It's been a tough journey to get here. Many store groups have found the going hard in 2006, epitomised by a trio of profit warnings ahead of Christmas.
Variety store groups Woolworths and Instore, along with entertainment giant HMV, have all signalled that the festive period has failed to live up to its name.
Some people must now wonder whether Seymour Pierce analyst Richard Ratner was right when he flagged the possibility of this being the worst Christmas for retailers in 25 years.
Despite the tales of woe over the past fortnight, Ratner's view still looks too bearish. Retailers as diverse as Marks & Spencer, DSGi and all the grocers look likely to claim their fair share of spend and then some.
But it's been a hard end to a hard year. The latest footfall data from SPSL showed shopper numbers up 6.4 per cent week on week in the seven days to December 16, but that masked a 5.3 per cent decline year on year.
That sort of trend means there will be plenty of losers this Christmas, but it shouldn't be forgotten that there will be many winners too. The retailers that have got product right, controlled stock levels well and offered shoppers value will have come out on top.
It's all old-fashioned stuff, but it's still what makes the difference in retail, as perhaps Marks & Spencer above all has shown this year.
There's no reason to think things will change much in 2007. By this time next year there will certainly have been some upsets, but mainly the weak will have become weaker and the strong more dominant.
It will be a challenging time for bosses such as Woolworth's Trevor Bish-Jones and HMV's Simon Fox. Each is challenged with the reinvention of their companies. Each has showed that they can be innovative, through ventures such as the Big Red Book and greater focus on e-commerce, but there's a long way to go.
For them - and many of their peers - next year will be a hard slog. But that's something to be considered in January. In the meantime, let's hope the tills ring for the sector as a whole.
Happy Christmas from all at Retail Week and here's to a great New Year.
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