Quiz achieves forecast-beating sales results on back of stronger store sales

Fashion brand Quiz has seen revenues surpass forecasts thanks to a lack of trading restrictions on clothing stores.

The womenswear specialist’s sales climbed by 37.2 per cent to £49.4million between the start of April and the end of September, ‘marginally ahead’ of what bosses anticipated.

Revenues in its UK stores and concessions, where the group derives half of overall turnover, jumped by nearly half to £24.6million, with like-for-like trade consistently higher than pre-pandemic levels.

At the same time, revenues grew by more than a quarter both online and overseas, although an increased level of customer returns partially offset a rise in the size of average e-commerce orders.

Quiz’s impressive results were achieved against a progressively weaker economic backdrop, which caused growth to soften in September and October.

But the Glasgow-based firm warned of uncertainty surrounding how much current inflationary problems will affect consumers’ disposable income and willingness to spend money on its products.

Guidance for the financial year ending 31 March remains unchanged but remains heavily dependent on how well it performs over the crucial Christmas trading period.

Its sales during last year’s festive season stayed strong despite the Omicron variant leading to the reimposition of Covid-19 restrictions and many businesses scrapping their annual Christmas parties for the second year in a row.

However, the company observed sales slumping in the second half of December and a much higher rate of partywear being returned to shops.

Quiz told investors on Monday it was ‘confident that the product proposition and commitment to providing glamorous looks at value prices will continue to appeal.’

High street apparel sellers were severely affected in the first half of the Covid era by the temporary enforced closure of their shops and the enormous rise in people working from home.

Retailers like Quiz were further hurt by the cancellation or postponement of social gatherings depressing demand for partywear items, like cocktail dresses, suits and heels.

This had a knock-on effect on Quiz’s online clothing sales, even though e-commerce apparel demand has skyrocketed in the past two years.

Founded three decades ago by Tarak Ramzan, the company is now one of Britain’s most prominent fashion brands, employing over 1,500 people and operating from over 300 stores, concessions and partnerships.

The group has collaborated on collections with multiple stars from reality television shows, such as Love Island, Geordie Shore, and The Only Way is Essex and is listed on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM index.

Quiz shares were down 6.7 per cent to 10.75p at 4pm on Monday, meaning their value has fallen by around 30 per cent in the past 12 months.