From: "Tim" 
Newsgroups: uk.politics.misc alt.politics.british uk.finance
Subject: Re: LSC To Dump Another 1,300 Brits On The Dole !
Date: Mon, 19 Sep 2005 09:23:03 +0000 (UTC)

"Crowley" wrote
> Chains will go under, warns retail expert
>
> By Abigail Townsend. The Independent
> Published: 18 September 2005
>
> An expert on struggling retail businesses
> has predicted a glut of collapses on the
> high street in the run-up to Christmas.

Isn't that "arse-backwards"?

As something like three-quarters of annual retail sales are made in the
single quarter running up to Christmas, wouldn't you expect firms to
collapse just *after* Christmas, rather than just *before* ?

In other words, if the retailers can't cope even with the increased sales
"in the run-up to Christmas", how on earth did they manage to cope in the
previous 6-9 months?