Fenwick losses widen to £112m

Department store chain, Fenwick, has revealed its losses have widened to £112m for the 52-week period ending 29 January 2021.

The company said the results come after what it called “the most difficult trading conditions in living memory” with the Covid-19 pandemic forcing its stores to be closed for 21 weeks of the year.

As a result, it saw sales decline to £140.5m down from £323.7m the previous year and net sales fall 50% to £119m.

The retailer also revealed a reduction in overheads, combined with the business rates holiday enabled administrative costs to reduce by £16m.

However, the group was forced to reduce the value of its net assets to £376m, although it added the overall market value remains “substantially higher than its book value”.

John Edgar, Fenwick CEO, said: “These results reflect the challenges that the retail sector faced in 2020. I’m very proud of the way the Fenwick team adapted to these challenges to provide customers with our trademark Fenwick hospitality, rapidly scale up our online offer and introduce new services such as Concierge.

“We are now focussed on ensuring our nine stores and website continue to build stability and serve our local communities in the year ahead.”