Dixons Retail lifted by reports of strong sales of electrical goods and tumble driers

After recent gloomy news from the high street, Dixons Retail is proving a bright spark at the moment. Its shares are up nearly 4% to 16.87p in the wake of a positive weekly update from John Lewis and reports of strong sales of white goods such as tumble driers. John Lewis reported overall sales at its department stores were up 17.3% year on year, with electrical goods up 37%, the best figure since early June. Analyst Richard Cathcart at Espirito Santo said this was positive news for Dixons, given its move towards more high tech and service led premium lines. Meanwhile Adam Woolf at Indesit, the Hotpoint manufacturer, has said it saw an 8.5% increase in shipments to retailers in May, with sales of tumble driers up 38% in the past two months as consumers have been prevented from hanging their washing out to dry because of the wet weather. That should also be good news for Dixons.