OUTDOOR equipment firm Blacks Leisure has warned that first-half losses will widen to around £4.5 million due to a "difficult" August and plunging surf-wear sales.
The group, which operates the Blacks and Millets chains, said its outdoor business had performed "broadly" in line with expectations, with like-for-like sales down 5.2 per cent.
But boardwear "continued to be very difficult", with same-store sales
down 16.1 per cent. That dragged group sales down 7.7 per cent overall in the six months to 30 August, a deterioration from the 5.4 per cent drop seen during the first 19 weeks.
Blacks said trading in the first few weeks of the second half had been more encouraging. "The full-year performance will, as ever, depend on the important fourth quarter," it added.
The group's first-half losses before one-off items last year were £600,000, and chief executive Neil Gillis has been trying to launch a turnaround including a store refurbishment programme and head-office cuts.
Blacks operates 260 Millets stores, 110 Blacks stores and 57 Freespirit and O'Neill outlets.
Northampton-based Blacks Leisure said recently its outdoor arm benefited from a boost in camping popularity over the summer.
The group added it was making good progress in securing cost savings in the business, with £5.6m already delivered so far.
The full article contains 238 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
