London, 15 February 2010 - The recent increase shown in consumer confidence coupled with the imminent return to an increased VAT rate has spurred customers to make

the purchases in Q4 they have perhaps been delaying during the earlier part of the year.

In terms of sales value, Q4 2009 has proven to be the best performing quarter of the year in every product group. CE and Office have been the only product groups to exhibit a decline when comparing Q4 2008 vs. Q4 2009. The overall performance of every product group shows an increase of 1.2% vs. Q4; the total year still suffering versus 2008 with a performance of -3%, with only SDA and Telecoms casting a positive light on the figures.

Any optimism, however, should be tempered with an awareness of the decline seen versus the same quarter in 2008, of just over
-3%.