Superdry Blames Poor Product and Weather for Latest Sales Fall

LONDON, United Kingdom — British fashion group Superdry reported a 1.5 percent fall in revenue in the Christmas quarter, blaming issues with its product range and unseasonably warm weather which dented both store and online sales.

Superdry, whose main products are sweatshirts, hoodies and jackets, has issued a string of profit warnings, the latest in December, and its shares have slumped 70 percent over the last year.

It said its performance in its third quarter to January 26, although subdued, fell within the guidance issued in December. Prior to its update the consensus of analysts' underlying pretax profit forecasts was £58.4 million ($75.5 million) for the year to April 27, 2019, down from £97 million made in 2017-18.

Group revenue in the quarter was £269.3 million, down from £273.3 million in the same period last year.

That reflected an 8.5 percent fall in store sales and a 0.7 percent decline in online sales, partly offset by a 12.7 percent rise in wholesale sales.

"We continued to be impacted by the ongoing product mix and relevance issues we have previously highlighted and by the lack, until the end of quarter three and the start of quarter four, of any prolonged period of cold weather in our key markets," said chief executive Euan Sutherland.

Last April Superdry launched an 18-month product innovation and diversification programme, aiming to reduce its over-reliance on cold weather clothing by entering new areas such as clothing for children. On Thursday it reported "early progress" with that plan.

By James Davey; editors: Kate Holton, Keith Weir.