We are trying to regain market share we've lost to Mothercare."Tesco launched its Baby Club in January and claims it has been successful. Members receive information packs and money-off vouchers.Following the success of Tesco's loyalty card, developed by chief executive Terry Leahy, the company is likely to use the data collected from its loyalty card to target mail shots at customers known to have bought baby items such as nappies.Though Tesco has been making the running in the grocery battle, it is behind Asda in the clothing market. Asda's George range of clothing has been showing strong sales growth and the company has bold plans to make it the second most popular clothing brand behind Marks & Spencer.Richard Hyman at retail consultants Verdict Research said: "I think it is probably a good move. Clothing is not a major part of Tesco's offer but this is a good way of developing it."Direct mail order is becoming increasingly attractive to retailers. The big supermarkets are also experimenting with various methods of home grocery shopping which enable customers to order via phone, fax or the Internet..

Shares in Centrica, the former British Gas supply business which has demerged to become an independent company, got off to a bumpy start yesterday in their first day of stock market trading, writes Chris Godsmark. Uncertainty over the group's long-term future took hold of the markets, which marked Centrica shares down 10.25p to 65.25p compared with Friday's closing price on the unofficial "grey market". Shares in BG, the renamed core of British Gas which runs the pipeline network and offshore exploration operations, edged up 2.5p to 174.5p. The price had risen sharply on the grey market last week on speculation that Centrica would be a takeover target for one of the big oil companies seeking a route into the UK gas business. However analysts pointed to the many drawbacks which are likely to dog Centrica, including management's prediction that it will not pay a dividend "for the foreseeable future". Demerger documents show Centrica lost a notional pounds 486m in the nine months to the end of last September after exceptional charges of pounds 457m.Simon Champion, a gas analyst with Charterhouse Tilney, said: "We don't see it as a takeover target because we can't see who would want to buy it. It isn't attractive to income funds, unlike British Gas, because it won't pay a dividend. All that makes the business very hard to value."The company is still negotiating to lessen its pounds 30bn "take-or-pay" burden from contracts to buy gas it no longer needs at inflated prices.

City experts have estimated it will cost pounds 1bn for Centrica to buy its way out of these liabilities.Under the split, 1.7 million British Gas shareholders, including many "Sids" who have held the stock since privatisation in 1986, received one Centrica share for every share they held.. British Steel's output rose last year to its highest level since 1989, but the rate of growth has levelled off sharply in the face of savage price cuts and the surge in the value of the pound, it emerged yesterday. Figures from the company, to be released at the end of the month, will show its output of crude steel hit 16.12 million tons in 1996, up from 15.7 million tons recorded in 1995. Last year's output was the highest since the 16.48 million tons produced in 1989 and should be enough to maintain British Steel's third place in the world league table.