Quiz annual turnover drops 10 percent

For the year ended March 31, 2020, Quiz, the omni-channel fashion brand said, group revenue decreased 10 percent to 118 million pounds reflecting challenges during the year as well as a sharp decline in March sales due to Covid-19 disruption. The company said in a statement that group gross margin was 60.3 percent, while underlying EBITDA reached 0.6 million pounds compared to 4.6 million pounds in 2019. The company reported underlying pre-tax loss of 3.7 million pounds compared to profit of 4.6 million pounds in the previous year. The company further said that the Covid-19 pandemic has significantly impacted its sales in the current financial year and the group’s total sales in the six months amounted to 17.2 million pounds, a 73 percent decline over the previous year.

Commenting on the annual trading, Tarak Ramzan, the company’s founder and Chief Executive Officer, said: This was a challenging year for QUIZ characterised by macro-economic uncertainty and challenges presented by the accelerating structural shift towards online retail. In addition, from early March the group, along with the wider retail sector, faced significant challenges as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.”

The company’s online revenue decreased 9 percent to 37.5 million pounds with the decline predominantly reflecting lower sales via third-party websites, while sales volumes through the Quiz website were consistent with the previous year but more profitable year on year. International sales, the company added, decreased 5 percent to 21.8 million pounds reflecting declining revenues from stores and concessions in the Republic of Ireland and the cessation of certain franchise sales, while revenue from UK stores and concessions decreased 12 percent to 58.7 million pounds.

Post fiscal year end, Quiz has agreed an extension of its existing 3.5 million pounds banking facilities until the October 31, 2021. The group has so far reopened 60 stores in the United Kingdom and four in the Republic of Ireland and is in negotiations with regards to a total of five further stores.

Picture credit:Hudson Sandler