// Quiz revenue drops 73% to £17.2m in the six months to September 30
// Store closures have affected its trading
// It also noticed a suppressed demand for its “trademark” occasionwear
Quiz has seen its group revenue drop by a colossal 73 per cent to £17.2 million in the six months to September 30, 2020 as a result of store closures.
The fast fashion retailer also noticed a suppressed demand for its “trademark” occasionwear.
Quiz made an underlying EBITDA loss of £3.4 million in the first half of its 2020/21 financial year, compared with a profit of £6.3 million during the same period the year before.
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An increase in the level of discounting brought its gross margin down to 51.7 per cent during the period, from 61.7 per cent in 2019/20.
Quiz said it managed to cut its underlying operating costs by 62 per cent.
During the half, Quiz completed a store restructuring that resulted in lower rental costs and more flexible leases.
By September 2020, its store estate comprised 55 stores in the UK and four in the Republic of Ireland. Five more UK stores have opened since.
Quiz said its revenues will continue to be affected by lower demand due to the current restrictions.
As of January 25, 2021, it had £3 million in net cash and £3.5 million of undrawn banking facilities.
“As with other omnichannel retailers, Quiz has faced significant challenges as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic,” founder and chief executive Tarak Ramzan said.
“We have taken a number of actions to protect our customers and people, preserve liquidity, and restructure the size and cost base of our store estate to adjust to the new normal of retail.
“While we continue to rebalance our product offering towards more casual clothing reflecting near term customer demand, given our focus on occasionwear, demand for our products has been impacted significantly by the pandemic.
“However, we remain confident in the strength of our brand and are highly confident that demand for the brand’s trademark occasionwear will recover when restrictions on social events are eased.
“The period covered by this statement was particularly challenging for the group and its stakeholders and I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate my thanks to our colleagues and partners for their commitment, support and flexibility.
“We are confident that the actions taken to preserve liquidity and reduce our cost base mean that the group can return to profitable growth as market conditions improve.”
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