Shoppers returned to the high street

Food sales growth fell further to show its smallest gain since July 2007. Lower food inflation, less need to buy after stocking up in January’s snow and a return to more cautious spending after Christmas all contributed to the slowdown.Shoppers returned to the high street in February after a slow, snow-bound January, with retail sales bouncing back to 2.2 per cent last month.
But the BRC warned against reading too much into its February figures, which come after a dire February last year when snow saw sales plunge by 1.8 per cent.

The rise in like-for-like sales marked a welcome rebound on the poor start to 2010 for retailers, with official statistics recently confirming a bigger-than-expected 1.8 per cent drop in January sales, according to data released by the British Retail Consortium (BRC).

Having treated themselves at Christmas, some shoppers were now returning to value ranges and seeking out good deals and promotions, according to the BRC.

Stephen Robertson, director general of the BRC, said: "Despite appearances, these results are not that strong. The growth is compared with very weak figures a year ago when February saw the worst of last winter's weather and this February's performance was helped by sales postponed from January - particularly sales of non-food items such as cheap mountain bike, homewares and fashion.

"Consumer confidence is certainly up on this time last year but, with unemployment rising again, spending plans are falling. When the weather-related distortions are stripped away, it's clear customers are still cautious."

"IGD consumer research suggests that in-store promotions can be more effective with shoppers than television or magazine advertising. More than a third of shoppers say that promotions in supermarkets tempt them to try a new product, compared with 29 per cent for advertising.”
Joanne Denney-Finch, chief executive of the IGD, said: “In February, grocery retailers set out highly competitive promotions focused, above all, on Valentine’s Day. However, falling levels of inflation contributed towards slower growth in food and drink sales values over the month, with volumes remaining robust.

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Dunlop Expects To Sell 4000 Bikes This Year

The Dunlop group of companies, expects to double the sales this year in view of the gradual recovery in the cycling industry amid improving economic conditions.

Our new Cheap Dunlop Gents Bikes is a nippy street bike that is not only agile and nimble but sure to be the motorbike of choice," Dunlop group of companies said.

Mohamed Fauzy said the new cheap Dunlop Gents Mountain Bike model, targeted at users of various ages, would be made available through its dealerships nationwide beginning next month.

The stars cycled night and day on their bikes and experienced extreme weather conditions, such as blizzards and heavy rain.

Bikes take leading role in London's East Festival

Each artist plays three sets, starting at 2pm, 4pm and 6pm, meaning that you can visit the venues in whichever order you please, with guided rides taking cyclists between the concerts.

Today, reinforcements will arrive in the shape of Jimmy Carr, who has been unable to participate in the ride to date as a result of a clash with work commitments, as they head down through Lancashire – they’ve just passed Houghton, near Blackburn, with Patrick Kielty handing over to Russell Howard.

The team is now more than halfway towards its fundraising target of £1,000,000, with £566,000 pledged to date. which also has video diaries, a GPS tracker so you can see check progress, and a Lane of Fame where names of donors appear, assuming they’ve ticked the appropriate box when making their donation.

Cycling is set to take a centre-stage role in London’s Festival, which starts this Friday, with bike polo and a the Cycle East series of concerts, in which people are encouraged to use bikes to hop between venues, among the featured attractions.

Who will protect us from cigarette smoke?

For almost a decade now, there’s supposed to be a smoking ban in effect in all public spaces, yet 240 Filipinos still die every day from smoking-related diseases. As the adult smokers die, cigarette companies entice teenagers to start smoking.

The youth can be scared off by pictures showing the ill effects of smoking, but our lawmakers wouldn’t pass a law to require those kinds of warnings on cigarette packs. Cigarettes can also be made expensive through increased taxes, so teenagers won’t be able to afford them, but Congress sat on sin tax proposals. Manufacturers are prohibited from advertising, but they skirt the ban through other, more personal promo activities.

So who will save us from what the World Health Organization calls an “epidemic”? Do presidential aspirants have clear policy directions or firm commitments when it comes to controlling tobacco use?

