High street shoe retailer Stylo (AIM: STYL), whose shares are traded on the AIM, said its profits and turnover sank, due to the unpredictable shoe market.Losses exceeded £10m, as the ongoing financial crisis contributed to the poor sales. Last year the company sustained a loss of £7.1m for the same period.
The company's turnover had fallen by 3.8% to £223.3m. Group chairman and chief executive Michael Ziff said: "The poor performance of the group reflects the difficult retail trading environment in which we operate, resulting in a number of our direct competitors being sold or closed.
"We have taken positive actions to enable us to focus on our core Barratts and Priceless fascias, including the disposal of our loss-making division Shellys and increased the depth of experience of our Barratts senior management team. We are well positioned to take advantage of any improvements in the retail environment."
Shoe group hard on its heels
In April, the company opened a website for Barratts and a new site for PriceLess. Big hopes are expected from these websites to boost sales over the next years. It is also currently in the process of renegotiating its main banking facilities since they are due for renewal in the autumn.
Earlier Stylo had also announced that David Patrick, who headed its Barratts division, had resigned from the retailer to pursue other career opportunities.
In February, Stylo acquired shoe chain Dolcis. Stylo is aiming to transfer Dolcis production to the Barratts division.
Reference
www.stylo.co.ukhttp://www.sharecast.com/cgi-bin/sharecast/story.cgi?story_id=2124024
http://www.smallcapnews.co.uk/article/Stylo_out_of_step_as_high_street_conditions_dent_p/5092.aspx
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