ScS confident in full-year profit guidance despite cost-of-living crisis

In a trading update ahead of its full-year results for the 52 weeks to July 29, 2023, the retailer said its financial position remained robust, with £695m in cash and no debt.

ScS  said like-for-like order growth from weeks 34 to 52 of the full-year period had grown strongly by 6%, building on 5.7% growth between weeks 27 and 33 – bringing order intake into line with the previous year, following a “challenging first quarter”.

The retailer said it continued to gain market share, “cementing its position as the UK’s second-largest upholstered furniture retailer”.

ScS bought Snug in January 2023  and the retailer said it had “re-established operations from an effective standing start”.

This process included “rebuilding supplier relationships, restoring stock levels, improving brand awareness and ultimately building order momentum”.

The retailer said it was “cognisant of the economic conditions facing our customers, including higher interest rates and low consumer confidence”.

However, despite this being forecast for much of 2024, ScS said it remained confident that the group’s strategy and strong balance sheet “will enable ongoing trading resilience and we continue to expect to grow our market share”.