Wickes has maintained its full-year profit guidance, despite overall like-for-like sales for the first 16 weeks to 20 April falling by 4.2% against the same period last year.  While it said the trading environment remains uncertain, the group expects its “solid” start to the year within its retail offering to pay off along with its continued focus on costs.  With selling prices in mild deflation, the growth in retail sales has been driven by volume with an increased number of transactions.  TradePro sales continued to perform strongly, rising 12% in the period, as Wicked grew it ..read more

Carpetright has reportedly called in advisers to help it explore cost cutting measures as demand weakens and competition increases, according to The Times. The carpet retailer has appointed Teneo to consider a number of options which could include store closures. In recent years the company has struggled to deal with increased competition from brands like Tapi, which was started by the son of Carpetright founder Lord Harris of Peckham. The company has also had to deal with the cost of living crisis and the fact that consumers are not spending as much on big ticket items like carpets. In the 14 ..read more

Kingfisher has seen its pre-tax profits drop 25% to £568m for the year ended 31 January, down from £758m the year prior. The company has put this drop down to poor international sales specifically in France and Poland. As a result, the company is now predicting full year profits of between £490m and £550m, below the analysts average forecast of £560m. Elsewhere, group sales dipped 1.8% to £12.9bn, with a 3% increase in UK and Ireland helping to partially compensate for the almost 5% drop in French sales. Despite this the company is still pushing ahead with its UK expansion plans as 40 Screwfix ..read more

Kingfisher, the owner of B&Q, is reportedly mulling a bid for Homebase’s stores in the Republic of Ireland, following reports the wider Homebase business is up for sale.  According to The Times, the move would see the end of Homebase stores in the country, as Kingfisher would most likely rebrand the stores under the B&Q fascia.  Homebase currently has eight shops in the Republic of Ireland. The group, which is owned by Hilco Capital, has reportedly held talks with a number of buyers regarding a potential sale of the business.  Last month, it was reported that Hilco put H ..read more

Ikea has announced its next wave of price cuts on hundreds of its most popular items ahead of the Easter holidays, to provide customers with a more affordable life at home. The group is passing on £125m in savings as cost pressures ease out. As a result, 400 items are reduced across its living room, bathroom, bedroom categories, and more. The move is a part of the retailer’s ongoing roll out of new, lower prices for hundreds of products, which started in January with a permanent price adjustment for 1,500 products. Shoppers will be able to purchase some of the retailer’s best-selling items, li ..read more

Bensons For Beds has reported a return to profitability as turnover grew by 7.5% to £257.5m for the 53 weeks to September 2023, along with reported EBITDA profits of just over £1.5m from a previous loss of £15.4m.  The bed retailer has attributed its performance to the implementation of its recovery plan in 2022, which focused on sales conversion and Average Transaction Value in order to “make the most of what demand there was”.  During the last 12 months, Bensons For Beds has continued the growth of market share in its core categories and invested in omnichannel and digital capabili ..read more

Matalan fell to a pre-tax loss of £103.4m in FY23, widening from a £7m loss the prior period, in a year that saw the group rescued by a group of investors.  According to newly-filed accounts with Companies House, EBITDA fell to £124.1m in the year ended 25 February 2023, down from £197.5m the prior year.  It comes as the cost-of-living crisis drove an “unprecedented hit” to the business, with consumer spending “severely curtailed”. Despite this, revenues rose to £1.15m, up from £1m in FY22, driven by movements in selling price and range mix. The group said sales grew “strongly” year ..read more

Ikea UK has seen turnover hit £2.46bn in FY23, with total sales up by 11.9%, as operating profits almost doubled from £49.6m to £111.2m.  Trade was particularly boosted by click and collect purchases, which soared by 48% over the period. In addition, there were one million new visits to IKEA UK stores, up by 2.2% against FY22, while online sales rose by 19% to now make up a 38.5% share of total sales. As well as the boost from click and collect purchases, remote sales also soared by 24% over the period. Ikea UK said its strong performance “reflects continued investment in a more accessibl ..read more

Following a six month pilot across 14 stores, Wickes is set to make all store management roles open to flexible working. It comes as the retailer partnered with Timewise to undertake research on the roles of store managers, operations managers and duty managers to understand the barriers to “design, trial and evaluate a flexible working model that supported managers to deliver their roles with greater flexibility, input and control over their working patterns”. During the trial, some managers opted to change their working patterns to work four longer days in-store, whilst others chose to “flex the ..read more

Topps Tiles has reported that in the 13 weeks to 30 December, like-for-like sales were down 7.1%, continuing the trend seen in the first eight weeks, with sales to trade customers “more resilient” than those to homeowners. According to Topps Tiles, trading in the first quarter reflected the “ongoing challenges to discretionary consumer spending”, particularly those impacting on businesses serving the repair, maintenance and improvement (“RMI”) sector. It also revealed that its group sales in the 13 weeks ended 30 December were 4.0% lower year-on-year. However, it said trading remains strong in ..read more