concerns such as sustainability, will mark out the winners from the losers.

As former Marks & Spencer and now Ocado chair Lord Rose famously said: “The customer is no longer king, the customer is now master of the universe.” So, are you the shopper’s servant?

Time for new faces at Ted Baker

It’s been a busy year for Ted Baker non-executive director Sharon Baylay, and probably not in the way she expected.

Baylay, who joined the Ted Baker board last June, has since had to preside over two inquiries.

First came the investigation into allegations of inappropriate behaviour about the retailer’s founder, Ray Kelvin. Then, this week, came news of a review by lawyers and accountants of a £25m stock value overstatement that will report to her.

Ted Baker, which once never seemed to put a foot wrong, has had an annus horribilis involving a raft of profit warnings.

“The danger is that too comfortable a board fails to bring the challenge that is the vital counterweight to support for executives”

Baylay has been kept occupied with her crucial if unexpected assignments, but Ted Baker’s travails raise questions about governance.

Standard rules aside, there’s much to be said for board longevity of tenure. It can bring deep understanding and insight that underpins long-term success.

But the danger is that too comfortable a board fails to bring the challenge that is the vital counterweight to support for executives.

The Ted board has had several new recruits over the last few years, but more change is needed.

Executive chair David Bernstein has said he will stay in that role until “no later” than November 30, 2020, by which time a new non-executive chair will be hired.

He has been there in Ted’s glory days as well as its darker hours, but surely a handover sooner rather than later would be best.