Wickes sees Q3 sales slow amid DIY hiatus
Looking ahead, the retailer said its adjusted pre-tax profits for the full-year remains overall ‘in line with its expectations’
Wickes has revealed its total like-for-like sales fell 1.6% in the 13-week period ending 25 September 2021 as the peak DIY period begins to mellow.
Despite core like-for-like sales declining by 2.3% year-on-year, the retailer said it was still supported by a “strong” performance in local trade.
However, on a two-year basis, sales still remained 16.3% higher than pre-Covid trading.
With supply shortages affecting the majority of the country, the group said that due to its “operational strengths”, this had “no material impact” on sales in the period.
Meanwhile as price inflation continues to accelerate nationwide, the group stated it will continue to manage this “responsibly” by focusing on cash margin recovery.
Looking ahead, the retailer said its adjusted pre-tax profits for the full-year remains overall “in line with its expectations”.
David Wood, CEO of Wickes, said: “This resilient performance has been underpinned by our digitally-led and service-enabled customer proposition, while our agile business model has enabled us to continue to navigate inflationary pressures and raw material constraints well.
“We are well-placed within a large and growing home improvement market, and look to the future with confidence. I would like to thank all of my colleagues for their hard work and support as we continue to help the nation feel proud.”
