Shoe Zone bought fewer sneakers than anticipated between April and June and has issued a revenue warning, blaming dangerous climate and excessive delivery prices, it stated in a buying and selling replace.
The excessive avenue chain stated it expects adjusted revenue earlier than tax for the monetary yr ending 2 October to be £10 million or above, coming in beneath earlier steerage.
Its unique revenue forecast for the yr was £15.2 million. That was revised right down to £13.8 million at its interim leads to June.
Shoe Zone stated delivery prices had risen due to “price pressures related to container costs because of a discount within the provide of delivery vessels and the continuation of a reroute away from the Suez Canal”.
The corporate has “skilled weaker than anticipated spring summer time gross sales from April to June, because of unseasonal climate circumstances”, it added.
In its interim outcomes, the retailer stated a rise within the Nationwide Residing Wage to £11.44, which got here in larger than analysts had anticipated, added at the very least £400,000 to projected prices between April and October.
In the meantime, disruption to delivery lanes within the Center East have dogged the import-heavy retailer for months.
The very important Suez Canal delivery artery in Egypt noticed cargo site visitors plunge by 66% earlier this yr due to assaults on vessels within the area.
Firms that depend on the channel, which hyperlinks the Mediterranean Sea to the Crimson Sea, have struggled since Iran-backed Houthi fighters began firing on ships late final yr.
It has led to hovering prices for insurance coverage, gasoline and wages, making it rather more costly to import items – like sneakers – by means of the area.
Shoe Zone additionally stated earlier this yr that it had lowered the variety of shops it’s buying and selling out of to 27, leaving it with 309 shops as of Could.
That, mixed with the cost-of-living disaster within the UK and poorer-than-expected climate between April and June, has hit footfall and gross sales.
It comes after the Workplace for Nationwide Statistics stated a chilly and moist begin to the summer time risked hampering UK companies reliant on heavy footfall.
April alone introduced 55% extra rainfall than regular, which contributed to total retail gross sales throughout all outlets within the UK falling 2% for the month, the statistics physique stated.
