// Naked Wines has seen its shares plummet by as much as 40% as the retailer cautioned over sales and earnings for the year ahead
// The online wine seller warned sales could fall by up to 4% in the year to March 2023
Naked Wines’ shares tumbled by almost 40% on Thursday after the online wine retailer warned its sales would take a hit this year due to “greater uncertainty” in the economy.
The London-listed retailer cautioned its shareholders while reporting signs of waning customer retention and slower growth, warning that sales could plunge by as much as 4% in the year to the end of March.
Naked Wines “will not pursue growth at any cost and our guidance is that we intend to trade the business at or around breakeven this year,” chief executive Nick Devlin said on Thursday.
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Devlin added: “We believe this is the responsible balance to strike in FY23, mindful of the levels of macro-economic uncertainty but also of the opportunities we see ahead and the potential for disruptive models like ours to gain traction in tough times as consumers reevaluate their purchasing choice.”
The business said that in the year to the end of March, it experienced a customer retention rate of 80%, down from 88% the previous year.
It comes as UK inflation rose to 9.1%, its highest rate in 40 years on Wednesday, with warnings that energy bills could reach nearly £3,000 per year in January, the coldest month of the year.
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