Chief executive Neil Gillis said he does not expect Christmas sales to be slower than last year, but that the surge will come much later.
“Consumers are not in the mood for Christmas yet,” he said. “We have pushed our Christmas windows back and are looking at overnight replenishment for the last week before Christmas to make sure we have as much stock in as possible.”
Gillis is also confident he will not have to increase prices on clothing next year despite the likelihood that the rising of the dollar will lead to cost-price inflation in 2009.
He said that the retailer has covered forward two thirds of its dollar requirement for the next financial year, which begins in February. “That removes inflationary pressure that others are seeing,” he said.
Losses at Blacks increased more than 44 per cent to£6.7 million in the 26 weeks to August 30. Group sales fell 9.4 per cent to£133 million for the period – a 5.2 per cent slump on a like-for-like basis.
Trading in October and September picked up with like-for-likes up 4.5 per cent for its outdoor division. However, Dresdner Kleinwort analyst Sanjay Vidyarthi highlighted that November and December are key for Blacks, particularly for its outdoors division. He said: “There is everything to play for, but we do feel the risk is on the downside given the retail environment.”
Blacks is still “examining all options” for its underperforming boardwear business and has entered into negotiations with O’Neill Europe to terminate its wholesale contract early. It is also believed to be touting its Freespirit business, but Gillis insists that no one has been appointed to oversee a sale process.
Singer Capital Markets analyst Matthew McEachran said: “The turnaround is focused on cost-effective changes to product, range and merchandising in both Blacks and Millets, and these changes could continue to achieve positive top-line gains.”
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