Procook continues to struggle with tough economic conditions
Kitchenware firm Procook say that market conditions continued to remain tough throughout the Christmas period.
The Gloucestershire company issued a trading update this morning covering the last three months of 2023.
In the three months to December the company had total revenue of £23.1m which included the important peak trading period.
Revenues increased by three per cent year on year outperforming the UK kitchenware market by approximately 10% points.
Total like for like revenue was similar year on year in the quarter at -0.4%, building on the improving trend in previous quarters.
Ecommerce revenue was down by 5.1% as a result of disruption during the first 6 weeks of the quarter following the launch of the new website.
The issues were largely resolved in time for Black Friday campaigns and benefiting, in the latter part of the quarter, from the prior year adverse impact of home delivery strikes.
Retail revenue growth of 9.5 per cent was largely as a result of the opening of two new stores.
Trading during the important peak period was in line with the board’s expectations.
However, the economic environment remains difficult for consumers, impacting bigger ticket and discretionary purchases.
Chief executive Lee Tappenden said: “I am pleased that trading metrics are continuing to improve despite the difficult consumer backdrop, and that we have delivered a robust Black Friday and Christmas trading period, outperforming our market.
“Whilst we remain cautious about the timing and pace of market recovery, we are confident in our proposition and energised by the opportunities available to us to build an even stronger customer-focused business as we continue to make good strategic progress which will allow us to accelerate profitable growth as trading conditions improve.”
