eek of 2014 at 5.65 per cent. Retailers would certainly take any growth as a positive sign of things to come in the winter months this year. The sporting and recreational goods, and furniture and homewares sectors were the big winners last week, recording 7.5 per cent and 9.19 per cent respective growth on the previous week’s sales performance. The fashion and accessories sector was steady with a very slight decrease of 0.34 per cent on last week, which is a blessing for this sector which typically sees a rollercoaster ride of positive and negative results week to week.