(HTT.L) Hot Tuna (International) PLC Buy/Sell

At least its postage free.

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Is that the best they can do! dicounted from the start i hope the marketing boy's and girl's are all over it I think we should have a comp between the shareholders to see who can get 1 into the national press I will start by burning 1 on the steps of head office when asked why i will say that they did not mind burnin my money.

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Those shirts better be shifting...i've got a highly speculative punt here...they could atleast give us an RNS indicating they're still alive and kickin....there PR needs some serious work...its so frustrating to see such a rubbish website...i got mates in uni who could deliver the message better than these guys....good luck peeps

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8367953.stm


UK retail sales growth picks up
Shoppers on Oxford Street in London
Sales were boosted by spending during school holidays

UK retail sales in October rose at the fastest annual pace since May 2008, government figures have shown.

Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed sales in October were up 3.4% from a year ago.

Sales were up 0.4% from September, with the increase being driven by rising sales of clothing and footwear.

The ONS also said there was some evidence that shoppers brought forward shopping on the internet because of the postal strikes.

Fancy dress

The increase in clothing sales was partly the result of people buying outfits for Halloween, which this year fell on a Saturday during many youngsters' school holidays.


High Street spending is still holding up reasonably strongly in the face of some pretty adverse conditions for consumers
Jonathan Loynes, Capital Economics

Festive sales 'will start early'

The clothing and footwear effect was seen in figures of annual growth in non-food retailing, which reached 3.5% compared with 1.6% across food stores.

The increasing popularity of online shopping was evident as non-store retailing and repair showed the the biggest year-on-year increase with sales volumes up 15.8% on October last year.

"The figures confirm that High Street spending is still holding up reasonably strongly in the face of some pretty adverse conditions for consumers," said Jonathan Loynes, chief European economist at Capital Economics.

But he warned that spending on services could be down in the recession. Unemployment and the potential for tax rises meant the outlook for shoppers was "hardly rosy".

VAT is set to return to 17.5% on 1 January, up from the current level of 15% where it has been since November 2008.

Earlier this week, an accountancy expert told the BBC that festive sales were likely to come early this year, but the discounts would not be as deep as last year.

"There will be bargains but not to the same sort of scale as last year," said Don Williams, head of retail at BDO.

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hoping the following is having a positive impact on Hot Tuna sales.

Xmas & New year

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8365939.stm

Festive sales 'will start early'
Shopping street
Debenhams sales have taken a similar form in the past

Festive sales will start early this year - including online price cuts on Christmas Day - as VAT is set to rise, a retailing expert has said.

However, discounts will not be as generous as last Christmas, according to Don Williams, head of retail at accountancy firm BDO Stoy Hayward.

Debenhams started a £250m price cutting campaign with a four-day sale on Wednesday, six weeks before Christmas.

Many retailers are expected to promote cheaper prices before VAT rises.

The tax will revert to 17.5% on 1 January, having been cut to 15% in November 2008.

Early start

Debenhams is the first of the major department stores to have a big sales push. Its campaign offers up to 25% off products and comes six weeks before the festive holiday.


There will be bargains but not to the same sort of scale as last year
Don Williams, BDO Stoy Hayward

Last year, Marks and Spencer jumped ahead of the pack with 20%-off days, but these took place in December.

Mr Williams said that stores had used promotional activities throughout the year to keep sales up during the recession.

However, whereas last Christmas there was enormous concern over the whole banking system and economy, this year there are signs of recovery.

"This time we are in a much better place so there will not be the depth and breadth of discounting seen last Christmas," Mr Williams told the BBC.

"There will be bargains but not to the same sort of scale as last year."

Tax bill

The change of the VAT rate is just one of a series of new tax measures that will add to a complex system, according to Chas Roy-Chowdhury, head of taxation at the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.

Shoppers
Shoppers are still expected to flood the High Street despite the recession

"Businesses that charge VAT, which is currently at 15%, will need to change their rates to 17.5% in the New Year, which will be an administrative burden for them," he said.

"But bars and clubs will be exempt from the VAT hike as the midnight handover from 15% to 17.5% will be a problem for them. If they are open at midnight they will not need to change their rate until 0600 GMT on 1 January 2010."

Germany was the last big economy to increase its VAT rate, and Mr Williams said that the move led to an increase in sales volumes in the build-up to the change.

This suggests that many stores will start their January sales early, immediately after Christmas shopping is over.

It could also mean that some stores may start offering discounts on their websites on Christmas Day itself.

The busiest day for online Christmas shopping is expected to be Monday 7 December - 12 days earlier than the busiest day on the High Street, according to the Centre for Retail Research.

In a poll for comparison website Kelkoo, 72% of shoppers asked said they would use the internet for Christmas shopping this year, with 38% intending to do the majority of their shopping online.

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