A SCOTTISH fashion chain has hailed the return of big events and sales of its partywear as it swung to a half-year profit.
Glasgow-based Quiz said it returned to profitability amid overall sales that soared 37 per cent, a restructuring, and tightly managing costs and stock.
The firm posted pre-tax profits of £1.8 million in the six months to September 30, set against a £1.3m loss reported for the same period last year.
Group revenues rocketed from £36m last year to £49.4m this year, marking a return to pre-pandemic levels.
Online revenues increased 29% to £16.1m, driven by sales through Quiz’s own website.
It has extended its partnership with nShift, the parcel delivery management software developer, as it expects to deliver over two million packages by the end of next year.
Store revenues surge
Quiz said as well as growing demand for partywear and the return of major social events, it had followed the impact of the Covid Omicron variant last winter.
Analysts at Panmure Gordon said the results represented “a good half-year for Quiz with a particularly strong first quarter”.
It said: “Revenues increased by 62% in quarter one and 15% in quarter two, the pattern reflecting comparative period Covid impacts.
“Store revenues grew by 48% year-on-year and on a like-for-like basis were ahead of pre-pandemic levels.”
A main driver of improvements in the first half was a better full-price sales mix, Panmure Gordon said.
“Quiz has adapted its buying over the pandemic to reflect increased freight costs,” it said. “This has required greater accuracy with quantities and a higher degree of commitment.”
Stronger sales over recent weeks including from the Black Friday discount period helped to offset weaker-than-expected revenues in October, Quiz added.
The firm said it has been impacted by higher operational costs, like other retailers, as it is “not immune” to cost inflation pressures hitting the industry.
However, the group, which has 62 stores in the UK as well as 62 concessions in stores such as New Look, said it has continued to cut costs wherever possible to save money.
It follows a restructuring move in 2020 which put several loss-making stores into administration, which it confirmed has helped reduce rents across its portfolio.
Forecast
The outlook is difficult to predict as a result of cost-of-living pressures, Quiz warned.
However, it is expecting a sales boost following the important festive trading weeks, including the Christmas party season, and January sales periods still to come.
Tarak Ramzan, founder and chief executive of Quiz, said: “The Quiz brand has performed well in the first half of the year, with strong year-on-year sales growth of 37% supporting increased profitability and a strong cash position.
“Active customers increased 14%, reflecting the appeal of our differentiated and value brand.
“While we will not be immune to the widely publicised cost-of-living pressures on the consumer in the second half of the year, I remain confident that supported by our omni-channel model, fantastic brand and unique occasion wear offering, Quiz is positioned well for long-term, sustainable and profitable growth.”
Quiz shares closed up 2.22%, or 0.38p, at 17.25p.
Read more:
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel