On a hot summer’s day the last thing Brits want to do, it seems, is go shopping for a new washing machine.

While many retailers have been basking in the recent sunshine, electricals outlets suffered. And the retailers hit hardest are Kesa and DSG, caught between those providing high quality of service at one end of the market, and budget prices at the other. Hugh Harvey, managing director of Comet, the UK electricals retailer owned by Kesa, said: “Current trading is volatile, fragile. We have good weeks and when the sun comes out, we can have a bad week.”