Trading Update and House of Fraser concessions

RNS Number : 0876F

ScS Group PLC

25 October 2018

 

For Immediate Release

25 October 2018

ScS Group plc

("ScS", or the "Group")

Trading update for 12 weeks ended 20 October 2018 and update on House of Fraser concessions

Trading for the Group as a whole in line with our expectations; exit from House of Fraser by end of January 2019

ScS Group plc, one of the UK's largest retailers of upholstered furniture and floorings, today provides a trading update for the 12 weeks ended 20 October 2018 and an update in relation to its House of Fraser concessions.

Trading Update

The Group has achieved like-for-like order intake growth of 1.2% for the 12 weeks ended 20 October 2018.

The core ScS business has continued to perform well, with like-for-like order intake growth of 4.5%. Two year like-for-like order intake has grown 7.4%.

During the period, our House of Fraser concessions have seen a decline in like-for-like orders of 52.5%.

Whilst it is still early in the current financial year, the Group, as a whole, continues to trade in line with our expectations.

House of Fraser Concessions

The Group announces that it will cease trading from its 27 concessions within House of Fraser by the end of January 2019.

The House of Fraser concession business accounted for only 2.7% of the Group's order intake for the 12 weeks ended 20 October 2018.

We are working with affected employees, and looking to re-deploy them and their valuable skills and experience within the wider ScS Group business, where possible.

David Knight, Chief Executive Officer of ScS, commented:

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our colleagues who have worked in our House of Fraser concessions over the past few years for their dedication and hard work. However, given developments in House of Fraser over the last few months, it has become clear that the partnership was no longer beneficial to ScS.  

We are pleased to announce that we have continued to trade well in the core ScS business in the first 12 weeks of our financial year. We will continue to focus on our successful value offering proposition, coupling this with the excellent service that ScS provides and that our customers know and love."

Enquiries:

ScS Group PLC David Knight, Chief Executive Officer Chris Muir, Chief Financial Officer	c/o Buchanan [phone]
Buchanan Richard Oldworth Madeleine Seacombe Tilly Abraham	Tel: [phone] [e-mail]
Shore Capital Patrick Castle Dru Danford James Thomas	Tel: [phone]

Notes to Editors

ScS is one of the UK's largest retailers of upholstered furniture and floorings, promoting itself as the "Sofa Carpet Specialist", seeking to offer value and choice through a wide range of upholstered furniture and flooring products. The Group's product range is designed to appeal to a broad customer base with a mid-market priced offering and is currently traded from 100 stores.

The Company's upholstered furniture business specialises primarily in fabric and leather sofas and chairs. ScS sells a range of branded products which are not sold under registered trade marks and a range of branded products which are sold under registered trade marks owned by ScS (such as Endurance and SiSi Italia). The Group also offers a range of third party brands (which include La-Z-Boy, G Plan and Parker Knoll). The Company's flooring business includes carpets, as well as laminate and vinyl flooring.

 

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