Agenda: Sainsbury’s, Boohoo, Card Factory and DFS

Moss Bros

Moss Bros posts its interim results on Tuesday.

The menswear retailer said total sales in the first 15 weeks of its financial year rose 1.5% year on year and like-for-likes edged down 0.2%.

Like-for-like retail sales, including ecommerce, were up 2.2%, “reflecting a strong ecommerce performance alongside positive momentum in high street stores”.

Ecommerce sales rose 18.7% on last year to account for 15.5% of total revenues versus 13% a year ago.

Card Factory

Card Factory posts its half-year results on Tuesday.

The greetings card specialist reported a rise in first-half sales and expects to meet full-year profit forecasts.

Card Factory said group sales rose 5.5% in the six months to July 31, when like-for-like sales advanced 1.5%. The retailer described performance as “robust in a challenging consumer environment”.

The retailer opened 26 net new UK stores and about 50 will have opened in this country and the Republic of Ireland over the full year.

It also reported “encouraging progress on a number of business development and efficiency initiatives”, such as selling through Aldi branches.

Hotel Chocolat

Hotel Chocolat posts its full-year results on Tuesday.

The confectionery specialist posted a 14% uplift in sales year on year to £132m in the 52 weeks to June 30 in its full-year trading update.

The retailer said it expected profits for the year to be in line with market expectations.

Hotel Chocolat, which recorded a 7% uplift in interim pre-tax profit to £13.8m in February, opened 16 new stores during the year, including two in the US, which collectively contributed 5% to overall group sales.

The retailer also entered into a joint venture in Japan during the financial period, resulting in two store openings in Tokyo.

Sainsbury’s

Sainsbury’s is hosting a Capital Markets Day on Wednesday, where the City will be expecting an update on the grocer’s strategic direction.

Boss Mike Coupe will give a presentation to analysts, alongside finance boss Kevin O’Byrne, food commercial director Paul Mills-Hicks, retail operations director Simon Roberts and chief information officer Phil Jordan.

Sainsbury’s has been under the spotlight since its planned merger with Asda was blocked by the Competition and Markets Authority earlier this year, as it puts together a Plan B – details of which could well emerge on Wednesday. 

Boohoo

Boohoo post its interim results on Wednesday.

Online fashion retailer Boohoo has posted a jump in group sales, as it continues to “disrupt and capture market share”.

Boohoo group sales surged 39% to £254m during the three months ending May 31.

The fast fashion retailer posted strong revenue growth across all of its geographies with the UK up 27% and its international markets up 56%.

Boohoo posted a 27% jump in sales to £123.5m and gross margin increased to 54.1%, up from 52% for the same period last year.

DFS

DFS posts its full-year results on Thursday.

In a trading update in July, the furniture retailer said it expects to deliver underlying profit before tax “slightly above £50m” for the 52 weeks to June 30, up from £38.3m for the same period the year before.

The retailer reported a 7% rise in gross sales when adjusted to include the acquisition of Sofology.

DFS said cash generation for the period had been “solid”, which led to a “lower average closing monthly net debt” over the last six months.

The furniture retailer also said it was “particularly pleased” with the performance of its ecommerce channel, which saw 17% sales growth.

Eve Sleep

Eve Sleep posts it half-year results on Thursday.

The retailer issued a profit warning last week, warning that revenues were now likely to be “in the range of £25m-£27m”, which in turn would “have some flow through to the EBITDA loss”.

It blamed this on several factors, including “challenging” trading, economic uncertainty and heavy discounting.

Eve Sleep also confirmed that discussions over its mooted merger with fellow mattress specialist Simba, which were reported in August, have since ended.

The retailer said its board “decided that now is not the right time to pursue the potential merger and that it is more appropriate to focus on the Eve rebuild plan”.