It seems that in UK retailing these days nowhere is safe. The demise of some of Britain's high street giants, with Woolworths being the key figure, certainly shows that this form of traditional retailing must be on its last legs. However retailing chains that have placed themselves "off the high street" and instead in the major industrial areas and business parks in the peripheral areas appear to be doing better. But , in most cases, not well

As the dust settles on the Christmas rush and January sales periods, major UK superstore operators are gathering to lick their wounds and praise the situation for the coming months, which are bound to be tough

One retailing group who were unimpressed by their sales during December and January sale time are the DSGi group; owners of the Currys electrical retail chain as well as PC World DSGi reported that sales were less them impressive, with the bulk of major purchases being made at sale time when margins were low.

During a recent interview, the group chief executive of DSGi John Browett, remarked that the trading patterns being witnessed at present " were following the "normal patterns" of previous recessions dating back to 1929" He summed up by adding "It is not a slump of biblical proportions.  We are planning for the recession to last into the first half of 2010.

For the quarter ending 10 January, the DSGi's group reported that their like-for-like sales fell by ten per cent, with gross margins slipping by 0.8 per cent.

The trend in electrical retailing over the last eighteen months to two years is a dramatic reduction in sales of white goods, such as fridges, washing machines and major other kitchen and laundry  appliances, undoubtedly caused by the unstable housing market. Entertainment centers, especially flat-screen TVs had shown a particular rise in demand before Christmas, a sign that the UK public are planning to stay home and hibernate for most of 2009.

In response DSGi plan to reduce their overheads by a further £20m this year, through measures that will include the non prevention of staff erosion and cutting back on promotional activity. The signs are that the DSGi group, like many other superstore operators, are digging in for the long haul They plan to be around when the UK eventually hauls itself out of recession.