Scottish fashion retailer Quiz reveals higher profits but warns over 'tough' trading backdrop

Quiz, the Glasgow-headquartered “fast fashion” retailer, has posted a leap in profits for the past year but cautioned over “tough” trading conditions as consumer spending power continues to be squeezed.

The group, which sells occasion and dressy casual clothing and accessories, said it saw a “strong recovery” over the year to March but has seen sales cool in recent months. It recorded a 15 per cent decrease in revenues to £23.2 million for the past three months to the end of June as it was impacted by tough comparatives from the previous year and “inflationary pressures on consumer demand”.

Tarak Ramzan, founder and chief executive of the business, told investors: “The trading environment in the opening months of the new financial year has been tough reflecting the widely publicised external economic factors impacting consumer demand.” He highlighted that the challenging backdrop is expected to “continue into the second half” of the financial year but told shareholders he is confident the group can achieve profitable growth in the longer term.

The group reported a pre-tax profit of £2.3m for the year to March 31, compared with a profit of around £800,000 a year earlier. It came after revenues grew by 17 per cent to £91.7m for the year. There was a 13 per cent increase in sales through Quiz’s own website.

The firm said it benefited from increased sales of products at full price as well as efforts to control costs and offset inflationary pressures during the year. Its store estate comprised 62 outlets in the UK and six in Ireland at the end of the financial year.

Panmure Gordon analyst Georgia Pettman noted: “The company has made progress around cost controls and executed higher full-price sell through but the narrative in UK retail is focusing on an increasingly promotional backdrop with tough comparables, that Quiz is not immune to.”

Ramzan added: “Our full-year 2023 results reflected a strong recovery in consumer demand for Quiz’s occasion-wear-led product offering, resulting in positive sales and profit growth. The past year once again demonstrated the benefits of the group’s omni-channel model as we saw encouraging revenue growth across stores and online.”