Sofa retailer ScS sees orders hit by challenging trade

Sofa chain ScS has revealed second-half orders slumped by 5 per cent as it battled against tougher trading.

But ScS said it was trading in line with the board's expectations. Picture: Alan Watson

The group said the like-for-like decline came as it was hit by more difficult retail conditions and failed to match up to strong sales a year earlier.

• READ MORE: Retail woes continue as nerves hamper consumer spending

Like-for-like order intake overall in the year to 29 July fell by 0.7 per cent, but the group insisted this was in line with expectations. It said annual like-for-like orders rose 14.3 per cent compared with sales from two years ago.

ScS chief executive David Knight said: “We are pleased that despite the challenging comparatives and wider market backdrop we have traded in line with the board’s expectations for the year.”

200 Voices: find out more about the people who have shaped Scotland

The group warned on reporting interim results in March that it faced challenging comparatives and a softening retail market.

It comes after rival DFS recently posted a slump in customer orders and cautioned over “significant declines in store footfall”. DFS will report its latest trading update tomorrow.

Retailers have been flagging up a slowdown in consumer spending as shoppers rein in spending due to soaring inflation.

• READ MORE: Cheaper fuel helps drive inflation rate down to 2.6%

Fashion chain New Look alerted over “fragile” spending yesterday as it revealed quarterly like-for-like sales had tumbled by 7.5 per cent.

But independent retail analyst Nick Bubb said the full-year update from ScS was “reassuring”, with the 5 per cent fall in orders over the second half not as steep as feared.

Click here to ‘Like’ The Scotsman Business on Facebook