Bonmarché on Friday revealed store like-for-likes were down 4.5 per cent in the 52 weeks to March 31, as sales fell 11.1 per cent in its fourth quarter.
Online sales experienced a 34.5 per cent increase year-on-year, although this wasn’t enough to offset the drag of the high street on the business, which came out with an overall drop of 1.5 per cent in comparable sales.
The value womenswear retailer said full-year profits would be “in line with expectations” despite the drop in sales.
Speaking in light of the results, Bonmarché’s chief executive officer Helen Connolly pointed to tough trading conditions across the industry as one of the reasons behind the stunted sales.
“As anticipated, trading conditions in the final quarter of our financial year remained challenging and, against this backdrop, I am pleased that we have delivered an increase in the FY18 profit before tax compared to last year,” she said in a press statement this morning.
“Whilst we expect the market to remain difficult, our focus will be on continuing to improve our proposition to customers,” Connolly added.
Store sales may have been disappointing for the retailer, but Bonmarché’s gross margin percentage had remained resilient, thanks to tight stock control and improvements to their loyalty scheme, leading to lower discounting.
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