Dixons chief warns of recession

The head of Dixons today warned that the downturn in the high street could be worse than in the Nineties recession.

Chief executive John Clare added to the sense of looming disaster gripping Britain's retailers as the electrical giant reported a fall in sales.

He said: "I can't see where any good news will come from.

"The speed with which this has hit the retail sector and

the fact that there is no end in

sight could all point to this being worse than the downturn we experienced in the Nineties. A lot depends on how long it will last."

His downbeat comments came as the Dixons group announced that its UK sales fell by two per cent in the 24 weeks

to the end of

April, as nervous shoppers reined in spending on DVD players, digital cameras and computers. The worst-hit parts of the group were PC World, where sales fell by eight per cent, and mobile phone chain The Link, which suffered a nine per cent drop.

The gloomy figures come the day after dismal sales figures from the British Retail Consortium showing a 4.7 per cent fall in April, the sharpest since records began in the mid

Nineties. Mr Clare said Dixons had been one of the first to warn of the consumer spending downturn last November: "We were accused of being gloomy, but now the whole of the high street is feeling it.

"The markets we are in tend to be the first to be affected by any slowdown. Having seen it coming, we have managed the business accordingly."