Argos a Christmas winner for GUS
Great Universal Stores is expected to reveal strong Christmas sales from Argos next Monday.
Investors will also be keen to see if Experian and Burberry, the group's luxury retail brand, have continued their recovery following the US terror attacks.
Analysts expect a third quarter like-for-like sales rise of around 6%.
They expect sales growth to slow in the fourth quarter following rising unemployment and the threat of increased interest rates.
GUS says sales at Experian North America have recovered after falling sharply in the wake of September 11.
"We expect the business to continue to provide single digit revenue and earnings growth, although an upturn in the US economy does provide some encouragement that our estimates may be conservative," said broker Cazenove in a note to clients.
GUS' November statement revealed that although Burberry's retail sales since September 30 remained below last year's levels, the trend had shown an improvement since the September 11-30 period, when sales fell 15%.
Sales in Burberry's directly-operated retail stores account for about one-third of reported annual sales.
