Quiz reports 9.2% revenue fall in yearly results

Onmi-channel fashion brand Quiz has announced revenue and profits slipped in results for the year to 31 March 2020, the result of a change in consumer behaviour and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Revenue fell 9.2% to £118 million, compared with £131 million in 2019. Gross profit was also down 10.5% to £71.1 million.

Online revenue decreased 9% year on year to £37.5 million, with the decline predominantly reflecting lower sales via third-party websites. Sales volumes through the Quiz website were consistent with the previous year but more profitable year on year.

International sales decreased 5% to £21.8 million, reflecting declining revenues from stores and concessions in the Republic of Ireland and the cessation of certain franchise sales.

Revenue from UK stores and concessions decreased 12% to £58.7 million, compared to £66.9 million in 2019.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted Quiz's sales in the current financial year with stores and concessions closed for a number of months. As a result, the Group's total sales in the six months to 30 September 2020 amounted to £17.2 million, a 73% decline on the £63.3 million revenues generated in the previous year.

The retailer appointed administrators in June this year, selling the majority of stores and assets to Zandra Retail, a subsidiary owned by Quiz, in a pre-pack administration deal.

The move resulted in 11 store closures and over 90 redundancies.

The Group has so far reopened 60 stores in the United Kingdom and four in the Republic of Ireland and is reportedly in negotiations for a further five stores.

Tarak Ramzan, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, commented: "Whilst we are pleased with the further growth in our customer base during FY20, 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 Board has taken decisive action to protect its customers and its people, preserve liquidity, and restructure its store estate to align the Group's business model to the new reality of store retail.

"We continue to rebalance our product offering towards more casual clothing to meet the changing lifestyles of our customers. Looking ahead, we remain confident in the strength of our brand and believe that underlying customer demand remains strong for the brand's trademark occasion wear which we aim to capitalise on when restrictions on social events are eased."