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Furniture retailer ScS has said it is “encouraged” by a period of “resilient trading” despite facing challenging economic conditions.
In a trading update ahead of its AGM, it revealed like-for-like order intake has seen an improvement in recent weeks, with trading ahead of the prior year.
Total like-for-like order intake for the 16 weeks to 19 November 2022 was down 9.1% due to the reduction in orders in the first 10 weeks to 6 October 2022 when like-for-like sales were down 14.4%, when the comparative period benefited from “strong pent-up demand following the last national lockdown”.
The group added it has continued to gain market share over the period and that it has a “strong balance sheet” with closing cash at 19 November 2022 of £89.7m and no debt.
ScS said the recent performance and current trading “is in line with its expectations” for the full-year.
It said: “The group is preparing for the important winter sales trading period and, as always, its success will be a key factor in the results for the full year. The business is planning to approach the winter sales period in a manner consistent with that which has proved successful in prior years.
“We are mindful of the challenges of the current economic climate. Trading remains difficult to predict, but we believe our refreshed strategy, strong cost management and robust balance sheet places the Group in an excellent financial and operational position.”
