Stylo suffers despite promotions
STYLO, the high street shoe chain, today said trading in the period following the announcement of its interim results four weeks ago had been below expectations.
The Bradford-based owner of Barratts, PriceLess and Shellys saw losses widen from £7.5m to £9.3m over the first half of the year.
Stylo’s sales rose 5.7% to £105.7m for the 26 weeks to August 2, equating to a like-for-like sales decline of 3.2% because of a poor summer trading period.
When the interim results were announced in early November, Stylo said it was working on implementing a strategic recovery programme to return the business to profitability by embarking on an aggressive cost cutting programme and closing unprofitable stores.
In a statement Stylo said today: “The difficult retail trading conditions, currently being experienced by all retailers, re-emphasise the need for these actions.
“In line with other high street retailers, the company has also commenced promotional events across all its stores with positive initial results. The company will continue to be pro-active in its promotional activities where and when appropriate.
“Whilst gross margin will be affected by the promotional discounts, stock levels and costs continue to be managed tightly as the board concentrates on delivering cash into the business.”
