ScS profits and sales up as it reaches 100th store

The retailer said pre-tax profit rose 9.9% to £12m in the year ended July 29, 2017.

Sales climbed 4.4% to £349.5m, although in a pre-close update in August the Sunderland-based firm said order intake slipped 0.7% on a like-for-like basis. Order numbers declined 5% in its second half.

ScS boss David Knight said the fall was driven by “challenging comparatives”, but also flagged a “softening market environment”.

Gross margin decreased slightly from 44.6% to 44%, which the business put down to a focus on reducing older stock to improve store appearance and working capital inflow.

ScS attributed its full-year growth to a 3.7% increase in sofa sales, a 5% rise in flooring sales and a strong digital performance that rose 12.3% to £11.3m.

Sales made through the retailer’s House of Fraser concessions grew 8.3% to £27.4m.

ScS revealed that its current sales order uptake was up 3% on a like-for-like basis for the nine weeks to September 30.

Knight said: “The core ScS business has continued to focus on providing excellent choice, value and quality for our customers, and I am pleased to see this delivering record results in furniture and flooring sales.

“Since the start of the current financial year, trading performance has been in line with our expectations. Furthermore, we believe the group’s increasing resilience will enable us to manage the continued economic uncertainty and take advantage of opportunities.”

ScS has 100 stores and 27 House of Fraser concessions.