High Street jobs cut fear as Asda chief predicts a tough 2009 times

Bond said that while shoppers will spend slightly less this Christmas, the real pain will come after the New Year as spending falls off a cliff.

His comments came as it emerged that 100,000 retail jobs have vanished in the last 12 months with further bloodletting expected once the key Christmas shopping season is over.

Bond said: "When we look back next year at trade in November and December we will probably think that Christmas was not great but OK, and that it certainly isn't as bad as the first quarter.

"We are being prudent about next year and are not planning for huge growth. It will not be a good year for retail but the best way to get through it will be to get your costs right and deliver value."

He said concerns such as falling house prices will not go away any time soon and Asda will focus on "what it does best" to ride out the storm, such as its promise of "Every Day Low Prices" for customers.

"It will be tough at Christmas for businesses such as restaurants and pubs but slightly better for retailers," Bond told Retail Week.

"Food retailers will do reasonably well but those on the gifting side may suffer. But it won't compare with next year."

Recruitment specialists said that 100,000 retail jobs have already disappeared over the last 12 months as the economic downturn takes its toll - and the bloodbath is set to get far worse.

"I'm not surprised by that number," said Peter Gerrard, managing director of retail and hospitality recruitment at Michael Page. "People are leaving and not being replaced. There has been a sharp increase in recruitment freezes, with about 10% to 15% of companies imposing them. It was negligible 18 months ago."

Peter Burgess, managing director at retail recruitment specialist RHR, said: "The worst time for job losses will be the first six months of next year, which will be a bloodbath for many retailers."