ScS reports slowdown, shares tank

(Sharecast News) - ScS shares tanked on Friday after the furniture and floor coverings retailer reported a slowdown in trading.
In an update ahead of its annual meeting, the company reported total two-year like-for-like order growth of 0.9% for the 16 weeks ending 20 November. Meanwhile, there was a 10.6% decline in one-year like-for-like orders following "an unprecedented period of pent-up demand at the beginning of the prior year".

The retailer had reported a strong start to the year, resulting in two-year like-for-like order intake growth for the first nine weeks. However, it said on Friday that over the last seven weeks, there has been a drop in store footfall and conversion, with consumers spending less on big ticket discretionary purchases.

"This appears to be driven by a change in behaviour with consumers shopping earlier for Christmas when compared with previous years," it said. It added that the extended product lead times currently being experienced across the furniture and wider retail industry are also having an impact on purchasing trends.

"The group is now preparing for the winter sales trading period, and whilst it remains difficult to predict shopping habits and consumer engagement, the business is planning to approach this key period in a manner consistent with that which has proven successful in previous years," ScS said.

"We continue to work closely with our existing suppliers to mitigate current supply chain challenges. To broaden our customer proposition, we have recently partnered with new UK suppliers so that we can offer furniture on shorter lead times."

At 0945 GMT, the shares were down 9% at 226.45p.