Sadie a Black Haired Scottish Terrier is Top Dog

The four-year-old with the breed's trademark beard and antenna-like tail was the bookies' heavy favorite in New York after having already amassed 111 other competition titles.On Tuesday, she beat six hungry rivals in the last round: a Doberman Pinscher, a Brittany Spaniel, a Toy Poodle, a Puli, a Whippet and a French Bulldog.Sadie reacted to the cheers from a sellout crowd at Madison Square Garden arena by standing on her hind legs and reaching out not for the trophy, but a biscuit from handler Gabriel Rangel."I was truly enjoying the moment. She showed flawlessly," Rangel said.The smooth ending to Sadie's quest came despite a brief protest staged by animal rights campaigners who ran into the ring.

Campaigners, notably from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), have long criticized the highly competitive dog show world in which perfection is pursued relentlessly.

The big win was also a far cry from the damp ending to Sadie's run last year, when she made an unscheduled pee stop on the green carpet while showing in the finale.

The Westminster Kennel Club dog show, the canine world's cross between the Oscars, Olympics and Fashion Week, featured some 2,500 pooches of every size, shape and hair type competing to be declared America's best friend.

Although Sadie had been widely expected to triumph, the tense last stages of the competition are often unpredictable.

Handlers run around a pen in the arena center while the judge scrutinizes the dog's movement and grooming.

Last year, an elderly Sussex Spaniel named Stump was the surprise winner, his case possibly aided by Sadie's bathroom accident.The Westminster Kennel Club show is considered by many to be the most prestigious of all dog beauty contests.

The show, in its 134th year, was broadcast live on USA Network television and has a worldwide following.

This year, the Best in Show contest featured pooches to satisfy most tastes.

The lean red Doberman Blazing Star leant a touch of menace to the pampered canine crowd. Although most associated with police dogs, Dobermans are no stranger to the Westminster championship and Blazing Star has an especially star-studded pedigree.

The Toy Poodle named Moon Walk looked like an escaped candy floss stick as she pranced around the pen, her behind and face shaved clean and her head a mass of puffy white hair.

Bearing the standard for Pulis, which have never won a Best in Show, was Field of Dreams whose long black hair resembled dreadlocks.

The French Bulldog vying to be the first French breed to triumph in New York was the most unassuming of the pack, a humble, rather porky creature who trundled around the pen without complaint and blinked in the strong spotlights.

Sadie, a black-haired Scottish Terrier, has completed her inexorable rise to top-dog by winning the Westminster Kennel Club's Best in Show prize.

Judge Elliott Weiss needed only seconds after asking handlers to take one final trot around before he made his decision.

British Mountain Bike Series signs more top brands to create and all in E-commerce assault

The organisers of the British Mountain Bike Series have announced a further 5 brands who will be exhibiting and demoing at this years series. With Trek, Specialized and Giant already on board we can now confirm Santa Cruz, Genesis, Gary Fisher, Merida and Yeti will be joining them at all 6 events beginning with the demo only event at Glentress on March 6. In addition to the bike brands each event will also feature the chance to sample the full range of Accelerade nutrition and the new range of hydraulics backpacks from Osprey.
The Series now consists of 6 demo events, 5 rounds of the British XC series and 3 challenge events, so race, ride, watch or demo or all of those.

James Olsen from Genesis was keen to jump on board
”Genesis is pleased to announce that we’ve signed up for the demo events at each round of the 2010 British MTB Race series. It’s the ideal place for us to give you a chance to ride a 2010 Genesis bike, or just come over and say hi if you’re there. The main attraction of this series as a demo event was that the organisers have pulled together the UK XC race scene by hosting XC and Enduro events in the same weekend. We think this will mean more appeal to spectators and riders and hopefully it’ll be a return to the race weekend atmosphere of the early days – we’re looking forward to it.”

Santa Cruz
“Santa Cruz is very excited at being involved in such a high profile demo series which will enable more people than ever before the chance to ride some of the best bikes at the best venues across the country. Demo-ing bikes is a crucial part of what we do, and combined with the British XC race series, this not only offers more riders the chance to try before they buy – it also gives them the whole weekend package of riding, racing and spectating.”
Dickon Hepworth
MD Jungle Products / Santa Cruz UK

DATES AND VENUES:
Demo only
Mar 6 Glentress
Race, Ride and Demo weekends…
Round 1 – Mar 27/28 Sherwood Pines, + night demo saturday
Round 2 – May 8/9 Wasing Park (note venue change)
Round 3 – May 29/30 Margam Park, + Big Welsh Weekend enduro
Round 4 – July 3/4 Dalby Forest, + Great Yorkshire enduro
Round 5 – Sep 25/26 Newnham Park, + Newnham 60 enduro