And we’re back.

Well for us at Grocer Towers that is the case, but for many in the industry Christmas and New Year is not only the busiest time of the year but also the most critical in terms of sales.

While we will have to wait until next week to get a real sense of the festive winners and losers, retailers are already moving onto the next phase – winter.

For them the trick is how to switch effortlessly from the joyous and celebratory mood of the holiday period, when it’s fine to say yes to another little glass of vino and tuck into just one more mince pie because at the end of the day “It’s Christmas for goodness sake,” to the much more sober mood of January.

And sober it is – as the final New Year’s Eve celebrations died down, the news agenda was soon awash with fears over the US fiscal cliff, the rising cost of rail fares and, of course, that other hardy perennial - obesity. At the same time, leaflets for the local slimming club are pouring through our letterboxes. It’s clear that January is now the month of cutting back and dieting, surely something that should be helped by the fact that we are all so broke after Christmas.

I almost feel sorry for the marketers tasked with trying to reach out to consumers in this mood. But reach out they must. What might be nice however is if retailers can find a way of punting their budget own label and healthy eating ranges without reminding us that we are all fat and skint.

Still the evenings are getting a little brighter at least – aren’t they?

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