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Embattled clothing retailer Superdry has said it expects its online sales to decline and to miss its 2020 targets amid “unpredictable challenges” caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
Superdry reported a 25% decrease in footfall week-on-week despite stores in the UK and the US “remaining largely open”.
Prior to the outbreak of coronavirus in Europe at the start of the year, in a trading update, Superdry forecasted predictions that it would generate between £5m-£6m per week for the rest of the year.
The retailer said: “We do not expect the decline in sales from our retail stores to be fully mitigated by sales through our e-commerce channel, which remains fully open for business. Whilst we are also pursuing cost-saving measures across the business, we do not expect these to be sufficient to offset the sales decline.”
The group also said the board is taking “sensible measures” to preserve cash, which include but not limited to, further cost actions (including negotiations with landlords regarding store rental relief), postponement of capex plans, and potential changes to the timing and structure of the future season stock buy.
Julian Dunkerton, Superdry CEO, said: “Along with everyone else, Superdry is experiencing major disruption to our business operations and recovery as we seek to protect our staff and customers from Covid-19.
“We are taking mitigating action wherever we can but the situation is very fluid and uncertain, and we are working to put in place additional financing to secure our recovery. We also welcome the measures announced by the chancellor yesterday to support UK businesses.”
He added: “The safety of our staff and customers remains our number one priority and we continue to take all appropriate action in line with local government advice. Together, we’re going to make our way through this unprecedented challenge, and I’m confident we can reset the brand and deliver on our transformation plans.”
In January, Superdry issued a profit warning after peak trading sales came in “lower than expected”.
Superdry said it now expects pre-tax profits to come in between £0-£10m compared with previous estimations of around £20m.
