Comet reports drop in sales

Between 1 November 2009 and 8 January 2010 the electricals retailer reported a 3.4% drop in sales across the group. Thierry Falque-Pierrotin, Kesa's chief executive, parent company of Comet, also revealed that profit margins at the UK stores had fallen by 0.5%.

Its last full year financial report showed a decline in from £1.73bn to £1.66bn in the year to April 2009, with retail profits dropping from £44.2m to £10.1m in the same period.

Last week Comet's biggest rival in the UK, DSGi's Currys, saw its underlying sales increase by 8% for the 12 weeks to 9 January, its first rise since autumn 2007.

In a bid to hit back at rivals, Comet kicked off a review of its £13m advertising account, held previously by Saatchi & Saatchi, in October last year. The retailer, which operates more than 250 stores in the UK, approached several agencies to come up with a fresh creative approach.

Saatchi & Saatchi, decided not to repitch in November due to client conflicts arising from its appointment to Asda's advertising business in the same month.

Earlier this month Comet appointed i-level's social media unit Jam as its first social media agency, following a four-way pitch with undisclosed agencies. The agency's brief involves reputation management and buzz research.

This article was first published on marketingmagazine.co.uk