Wickes’ sales knocked by poor weather

Wickes’ group like-for-likes edged down 0.6% in the 16 weeks to April 22, which included Easter, but the retailer said the performance was in line with expectations and it had made an “encouraging start” to the financial year.

Wickes said ‘do-it-for-me’ sales were up 9.3% but core like-for-likes fell sales 3.6%, “affected by adverse weather in 2023 to date, affecting outdoor and weather-related categories”.

Wickes pointed out that storms in the previous year had stimulated sales in the comparative period and “sales trends have improved towards the end of the period as the weather has started to normalise”. 

Trade sales “continue to perform well” but “DIY sales remain lower year-on-year”. While inflation “remains mixed across categories” it is slowing overall, in line with our expectations”.

Wickes chief executive David Wood said: “This has been an encouraging start to the year where we have again seen the benefits of our uniquely balanced business model delivering well in a challenging economic environment.

“Our performance has been underpinned by further momentum in trade, as local traders continue to turn to Wickes to save them time and money, and a strong performance in do-it-for-me. As we continue to make progress across our strategic growth drivers, we are confident in the group’s prospects for both the remainder of this year and the long term.”