Marks & Spencer Share News (MKS)

By Kate Holton and James Davey LONDON, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Department stores chain JohnLewis and deep discounter Aldi emerged as winners onThursday after British retailers fought it out for every poundin a tough Christmas. Elsewhere Tesco showed signs of life, John Lewis and Next proved as reliable as ever, but Marks& Spencer was left looking embarrassed when its poorresults were leaked a day early. In a fiercely competitive festive season marked by heavydiscounts, few British retailers emerged triumphant, with evensome strong performers posting growth well below inflation. Those that did well had a breadth of products, a range ofcustomers and multiple channels - or appealingly cheap prices. Department store chains John Lewis and Debenhams both lured record numbers of customers to their shops andwebsites. [ID:nL5E9C25AS} Next, which has a longstanding policy of not discountingbefore Boxing Day, also raised its yearly profit guidance aftersolid trading. "The star of the retail world has undoubtedly been JohnLewis, their performance has been outstanding," said NeilSaunders, managing director at retail consultancy Conlumino. "We've had an online and multi-channel Christmas, wherethose retailers who have offered great multi-channel solutions... have done very well. And those who haven't have lost out." Camera specialist Jessops called in administrators aftercustomers deserted its 192 stores to seek cheaper deals online,the latest casualty in the hard-pressed sector. Some retailers were also hampered by the fact that manyBritons left it to the last weekend to do their shopping, in thehope major chains would buckle under the pressure and launchsales before Christmas. One trader selling "I Love London" T-shirts on OxfordStreet, central London's main shopping destination, said peoplewere spending less. "There are no people, the whole year hasbeen quiet". MORE EXPENSIVE Among grocers, budget group Aldi stood out with growth of 30percent, in contrast to previous years when shoppers saw theholiday season as an excuse to upgrade to a more expensiveoutlet. The decision instead to stick with a shop that sells abottle of sparkling wine for 3 pounds and a meal for 89 pence was described by analysts as a reflection of the pressures onBritons from a lack of job security and a pay squeeze. "Let's just say I tried to be more careful ... I thinkpeople are still spending, but they're being more choosy," saidVeronica Pinney, 71, on Oxford Street. For those who could afford to splash out, the upmarket JohnLewis-owned Waitrose proved popular, outshining the performanceof the so-called big four of Tesco, Wal-Mart's Asda,Sainsbury and Wm Morrison. According to market research by Kantar Worldpanel, Sainsburywas the only big four grocer to win market share ascash-strapped shoppers honed in on its cheaper own-brandproducts, online offerings and local stores. Sales of itsown-brand Prosecco, sold for as little as 6 pounds, leapt 15percent. Market-leader Tesco, a year on from a dismal Christmas thatprompted its first profit warning in two decades, posted itsstrongest growth in three years as it showed the benefits of a 1billion pound turnaround plan. "In the UK I think we were back on form," said ChiefExecutive Philip Clarke. "(But) whilst our seasonal performanceis encouraging, there is a lot more to do." NEGATIVE GROWTH Sainsbury reported like-for-like growth in its third quarterof 0.9 percent, while Tesco posted 1.8 percent in the six weeksto Jan 5. But with consumer price inflation running at 2.7percent that still left both with negative real growth. Shares in Tesco rose 2.3 percent to their highest in a year,but analysts and investors cautioned that the solid growthpartly reflected easy comparative numbers. "The expression 'one swallow doesn't make a summer' comes tomind," said one top 20 investor in Tesco. "Have you been in aTesco store recently and noticed a difference in the offering?Because I haven't." Shoppers in east London generally agreed. Pete Smith, ahealth worker, said he avoided Tesco because it was "too busy,too packed and the staff aren't very helpful". M&S, a mainstay of British town centres and best known forreasonably priced but high-quality staples such as socks andunderwear, saw third-quarter underlying sales of clothing,footwear and homewares fall a worse-than-expected 3.8 percent. To compound matters, the update was rushed out late onWednesday after being leaked to a broadcaster, leavingmanagement to apologise in the face of questions over theircompetence. Chief Executive Marc Bolland told reporters he was confidentsteps being taken by a new general merchandise management teamwould address problems in the area. Shares in M&S were down more than 4 percent. (Additional reporting by Sinead Cruise, Sudip Kar-Gupta,Lorraine Turner and Arthur Fane; Editing by David Holmes)