UK High Street games retailer GAME is to trim its high street presence with the closure of 12 GAME stores as well as six Gamestation stores and the removal of all its Debenhams concessions.

The move will see the closure of 43 outlets in total which the group attribute to tough market conditions. Most of the closures will occur where outlets are situated close to one another.

The company also said that it plans to seek employment opportunities for all 247 affected workers.

A statement made by GAME to Edge Online said:

“We are committed to evolving our business to make sure it operates as efficiently as possible while consistently delivering the high standards of service our customers demand,”

“We regularly review our entire store portfolio, including our concessions, to maximise the opportunities to reach customers while also ensuring that the business is running as effectively as possible.

“The majority of the identified sites are located close to another one of our stores, and we will help each customer affected by a closure to transfer to their nearest store as well as our online offerings.

“We will provide extensive support to the teams in each store. However, with deep regret, we have had to offer redundancy to 247 employees. We will do our utmost to redeploy roles if possible, and have started consulting with all affected employees in the 43 sites.”

Pet store chain Pets at Home has been bought by US Private Equity Firm KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) for a figure of £955 million which includes the firm’s debts. The brand becomes KKR’s third UK High Street acquisition – they also already have Boots and Toys R Us on their portfolio.

The buy-out provides a healthy profit for Pets at Home’s owners Bridgepoint who paid £230 for the chain in 2005.

KKR fended off rival bits from other private equity houses including Apax Partners, Bain and TPG, while Bridgepoint was also rumoured to be considering a stock market flotation.

Tesco has launched its first iPhone application. The app, called the Tesco Store and Product Finder, helps users to find the location of their nearest UK Tesco store (including Express and Extra stores). But, says Nick Lansley of Tesco the app also allows users to find any grocery product in that store by describing its aisle and shelf.

Available on iTunes, the app is free and available worldwide although it only works for UK stores at the moment, and only with grocery products. Currently, non-food items are not supported by the app.

Does beer count as a grocery product? Not that the author of this piece for ShoutingInDigital requires an app to tell him where the beer aisle is! But, if this app sounds useful to you here’s how to get it!

Supermarket ASDA are offering new drivers the chance to get a free driving lesson. Their ASDA magazine are offering a free one-hour driving lesson with a qualified driving instructor, and also a discount worth up to 15% off further lessons.

The offer expires on 30th June 2010 and is available to anyone holding a provisional driving license who is not currently under professional driving tuition.

Further details can be found in the January issue of the ASDA magazine, which can be found online – there is a voucher on page 93. Copies of the magazine can be collected instore, while lessons can be booked by visiting Pro Driving or by calling 0208 144 1499. Full terms and conditions for the offer can also be found on the Pro Driving website.

Tesco has announced its strongest Christmas performance for three years, the retailer has announced.

According to a report in Talking Retail, the supermarket giant posted like-for-like sales growth of 4.9% excluding VAT and petrol, with its Double Clubcard points scheme contributing 0.7% of the sales growth in the six-week period to January 9th in the UK market.

The chain also saw strong sales of its Finest range, and sold 35% more bottles of Champagne than in 2008. Non-food performance also saw continued growth with improved like-for-like sales, driven by particularly good growth in clothing, electricals and toys.

Tesco’s sales growth also continued into their online operations with both food and non-food posting a combined growth of nearly 20% in the six-weeks while Tesco Direct saw sales growth increase by more than 50% with strong performance in toys, TV games and entertainment,

In the international sphere, Tesco saw a combined 4.1% increase from its Asia, Europe and US operations at constant exchange rates, and 2.5% at actual exchange rates.

The survey also shows that around one third of shoppers are planning to spend less this year, with 80% of those surveyed hoping to only spend up to £250 this year. According to Asda, the average spend on Christmas presents alone was £320 per person so a total spend on £250 will mean Santa and his elves will need a keen eye for a bargain if they want to keep everyone happy this year.

In response to the cutback Christmas, Asda have launched an online Christmas shop which features numerous gift ideas and low cost Christmas items.

Jennifer England from Asda said: “By spreading the cost of Christmas and buying gifts early, our customers are making sure that they can have a Christmas to remember whilst avoiding any last minute credit card splurges that will leave them paying off the bill well into 2010.”