SHARES in Glasgow-based Quiz plunged by nearly one-third after the “fast fashion” retailer became the latest to report poor Christmas sales, leading it to issue a further profits warning.

The fall meant shares in Quiz, whose clothes are largely aimed at 18 to 35 year old women, were worth less than one-sixth of their value when it listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in July 2017, with a placing price of 161p per share.

After peaking at 201.16p on July 13 last year, shares closed at 24p last night, valuing Quiz at £29.8m.

One day after Mike Ashley shook up the Debenhams board and the John Lewis Partnership threatened to not pay staff their annual bonus as it warned on profits, Quiz said festive trading had not lived up to expectations.

Citing continued uncertainty over consumer demand, Quiz said it now expects revenue for the full year to come in lower than market forecasts at £133 million. It brought in revenue of £116.4m last time.

The group warned that its anticipation of lower revenues would necessitate higher discounting to clear stock, which it said would reduce gross margins to about 60.5% in the six months to March 31, compared with 62% in the six months to September 30.

And, having also incurred higher employee, marketing and depreciation costs after investing to grow, the retailer is now guiding on EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) of £8.2m for the full year. It booked EBITDA of £11.5m for the year ended March 31.

The update continues a difficult run for Quiz, whose value soared to around £250 million in the days immediately after its flotation.

The retailer was forced to book exceptional costs of £400,000 in September because of its exposure to House of Fraser, which fell into administration before being acquired by Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct in a pre-pack deal. The charges were “in relation to outstanding debtor balances and other potential costs”. Quiz had historically operated 11 concessions in House of Fraser outlets and sold products on its website.

Quiz then issued a profits warning in October, leading to a steep fall in its share price, citing lower than expected sales through online partners, the performance of its UK stores in September and the House of Fraser costs. The group, citing “challenging external trading conditions”, also cut revenue forecasts.

At that stage, the company said revenue for the year to March 31, 2019, would be lower than market expectations at around £138m, with EBITDA in the region of £11.5m forecast.

Reporting on Christmas trading, Quiz, which bills itself the “omni-channel fashion brand”, said group revenue increased by 8.4% in the six weeks from November 25 to January 5, compared with the same period last year. While online revenue surged by 34.1%, revenue in the group’s standalone stores and concessions increased by just 1.6%.

The group has 71 stores and 169 concessions around the UK.

Chief executive Tarak Ramzan said: “Against the backdrop of challenging trading conditions over recent months, Quiz has delivered further revenue growth over the Christmas period driven by the performance of our own websites.

“However, the growth and the margin achieved have been below our initial expectations and, consequently, the board considers it appropriate to revise its sales and profit expectations for the current year.

“We remain confident about Quiz’s long-term potential as an omni-channel fashion brand with a clear customer focus. Management’s utmost priority remains achieving further growth for the business and improving profitability in the future.”

Meanwhile, Debenhams’ woes continued yesterday. Its share price tumbled 18.9% the day after Mike Ashley forced the removal of its chairman and chief executive from the board, leaving shares worth just 3.91p.