Well, JB Hi-Fi survived a tough Christmas trading period, not to mention a "challenging" six months and lived to tell the tale, despite what some alarmists have been writing about the state of the consumer electronics sector.

It was hard going, the company did see a fall in same store sales and earnings were weaker, but that was already in the share price after the surprise trading update in December.

So the initial reaction from investors was to push the shares up by more than 3% to a day's high of $12.55 before a bit of profit taking emerged in afternoon trading and saw the shares ease to close up just 2c at $12.01.

Investors took a second look at the report and noted the comments from management about the weak start to the June half year.

Some investors had feared the result would be worse, but the announcement yesterday proved to be a little better than they had been expecting.

Earnings before tax slid 4.9% to $120.7 million for the half year but was in line with the Company's trading update released in December and came because of the costs associated with the buyback early in 2011.

Overall, it was a "pleasing result", according to yesterday's statement.

JB Hi-Fi reported a first-half net profit of $79.6 million, slightly above analyst expectations and lifted interim dividend 1 cent to 49 cents, which was another slightly bullish point.

First half sales growth for JB Hi-Fi in Australia and New Zealand was up 6.7% to $1.77 billion, although comparative store sales dropped 2.2%.

Sales growth in Australian stores was 5.6% to $1.65 billion, but in NZ it jumped 28% growth to $124.9 million, although it opened no new stores there during the sales period.

Its troubled Clive Anthonys branded stores, which are being restructured and renamed in some cases, saw a 5.5% rise in sales.

Online sales rose 87.7% with December sales alone up 109%, and 'unique visitors' averaging 1.4 million a week during the month (but we have no hard data for the comparison period).

The company's gross profit margin eased 0.3% to 21.2% (HY11: 21.5%) and cost of doing business rose to 13.6% from 13.2% for first half 2011.

Computer and accessory sales all fared well although its visual business fell 17.1%, despite panel TVs increasing by 15%.

This was due to the average selling price slipping by almost a third as the likes of Sony, Samsung, LG and Panasonic slashed prices to try and boost sluggish sales around the world.

However, there was "good unit growth in branded and private label sets," the retailer said.

Music, gaming and DVD sales disappointed however, down 0.7%.

"We saw total sales growth for the Company, with JB Hi-Fi branded stores growing 6.7%, and market share gains in what has been a very challenging retail environment," CEO, Terry Smart said in yesterday's statement.

"We continue to evolve our model both in store and out of store, while maintaining our focus on those basic fundamentals which have and will continue to make us successful, being our unique brand personality, low cost of doing business and motivated and passionate staff."

Looking to the rest of the year, directors were very cautious.

The December update said the company expected earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) for the six months to December 31 would be about 5% per cent less than the previous corresponding period.

For the remainder of the year, the company said yesterday sales will again be under pressure after soft January sales, with lower-than-anticipated sales in TV panels and weakness in IT accessories and cameras which had been in short supply due to the Thailand floods.

JB Hi-Fi-said "branded comparable store sales in January were down 5.5 per cent."

"While still early, we have seen an improvement in February sales which, for the month-to-date for JB Hi-Fi-branded stores grew 8.4 per cent and on a comparable store basis sales grew one per cent," the company said.

Consequently, in the first six weeks of the second half, sales figures for JB Hi-Fi-branded stores grew 3.3 per cent.

But, on a comparable-store basis, sales in the first six weeks were down 3.9 per cent.

Chief executive Terry Smart said it had been a tough start to the year but JB Hi-Fi expected sales to improve.

"In our view, consumers were suffering from promotional fatigue and, therefore, have not reacted as well to our post-Christmas promotional offers as in previous years," Mr. Smart said.

"While the market will remain challenging, we will continue to focus on delivering customers a unique and engaging shopping experience both in store and online."

Elsewhere in retailing, around 450 jobs are at risk after bedding and furniture retailer Sleep City collapsed yesterday.

Directors appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers partners Michael Fung, Greg Hall and Guy Edwards as administrators yesterday.

The group has 64-stores which sell beds, mattresses and bedroom furniture under the Sleep City and Everyday Living brands.

Sleep City has stores in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Hobart.

Mr. Fung said the group would operate ''in a 'business as usual' mode while we get a clearer understanding of the current state of each business''.

Media reports said the company's most recent accounts show the company declared a loss of $25 million for the 2010 financial year.

The news came after the ANZ cut a further 492 jobs across Australia as part of job cuts totalling 1,000 positions.

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