Struggling fashion retailer Quiz seeks funding as revenues drop and losses widen

During the important trading month of November, Glasgow-based fashion brand Quiz experienced a marked decline in traffic both online and in-store compared to previous months and the comparable period in the prior year.

Given the disappointing level of revenues in the important Christmas trading period, Quiz said that the cash headroom available to the business is less than previously anticipated. As a result, the board anticipates that additional funding will be required in early 2025.

The company said in a statement that revenues in the period from August 1 to November 30, 2024 amounted to 24.9 million pounds, a 1.5 million pounds reduction versus the prior period.

Quiz attributed the disappointing financial results in part to the impact of inflationary pressures on consumer confidence and spending, which led to an 8 percent reduction in revenues during the six month period to 39.1 million pounds. Despite management's efforts to control costs tightly and improve the gross margin the group incurred a loss before tax of 4.7 million pounds.

The company further said that while demand in December showed signs of improvement with online revenues broadly consistent with the prior year on a like-for-like basis, sales in store continue to trend behind those achieved last year. As a result, total revenues in December continue to fall short of management's expectations and have not compensated for the shortfall in revenues experienced in November.

The group operated 62 stores and 47 concessions in the UK at the end of September 2024. Three stores closed in the period and one store in Sunderland was opened. The company’s international revenues benefited from a good performance with the partners in the Middle East and the USA.

As announced on December 20, 2024, the company has decided to seek shareholder approval for the voluntary cancellation of the ordinary shares trading on AIM and for the company to be re-registered as a private limited company.