While analysts talk up a winter of discontent on the high street, there are signs of a pre-Christmas fightback among retailers in the region, as Andrew Mernin discovers.

WITH the nation teetering on the brink of recession once more, retailers are bracing themselves for a difficult trading period.

The last recession cut deep and fast, leaving empty shop fronts as scars on high streets across the country – many of which are likely to take a very long time to recover.

And, this week’s figures from the CBI, which show the fastest rate of decline in high street sales for three years, will do little to allay the fears of many retailers that they could follow on the downhill path forged by Woolworths.

The CBI’s Distributive Trades Survey found that the decline in annual sales growth for November was minus 19.

Employment in the retail sector, which makes up 11% of the economy, also fell at the fastest rate since 2009, according to the report.

Sarah Green, the regional director of CBI North East, said: “The relatively mild weather this autumn has hit clothing stores particularly hard and retail sales are down year-on-year for the sixth month in a row.

“Retailers may be hoping that shoppers will loosen their purse strings in the run up to Christmas, but consumers are likely to remain cautious about spending given the uncertain economic outlook.”

But, despite the gloomy report, many retailers in the North East are still expecting a strong performance this festive period thanks to their ability to adapt to, rather than ignore, the new dynamic between consumers and traders.

For David Williams, who manages the Debenhams store in the relatively new quarter of Eldon Square shopping centre in Newcastle, this year has seen the company go to greater lengths to create a festive experience for its customers.

And the focus on increasing footfall, including hosting the first Santa’s Grotto in the store’s history, looks to have paid off.

“Trade will be much improved on last year from natural growth but also because in 2010 there was tough pre-Christmas weather.

“If we don’t have those conditions this year, we will see an even bigger lift across the store,” he says.

“We have a more local and tactical advertising campaign this year. For example we have advertised on the back of tickets in car parks, gone out and about on roadshows and run a free coffee campaign around the city.”

As one of the nation’s high street Goliaths, Debenhams may be in the fortunate position of having a mass advertising and marketing budget to play with this Christmas.

However, its recognition of the need to do more to appease increasingly cash-conscious customers has been mirrored by many other retailers.

And, although online shopping remains in the ascendancy, internet-based retailers are also facing up to the new world order in which the customer is king.

“We are having to give away a couple of free toys to customers who spend a certain amount, which we have never had to do before,” says Toys Direct manager James Parrish.

The Teesside firm, founded by James’ parents Brian and Linda in 1995, had a global customer base in excess of 250,000 at the last count. Trading is currently buoyant but, with around 50% of the company’s annual revenues being generated in the six weeks before Christmas, the ability to compete at this time of year is vital to its ongoing stability.

“This year should be better than last year, but it is still very competitive and we have to offer better deals to customers,” says Parrish.

“Last year the weather really affected us – not because we couldn’t fulfil orders, but because the press put people off from ordering online.

“When you had the Daily Mail telling its readers they wouldn’t get their orders by Christmas that really didn’t help us.”