MARKET REPORT: Quiz's future looks 'shaky' amid festive sales slump
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Quiz was in the hot seat with investors yesterday after it became the latest to reveal tough trading – warning that it may need further funding. Shares in AIM-listed fashion retailer Quiz plunged 43.2 per cent, or 2.3p, to 3.04p after it said both online and in-store traffic suffered a 'marked decline' during the important pre-Christmas trading month of November.
As a result, revenue for the four months to the end of November was down by £1.5m compared to the same period last year at £24.9million. And sales in the eight months to November fell by 8.6 per cent to £52.2m, which Quiz said was 'behind management expectations'.
In the absence of a material improvement to trading during the key pre-and-post-Christmas period, additional funding would likely be needed in early 2025, the Glasgow-based Quiz told shareholders. Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at broker AJ Bell, said: 'Even if the company is able to limp through in the short term, the longer-term prospects for the business look shaky at best.'.
Struggle: Shares in the AIM-listed fashion retailer plunged 43.2 per cent, or 2.3p, to 3.04p after it said both online and in-store traffic suffered a 'marked decline'. The update comes hot on the heels of a guidance cut from Frasers Group, owner of chains such as Sports Direct and House of Fraser as well as big stakes in the likes of Boohoo (up 0.7 per cent, or 0.26p, to 35.26p) and Mulberry (down 2.5 per cent, or 2.5p, to 97.5p).
