Topps Tiles blames political uncertainty for sales slump
Topps Tiles’ sales sank in the final quarter of last year, which the firm blamed on political and economic uncertainty in the run up to the General Election.
Like-for-like retail revenue dropped 5.4 per cent in the 13 weeks to 28 December.
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In the first eight weeks of the quarter revenue fell 7.2 per cent, the company said, and dropped 1.4 per cent in the final five weeks.
Topps Tiles said it continued to drive forward its commercial business, having recently entered the market. Commercial sales during the quarter were £2.3m, an increase of 250 per cent year on year.
Topps Tiles chief executive Rob Parker said: “Our first quarter performance reflects the full impact of the heightened political and economic uncertainty evident in the run up to December’s General Election, which we first noted in our 2019 full year results announcement.
“Trading conditions remained challenging throughout the period and, against this backdrop, we ensured that we continued to offer our customers excellent value for money.
“As expected, the retail like-for-like sales decline began to return to its pre-election trend towards the end of the quarter.
“As we enter 2020, we remain confident that our market-leading retail offer and growing commercial operations give us a strong platform from which to deliver sustainable growth over the medium and long term.”