A BRIGHTER day for the beleaguered retail sector saw 15 North-East jobs saved at a Zavvi store and two high street names reporting sales rises.

Fifteen workers at the Stockton branch of Zavvi on Teesside Park will now become HMV employees after the rival chain announced it was one of 14 stores it had reached a deal with administrator Ernst and Young to buy.

The news came as major retailers Argos, Homebase, Currys and PC World all reported a heavy fall in sales over Christmas.

But Mothercare, Primark and Carphone Warehouse all reported sales had risen, while Halfords said it was on track to meet market expectations.

Mothercare said comparable sales increased by 1.1 per cent in the 13 weeks to January 9, while its international retail operation saw growth of more than 49 per cent.

Associated British Foods, owner of Primark, reported a better-than-expected Christmas for the clothing chain, with sales rising 18 per cent in the 16 weeks to January 3, helped by an increase in selling space and “very good”

like-for-like sales growth.

Europe’s biggest independent mobile phone retailer, Carphone Warehouse, saw third-quarter like-for-like sales rise 6.5 per cent.

Halfords said it was on track to meet market expectations, despite a fall in demand for satellite navigation systems and a drop in like-for-like sales of 7.8 per cent in the 13 weeks to December 26, The drop in the new vehicle market had led to a rise in sales of car maintenance products and cost savings meant it remained on track to meet market expectations.

Last month, the firm announced plans to shed around 250 jobs.

HMV’s announcement will preserve 269 jobs in Britain and Ireland.

Tom Jack, joint administrator for Zavvi, said: “This is a great result for the employees and customers of the stores concerned.

“The 269 employees will transfer across to HMV immediately and, over the course of the next two weeks, these Zavvi stores will be rebranded as HMV.”

Zavvi’s remaining 63 UK and five Irish outlets will continue to trade as administrators try to sell them, but 40 Zavvi stores have already closed in the last two weeks, with the loss of more than 500 jobs, including Gateshead, with the loss of 12 jobs, Royal Quays in North Tyneside, with the loss of six jobs and York’s McArthur Glen outlet branch, with the loss of seven permanent jobs.

DSG International, which owns Currys and PC World, said like-for-like sales had dropped ten per cent in the three months to January 10.

Despite a rise in like-for-like sales in the final two weeks, with consumers waiting for the January sales to buy TVs and technology, DSG said it was braced for the negative sales trend to continue in a “challenging” 2009.

It will not retain some of the temporary staff hired over the Christmas period as part of its efforts to save cash.

Home Retail Group said like-for-like sales at its Argos chain had fallen 7.5 per cent in the 18 weeks to 3 January.

Earlier this week, staff at a distribution centre for Argos Direct, the firm’s home delivery business, were put on notice of redundancy.

DHL, which runs the centre at Faverdale in Darlington on behalf of Argos, has started a 30-day consultation process.

How many of the 560 workers will lose their jobs remains unclear.

DIY chain Homebase, which is also owned by Home Retail Group, saw like-for-like sales in the 18 weeks to January 3 fall 10.2 per cent.