Superdry warns on profits amid ‘lower than expected’ Christmas sales

Embattled clothing retailer Superdry has issued a profit warning after peak trading sales came in “lower than expected”.

Superdry said it now expects pre-tax profits to come in between £0-£10m compared with previous estimations of around £20m.

It said that the high street has seen “unprecedented levels of promotional activity” and blamed “subdued consumer demand” and shortages of some its better-selling products for “adversely impacting” its sales.

Superdry added that its decision to reduce promotional activity in order to maintain margins also had a negative effect on sales.

It reported retail sales were down 16% to £23m since Black Friday, with the majority of sales coming predominantly online.

CEO Julian Dunkerton said: “Everyone at Superdry continues to work intensively to deliver the turnaround of the business. While we have always said it will take time, we continue to make progress in implementing our strategy.

“A key element of this is to focus on and return to full price sales and reduce promotional activity, and we halved the proportion of discounted sales over our peak trading period, benefitting both our margins and the Superdry brand.”

He added: “However this adversely affected our sales during the peak trading period given the level of promotional activity in the market. Despite this, our disciplined plan to reinvigorate the brand and return Superdry to sustainable long-term growth is on track.”