Quiz Christmas sales drop 11% as inflationary pressures dent demand

Fast-fashion retailer Quiz reported a drop in sales over the Christmas period on Tuesday as it said inflationary pressures were denting consumer demand.

In the period from 1 December to the end of the month, group sales fell 11% year-on-year to £8.7m.

"This reduction reflects the negative impact of inflationary pressures on consumer demand which resulted in declines in traffic both in-store and online offsetting consistent year-on-year trends in key metrics such as conversion rates and average transaction values," it said.

Quiz said the gross margin performance was consistent year-on-year and that it remains confident in achieving current full-year market expectations.

As at 22 January 2024, the fashion retailer had total liquidity headroom of £5.4m, being a cash balance of £2m and £3.4m of undrawn bank facilities. Quiz’s £4m of bank facilities available will expire in June. There are no financial covenants applicable to these facilities.

"As announced as its interim results, the board is progressing its review of the strategic options available to the group and intends to report the findings from this review by the end of March 2024," it said.

At 0920 GMT, the shares were down 3.7% at 5.58p.