By Jon Yeomans
The Telegraph
Shares in womenswear chain Bonmarché tumbled 24pc in morning trade after it reported a slump in sales over the key Christmas quarter.
Sales in shops open more than a year tumbled 9.7pc in the 13 weeks to December 30, a performance Helen Connolly, chief executive, labelled "disappointing".
Strong online sales growth of 28.5pc failed to offset the poor performance of its stores, resulting in an overall fall in like-for-like sales of 6.9pc. Total sales slumped 5.5pc.
Ms Connolly blamed a "challenging" clothing market, particularly on the high street. She said the market for 50-plus women's clothing had shrunk during the year.
"Uncertainty" would remain as Bonmarché entered its fourth quarter of the year, she said, citing the weather as a factor.
Although the company stopped short of issuing a formal profit warning, saying its expectations for the year were unchanged, the market's response to the gloomy outlook was to send the shares down 24p to 95p - the third FTSE mid-cap firm to suffer a sharp sell-off, alongside Carpetright and Dignity.
Mike van Dulken, of Accendo Markets, said: "The update may not include a 2018 warning per se, however, management’s uncertain outlook, especially for weather, expecting things to remain difficult, is as good as."
Across the 39 weeks to December 30, Bonmarché's like-for-like sales in stores dropped 2.8pc. When combined with online sales, its comparable sales growth was flat in the year to date.
Bonmarché was blighted by profit warnings during 2016. Ms Connolly joined that year from Asda, and set about scrapping the retailer's menswear ranges and speeding up its supply chain to decrease lead times on stock.
The Telegraph
Shares in womenswear chain Bonmarché tumbled 24pc in morning trade after it reported a slump in sales over the key Christmas quarter.
Sales in shops open more than a year tumbled 9.7pc in the 13 weeks to December 30, a performance Helen Connolly, chief executive, labelled "disappointing".
Ms Connolly blamed a "challenging" clothing market, particularly on the high street. She said the market for 50-plus women's clothing had shrunk during the year.
"Uncertainty" would remain as Bonmarché entered its fourth quarter of the year, she said, citing the weather as a factor.
Although the company stopped short of issuing a formal profit warning, saying its expectations for the year were unchanged, the market's response to the gloomy outlook was to send the shares down 24p to 95p - the third FTSE mid-cap firm to suffer a sharp sell-off, alongside Carpetright and Dignity.
Mike van Dulken, of Accendo Markets, said: "The update may not include a 2018 warning per se, however, management’s uncertain outlook, especially for weather, expecting things to remain difficult, is as good as."
Across the 39 weeks to December 30, Bonmarché's like-for-like sales in stores dropped 2.8pc. When combined with online sales, its comparable sales growth was flat in the year to date.
Tags
Business