Is the retail recovery all smoke and mirrors?

Is the retail recovery all smoke and mirrors?

Tesco's latest woes have seen its share price drop 20% in a month as a sector-wide slump takes hold. But there are turnaround stories within the sector, according to Alexandra Jackson and Jo Rands, co-managers of the Rathbone Recovery fund

The first Christmas window displays of the year are out, and along with the usual dry turkey and soggy sprouts worries, the UK retail sector is also under pressure again. It is an area that receives increasing focus towards the festive season as analysts and investors try to discern which names will have a ‘good season', and which will be reporting a proverbial lump of coal. With interest rate rises on the horizon, and the woes of the food retailers, it is easy to dismiss the sector. Certainly anxieties around the food retailers do not help, and it is too early to enter these names. But ...