The British clothing retailer Quiz Plc achieved strong growth in sales and earnings in the 2022/23 financial year, which ended at the end of March. Overall, the key figures that the fast fashion specialist presented in an interim report on Monday were in line with expectations. However, the company also warned of continued difficult market conditions in the coming months.
According to the available, as yet unaudited results, group sales in the past financial year amounted to 91.7 million pounds sterling (103.5 million euros). This corresponded to an increase of 17 percent compared to the previous year. In the first few months of the year, the company said it was able to benefit from the lifting of essential protective measures against the Covid 19 pandemic before the adverse economic conditions became increasingly noticeable. In February and March 2023, like-for-like sales were therefore below the corresponding level of the previous year, the clothing supplier admitted.
In terms of results, Quiz also achieved the goals it had set for itself. The company announced that the gross margin remained stable compared to the previous year. As a result, management continues to expect a pre-tax profit of at least £2.0m (EUR 2.3m) compared to just £0.8m last year. The clothing supplier emphasized that this also met market expectations. He wants to publish his final results for 2022/23 in July.
The company management was accordingly satisfied with the results for 2022/23, but was cautious about the prospects for the current year. The “considerable pressure” on consumers’ willingness to consume, which has already characterized the past few months, is likely to persist, according to a statement. In view of this “external headwind”, the future business development is difficult to assess. However, management was confident that “the strength of the Quiz brand and the Group’s business model would provide a stable basis for future growth”.